Secret Alchemist Raises USD 3 Million Seed Round Led By Unilever Ventures

Secret Alchemist, an India-first clean perfume brand, has raised USD 3 million in a seed funding round led by Unilever Ventures, with participation from DSG Consumer Partners. The round includes both primary and secondary capital and follows earlier backing from IPV, signalling continued institutional confidence in the brand's long-term vision.

Founded by Ankita Thadani, Akash Valia, and actor-entrepreneur Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Secret Alchemist is positioning itself at the intersection of clean beauty, wellness and modern perfumery. The brand aims to build what it describes as India's first clean, ingredient-led perfume label, with a focus on transparency, formulation integrity, and everyday wearability.

Originally rooted in aromatherapy and essential oil-based wellness solutions, Secret Alchemist has evolved into a fragrance-first brand. Today, it blends aromatherapy science with contemporary perfumery to create emotion-driven fragrances designed for modern consumers, bridging wellness, scent and self-expression.

The newly raised capital will be used to expand the brand's clean fragrance portfolio, deepen formulation expertise and R&D capabilities, and strengthen leadership and core teams. The company also plans to invest in scaling its brand presence and distribution as it works towards building an India-born fragrance brand with global ambitions.

Commenting on the fundraise, Ankita Thadani, Co-Founder of Secret Alchemist, said, "Globally, 'clean' has become a baseline in beauty and personal care, and fragrance is naturally moving in that direction. With Secret Alchemist, our focus is on building perfumes that are ingredient-led, well-formulated, and uncompromising on quality. We are among the first in India to openly publish full ingredient and allergen disclosures in perfumery, because for us, clean means being honest. This investment allows us to deepen product innovation and strengthen our R&D capabilities in line with that belief."

Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Co-Founder, added, "As Secret Alchemist evolves, this feels like the right moment for us. It gives us the opportunity to build more deeply on what matters: clean ingredients, thoughtful formulations, and fragrances people genuinely enjoy using every day."

Akash Valia, Co-Founder, said, "Clean fragrance is seeing strong traction globally, and India is ready for brands built with that mindset from day one. This fundraise allows us to scale Secret Alchemist as a fragrance-first, ingredient-led clean perfume brand while strengthening distribution and brand presence and eventually bringing Indian perfumes to the global market."

From the investor side, Pawan Chaturvedi, Partner & Head of Asia at Unilever Ventures, said, "We are delighted to partner with Secret Alchemist as it builds one of India's first clean, fragrance indie brands. Clean has already become a norm in beauty globally, and we are beginning to see fragrance follow the same trajectory, and Secret Alchemist is well-positioned to lead this emerging category in India."

Hariharan Premkumar, MD & Head of India at DSG Consumer Partners, said, "We have believed in the clean fragrances opportunity for many years… Given the significant under-penetration of the fragrances category in India, we are highly bullish on the long-term potential of the brand and the category."