Chennai-based skincare brand CHOSEN, founded by dermatologist Renita Rajan, has raised an undisclosed amount in an extended Series A funding round from Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the founders of nutraceutical brand Wellbeing Nutrition.
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The startup said the funding will be used to strengthen its R&D and expand its formulation pipeline across topical skincare and nutraceuticals, with a focus on clinical validation and dermatological research.
It also plans to set up a Centre of Excellence that brings dermatologists into product development and research, and to grow its R&D, brand and growth teams.
The extension follows a $5 million Series A round in May, led by Fireside Ventures. BOLD, the corporate venture capital fund of L’Oréal, and Alkemi Growth Capital also took part.
Before that, CHOSEN raised $1.2 million in an angel round in 2024. It has also received a $100,000 equity-free grant from Peak XV Partners through its SPARK programme for women entrepreneurs.
CHOSEN was founded in 2020 by Rajan, a cosmetic dermatologist with about two decades of clinical experience who also runs the RENDER skin and hair clinic in Chennai.
According to the startup, its formulations grew out of in-clinic protocols developed at RENDER, and Rajan is the author of a book titled Sunscreens for Skin of Colour.
The brand makes products for melanin-rich Indian skin. Its approach draws on the science of the exposome, which studies how environmental and lifestyle factors such as heat, humidity, pollution and stress affect the skin. It focuses on four areas of ageing: pigmentation, skin texture, facial contour and hair ageing.
The startup follows what its lead investor calls a clinic-to-consumer model. Patients start treatment under a dermatologist’s guidance and then continue on their own by buying from CHOSEN’s online store.
At the time of the May round, the startup said its brand was built on insights from more than 150,000 consultations, that nearly 95% of its online sales came through its own platform, and that around 70% of its revenue came from repeat customers, mostly women aged 30 to 50.
Its portfolio now spans more than 50 products across skincare, haircare, body care and nutraceuticals, and its products are prescribed by more than 2,000 doctors. Its best-known products include the SAFESCREEN NEXGEN sunscreen and the CHOSEN Sculpt serum.
CHOSEN sells through its own website and on platforms including Amazon, Myntra, Swiggy, FirstClub and Distacart. It delivers to most serviceable pin codes in India, and its priority markets are Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa.
It also ships to the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, the UAE, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Thailand. In May, the startup said it was preparing to expand into “skin of colour” markets in Latin America and East Asia.
