![\"Pilgrim](\"https:\/\/inc42.com\/wp-content\/themes\/inc42\/img\/datalab-crosslink\/hover-datalab-logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
seems to be bucking this trend. Founded in 2019 by Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, the company scaled its revenue 24X in just three years \u2014 from a mere \u20b917 Cr in FY24 to a sizeable \u20b9400 Cr in FY25.<\/a> Having raised $54 Mn+ since its inception, the BPC brand is said to be on track to breach the \u20b9600 Cr revenue mark by FY26 end.\u00a0<\/p>\nNow, before we unpack what sets Pilgrim apart in a brutal market, it\u2019s worth tracing the company\u2019s journey from the very start.<\/p>\n
A False Start<\/p>\n
Pilgrim\u2019s origins are closely tied to the founder\u2019s earliest entrepreneurial bet. What\u2019s, however, interesting is that Kedia never wanted to become an entrepreneur, even though business ran in his DNA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kedia grew up in Jaipur in a business family, but, as they say, familiarity breeds contempt. In Kedia\u2019s case, this meant avoiding entrepreneurship at all costs. After graduating from IIT Bombay and completing his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, he joined KPMG as a consultant, where he gained exposure to how large enterprises scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here, he got exposure to how large enterprises operate and scale, completely shifting his mindset. Well, how far can an apple fall from the tree? He, however, decided to start something of his own.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2006, Kedia took his first entrepreneurial leap by cofounding Four Fountains De, a chain of spas that later pivoted to beauty salons. While the business grew, it also revealed the limits of service-led models in India, particularly their dependence on real estate, manpower, and operational complexity. Kedia exited the business in 2018, selling the company in distress in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The experience shaped two core convictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, product businesses scale more efficiently than services. Second, the beauty category, despite its challenges, offers a long-term opportunity if executed well,\u201d Kedia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While his first venture did not play out as planned, he did not want to exit the sector. He used a different lens to look at the massive $31 Bn Indian BPC space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Diving deep into the beauty market in 2018, Kedia observed two converging trends:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beauty ecommerce was growing rapidly, with consumers getting increasingly comfortable buying products online.\u00a0
\nA large cohort of millennials, newly employed or graduating, was emerging as a distinct consumer segment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike GenZ, who would later dominate brand narratives, millennials were \u2018conscious consumers\u2019. Through early conversations, Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, his junior at IIT Bombay, who later joined him as a cofounder, identified three recurring purchase filters among this group:
Good For Me: Transparency around ingredients and formulations
Good For Society: Cruelty-free products and ethical certifications
Good For The Planet: Sustainability and reduced plastic usage
A parallel insight that the demand for international beauty products, particularly Korean skincare, was on the rise in India further bolstered their confidence in the space.<\/p>\n
What they also discovered was that importing beauty products was expensive, and people may shy away from adopting an expensive brand never heard of before.<\/p>\n
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This was when they decided to work on globally inspired formulations, priced for aspirational Indian consumers, but manufactured locally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pilgrim: A Pandemic Launch<\/p>\n
Pilgrim was conceived as a brand that would \u2018travel the world\u2019 for formulations and deliver them to Indian consumers at affordable prices. The founders launched the brand with 10-12 SKUs, largely inspired by Korean beauty traditions, sourcing ingredients globally while manufacturing through third-party partners in India.<\/p>\n
The timing, however, was brutal. Pilgrim\u2019s first inventory reached warehouses in March 2020, just as India entered a nationwide lockdown. For months, products remained unsold, and the risk of shutdown loomed large.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shrouded in uncertainty, the founders chose not to give up. Instead, they doubled down on social media, establishing their presence and building the brand through educational content and direct engagement with potential users.<\/p>\n
When restrictions eased in May 2020, their groundwork paid off, and Pilgrim clocked \u20b95 Lakh in sales in its first month. The number scaled to \u20b920 Lakh per month by the end of the year. The founders closed FY21 with a revenue of \u20b95 Cr.<\/p>\n
Before FY21 ended, Pilgrim expanded its portfolio with a second range inspired by French vinotherapy, using grape-based formulations. Growing demand and an expanding SKU base necessitated investments in manufacturing and team building.<\/p>\n
This led to Pilgrim\u2019s first institutional funding of \u20b913 Cr led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from Rukam Capital and founders of startups such as boAt and NoBroker. With fresh capital, the startup accelerated expansion, closing FY22 with \u20b917 Cr in revenue.<\/p>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/G1-100-6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/G1-copy-100-1-2.jpg\")
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