&Done Indian haircare brand founders

&Done Indian Haircare Brand Defeats 25 Rejections, Raises ₹6.5 Crore

Soumya Verma
6 Min Read

When the &Done Indian haircare brand launched in 2025, founders Saumya Yadav and Atit Jain weren’t just starting another beauty company—they were declaring war on an industry that ignored Indian hair’s unique needs for decades.

While international giants flooded India’s ₹3.8 billion haircare market with Western formulations, nobody questioned why products designed for European or American hair should work for Indians battling humidity, pollution, hard water, and relentless heat.

The Personal Crisis That Birthed &Done Indian Haircare Brand

The &Done Indian haircare brand story began with founder Saumya Yadav’s postpartum hair crisis. After having her baby, the IIT Delhi and Stanford GSB graduate watched her once-strong hair become dry, brittle, and lifeless despite trying countless expensive products.

Her salon visits sparked the crucial question transforming into the &Done Indian haircare brand’s mission: Why weren’t any high-performance salon brands actually Indian? Why should consumers with thicker, more textured hair exposed to uniquely Indian environmental challenges settle for imported solutions?

The &Done Indian haircare brand was born from this realization—Indian hair deserves products specifically designed for its structure and the conditions it faces daily.

25 Brutal Rejections Couldn’t Stop &Done Indian Haircare Brand

Before becoming a funded success story, the &Done Indian haircare brand faced crushing rejection. Twenty-five times, investors said no. The feedback was brutally consistent: “Haircare is overcrowded.” “Indian consumers won’t understand biotechnology.” “The market already has too many players.”

But Yadav and co-founder Atit Jain understood something the market missed: Indians don’t want cheap products—they want effective products. The &Done Indian haircare brand doubled down on this insight, investing sleepless years into formulation testing and ingredient sourcing.

Batches got rejected. Labs said no. Manufacturers backed out. Cash ran dangerously low. Yet the &Done Indian haircare brand team refused quitting.

What Makes &Done Indian Haircare Brand Different

The &Done Indian haircare brand studied Indian hair types across regions—Kerala curls, Rajasthan dryness, Mumbai humidity, Delhi pollution—creating formulations with globally sourced active ingredients tested to deliver visible repair results from first use.

Unlike competitors using generic formulas, every product from the &Done Indian haircare brand addresses multiple simultaneous challenges. Indian hair doesn’t face humidity OR pollution OR heat—it battles everything at once.

The &Done Indian haircare brand operates under flagship Ionic Professional, focusing on biotechnology-driven haircare that repairs disulphide bonds, adds protein to keratin chains, and fills cuticle cracks and holes.

The 48-hour fermentation process, preservative-free ingredients, and non-toxic formulations position the &Done Indian haircare brand as premium yet accessible.

Breakthrough Funding Validates &Done Indian Haircare Brand Vision

The &Done Indian haircare brand just secured ₹6.5 crore in pre-seed funding led by All In Capital, with participation from M.G. Investments and angel investors.

“Haircare remains one of the toughest categories to crack as products are often rejected after single use,” explained Aditya Singh, Co-founder of All In Capital. “However, the &Done Indian haircare brand has understood this challenge deeply and built a brand around genuinely solving hair issues with highly effective formulations.”

This validation proves the &Done Indian haircare brand’s approach resonates with sophisticated investors recognizing massive market opportunity.

Strategic Distribution Powering &Done Indian Haircare Brand Growth

The &Done Indian haircare brand has already partnered with 1,500 stylists across 300+ premium salons in tier-1 cities, combining salon distribution with direct-to-consumer lines for shampoos and conditioners.

This dual-channel strategy gives the &Done Indian haircare brand credibility through professional endorsement while building direct consumer relationships. Stylists become brand ambassadors, educating clients about scientifically superior formulations.

The salon segment alone represents ₹2,500-3,500 crore opportunity, with high-value treatments like keratin costing ₹8,000-15,000 per session.

Market Opportunity Driving &Done Indian Haircare Brand Expansion

India’s haircare market is estimated at $3.8 billion in 2024 and growing exponentially to touch $6 billion by 2030, driven by rising consumer aspirations and premiumization.

The &Done Indian haircare brand enters this explosive growth phase perfectly positioned. As Indian consumers become increasingly willing to pay premiums for products delivering genuine results, biotechnology-backed solutions offer compelling differentiation.

The &Done Indian haircare brand aims to challenge market leaders like L’Oréal and Hindustan Unilever by providing professional-grade solutions specifically designed for Indian hair types and weather conditions.

Ambitious Vision Beyond Current Success

The &Done Indian haircare brand plans expanding both domestically and internationally over the next three years with new product lines catering to diverse hair types and concerns.

The funding will accelerate team expansion and new product development for the &Done Indian haircare brand. From two people in a tiny room to a funded startup partnering with hundreds of salons represents just the beginning.

The journey from 25 rejections to ₹6.5 crore funding proves that Indian entrepreneurs solving genuine problems with scientific rigor can defeat entrenched global players. The &Done Indian haircare brand transforms personal frustration into market opportunity, demonstrating that when solutions are built specifically for Indian needs, consumers respond enthusiastically.

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