Private equity firm Ananta Capital has acquired a majority stake in Phitku, an Indian personal care brand focused on body odour management.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition. The deal was structured through a combination of primary capital infusion and secondary share purchase, giving Phitku fresh growth capital while allowing partial liquidity for its founders.

Co-founders Sumit Marda, Neha Marda and Rahul Dokania will continue to lead the business and retain a significant stake.

Launched in 2025, Phitku sells alum-based personal hygiene products designed to neutralise body odour at source, rather than masking it with artificial fragrances. The company said its products are clean, alcohol-free and skin-friendly, and are developed for Indian climate conditions and everyday use.

Phitku said the investment marked its first institutional funding and would help it accelerate product innovation, strengthen brand-building and expand distribution across its D2C platform, online marketplaces and quick commerce channels. It also plans selective international expansion.

The brand claims to have served more than six lakh customers across India.

Ashutosh Taparia, founder and managing partner at Ananta Capital, said, “What drew us to Phitku was the category itself. Consumers today are increasingly seeking cleaner personal care products and paying closer attention to ingredients, while odor protection remains a large category with limited innovation. Phitku has modernized a trusted ingredient like alum and built a proposition that resonates with today’s consumers. We believe the brand is well positioned to lead this emerging category.”

“We have been impressed by what the founders have built in such a short period of time. Going forward, we see an opportunity to build Phitku into a broader clean personal care platform by leveraging our consumer ecosystem, distribution network, product development capabilities and international presence,” added Sanjeev Taparia, part of the Taparia family.

Sumit Marda, Co-founder and CEO of Phitku, said, “Phitku was founded with a simple vision, to build a science-led personal care brand that consumers can genuinely trust. As a team, we’ve stayed focused on one thing: building products that are clean, safe, and that actually work. For us, efficacy and safety aren’t trade-offs; they go hand in hand. In a market where consumers have grown weary of brands that over-promise and under-deliver, we set out to bring back something simpler, pure trust and lasting loyalty. In just over a year, that approach has helped us build a community of over 6 lakh customers, reaffirming the demand for clean, effective, and ingredient-conscious hygiene solutions.” 

He added, “Partnering with Ananta Capital is an important milestone for us. This is about far more than capital. Ananta brings the strategic expertise, operational experience and long-term vision to help us build Phitku into a true personal hygiene platform, one that scales responsibly, accelerates innovation and strengthens our distribution across both Indian and international markets. Together, we aim to build Phitku into India’s leading science-led personal hygiene brand.”

Phitku said it will continue to focus on body odour management before diversifying into other categories. The company said it would introduce new products only where it could offer differentiated and effective solutions.

With Ananta Capital’s backing, Phitku is targeting four to five times growth over the next two years and aims to reach annual recurring revenue of Rs 300 crore.