Chemist at Play is a ceramide-based skincare and body-care brand owned by Innovist (formerly Onesto Labs), a Gurugram-based Indian personal care company.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what Chemist at Play does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

Chemist at Play in Brief

• What it is: Chemist at Play is an Indian Ceramide skincare and body care company based in Gurugram.
• Who it serves: online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners.
• Positions itself as India's first ceramides-based skincare brand
• Sells face serums for brightening, exfoliating, hydrating and acne control
• Strong body-care range with AHA body lotions, underarm serums and keratosis pilaris treatments
• Funding: Parent Innovist: $3.5 Mn pre-Series A plus earlier $2.5 Mn and $500K seed (parent's figures, brand has no separate figures).

Chemist at Play Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is Chemist at Play?

Chemist at Play operates in the Ceramide skincare and body care space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to Chemist at Play.

• Positions itself as India's first ceramides-based skincare brand
• Sells face serums for brightening, exfoliating, hydrating and acne control
• Strong body-care range with AHA body lotions, underarm serums and keratosis pilaris treatments
• Products described as vegan, paraben-free, silicone-free and cruelty-free
• Sold on the brand site, marketplaces and offline partner stores via the parent

The Origin Story of Chemist at Play

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, Vimal Bhola.
• Chemist at Play is a brand of Innovist, which was founded in 2018 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola; founders listed are the parent's, brand founders not separately named
• Innovist was earlier known as Onesto Labs
• One review site lists the brand as founded in 2021 in Mumbai while CB Insights places it in Gurugram, so reports differ on city
• Innovist also owns Bare Anatomy and SunScoop

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Ceramide skincare and body care sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• 2018: Parent company (Onesto Labs) founded
• 2019: Parent raised $500K seed from Sauce Venture Capital
• 2021: Brand reportedly launched
• Jun 2022: Parent Innovist raised $3.5 Mn pre-Series A led by Accel and 72 Ventures

Chemist at Play Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• Parent 2019: $500K seed from Sauce Venture Capital
• Parent earlier: $2.5 Mn from 72 Ventures, Ramakant Sharma, Suhail Sameer and Sauce Venture Capital
• Parent Jun 2022: $3.5 Mn pre-Series A led by Accel Partners and 72 Ventures with Manu Chandra, Arihant Patni, Kunal Shah and others
• A database lists Accel Atoms as investor in the brand

How Does Chemist at Play Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• Multi-brand personal care house selling via website, marketplaces and offline partners
• Active-ingredient led formulations with disclosed percentages
• Funds used for R&D, hiring, marketing and distribution (parent)

The Numbers: Chemist at Play Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• Revenue and profit not disclosed for the brand or parent in sources read
• Review site lists a large catalogue and prices from Rs 79 to Rs 4,584 with a median of Rs 678 (April 2026 scrape)

Market Opportunity for Chemist at Play

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising internet and smartphone use, growing online retail, digital payments, quick commerce and a younger consumer base that is open to new brands. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Indian ceramide and active-led skincare is crowded with D2C brands

Technology and Product at Chemist at Play

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are supply-chain reliability, brand trust, product quality, data on customer behaviour and the efficiency of fulfilment.

• Core capability: Public detail on Chemist at Play’s technology stack is limited beyond company-stated descriptions.
• Assessment lens: supply-chain reliability, brand trust, product quality, data on customer behaviour and the efficiency of fulfilment.

Team and Culture at Chemist at Play

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Parent led by founder and CEO Rohit Chawla

Chemist at Play Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for Chemist at Play

• No standalone financials
• Crowded active-skincare market
• Dependence on parent for funding and distribution
• Competition: low barriers to entry and large marketplaces make it hard for a brand to stay differentiated.
• Customer acquisition cost: paid marketing can become expensive and erode margins as a brand scales.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations.

Chemist at Play Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• Growth tied to Innovist's multi-brand distribution push
• Key indicators: repeat purchase rate, average order value, gross margin, contribution margin and customer acquisition cost.
• Funding position: Whether Chemist at Play can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations.

Industry Context: Where Chemist at Play Fits

India's consumer market is large, young and increasingly online. Rising smartphone and internet use, digital payments and faster delivery have helped direct-to-consumer brands, marketplaces and quick-commerce platforms reach customers who once relied on local shops. Established companies, marketplaces and new brands now compete for the same shoppers.

Success in consumer businesses usually depends on a clear brand promise, repeat customers and healthy unit economics, not on sales volume alone. Companies that control quality, understand customer needs and manage marketing costs tend to build more durable brands than those that grow mainly by discounting.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for Chemist at Play

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for Chemist at Play.

Bull case

• A growing base of online shoppers expands the potential market.
• Strong brands can earn repeat purchases and pricing power.
• Distribution through marketplaces, quick commerce and stores widens reach.

Bear case

• Heavy competition and discounting can hurt margins.
• Rising marketing costs can slow profitable growth.
• Supply-chain or quality problems can quickly damage trust.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from Chemist at Play

Studying a company in the Ceramide skincare and body care space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about Chemist at Play.

• A clear brand identity and consistent product quality matter more than short-term sales spikes.
• Repeat customers lower acquisition costs and make growth more profitable.
• Controlling the supply chain helps protect quality and margins as volumes grow.
• Selling across several channels, such as own website, marketplaces, quick commerce and stores, reduces dependence on one platform.
• Healthy contribution margins are a better sign of progress than revenue growth alone.

How to Evaluate Chemist at Play as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can Chemist at Play name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

Chemist at Play is part of India’s growing Ceramide skincare and body care ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

Chemist at Play FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Chemist at Play?

Chemist at Play is a ceramide-based skincare and body-care brand owned by Innovist (formerly Onesto Labs), a Gurugram-based Indian personal care company. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded Chemist at Play?

Chemist at Play was founded by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, Vimal Bhola, and the company reports a founding year of 2021 (one review site; not confirmed elsewhere).

How much funding has Chemist at Play raised?

Parent Innovist: $3.5 Mn pre-Series A plus earlier $2.5 Mn and $500K seed (parent's figures, brand has no separate figures). Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does Chemist at Play make money?

Chemist at Play earns revenue from its Ceramide skincare and body care products and services sold to online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of Chemist at Play?

Reported rivals include Deconstruct, Conscious Chemist, Mintree, SUGAR Cosmetics. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for Chemist at Play?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and large marketplaces make it hard for a brand to stay differentiated, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations. This is educational content, not investment advice.

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Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.