Italian tech startup Shampora closes €3M in funding to let consumers create and buy customized personal care products online

In 2018, the global haircare market is estimated to be worth about $90 billion, according to the latest data from research firm Statista. Haircare is one of the least appealing verticals for technology startups. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to find affordable hair care products that meet their unique needs.

Enter Shampora, an Italian tech startup that provides a platform to let consumers create and buy tailor-made hair care products online, according to your hair characteristics and needs. The startup operates in Italy, France, and Spain.

Today, Shampora announced it has closed a new €3 million funding round. Backers include CDP Venture Capital Sgr, the partners of Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Finbeauty, Gisev Family Office, and LVenture Group.

Shampora was founded in 2018 by Manuel Corona, Irene Gullotta, and Mirco Peragine to create, produce and buy completely customized personal care products online. Directly from its website, users can take a quick questionnaire of about 30 specific questions about the customer’s hair, skin, lifestyle, habits, and needs. Shampora’s proprietary algorithm analyzes the data and creates a personalized list of ingredients, tailored to the person. Eventually, the information is processed by the system and sent to the laboratory for products that meet all the best quality standards.

In June 2018, Shampora completed the Acceleration Program of LVenture Group LUISS EnLabs. The startup is developing a platform that allows you to create tailor-made personal care products, initially focusing on hair products. A virtual assistant analyzes your data (hair characteristics, as well as the specific needs and lifestyle), and processed it in real-time through the proprietary algorithm, transmitting the information to the laboratory where shampoos, conditioners, and other hair treatments are created: each product is unique, your personal solution out of millions of possible combinations.

In just two years after its launch, the startup has sold over 100,000 customized products in Italy alone, significantly increasing sales in recent months, reaching peaks of 2,000 orders per day. Online shopping recently experienced a boom as an effect of the Covid-19 pandemic (from January to October there were almost 2 million new e-commerce customers, with an estimated sector’s annual growth of 26% ) and the customization of products is highly trending in the beauty market, thanks to new digital technologies.

“The digitalization of sales channels and the product customization are fundamental assets of the evolution of consumption all over the world, since e-commerce, during this health emergency we are experiencing, is often a necessity rather than an option. – comments Stefano Molino, Head of the Accelerators Fund of CDP Venture Capital SGR – Fondo Nazionale Innovazione – With this investment, we are happy to support, together with the other venture capital operators, the growth of an innovative company such as Shampora. Thanks to its technology, it has been able to seize the opportunities in a deeply changing market”.

“Shampora is much more than simple e-commerce: it has a competent and enthusiastic team, it relies on solid foundations, combining digital, research, product development, and industrial innovation. It is time to broaden the horizons and take the market. As IAG members, we are very pleased to provide the startup not only with our capital but also with our network’s different skills, experiences, and relationships, to support Shampora in its ambitious growth path”, said Roberto Serafini and Marco Graziani, who coordinated the investment of Italian Angels for Growth (IAG).

“Making tailor-made beauty products affordable for everyone is our challenge and we are very satisfied with the great enthusiasm of our partners and new investors. We want to strengthen our position as an end-to-end company of personalized hair products: right from the beginning research and development, manufacturing, direct-to-consumer marketing, and logistics are all part of an integrated process. We could even come all the way to each customer’s home to apply the products directly to their hair if you ask to do so” said Manuel Corona, CEO of Shampora.