India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025, has grown exponentially in the last few years
Fashion startups account for the largest share in the D2C segment as the country’s fashion industry has the highest potential and is expected to grow to $43.2 Bn by 2025
As of 2021, India had more than 800 D2C startups operating in India
India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025, has grown exponentially in the last few years. Several factors including the Covid pandemic, higher internet penetration, growth of digital infrastructure and rise in the number of millennials, among others, have shored up the D2C brands.
As of 2021, India had more than 800 D2C startups operating in the country. Of this, fashion or clothing startups accounted for the largest share as the country’s fashion industry has the highest potential and is expected to grow to $43.2 Bn by 2025, according to an Inc42 report.
Some of the emerging D2C brands including Mamaearth, CaratLane and Nua merely took a couple of years to reach INR 100 Cr revenue mark. This is a testament to the success of D2C brands in the country.
Let’s take a look at some of the popular D2C brands in the country.
The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian D2C startups in alphabetical order.
Atomberg
Set up in 2012 by Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, Atomberg manufactures energy-efficient fans and allied equipment, along with mixer grinders. Its product portfolio includes pedestal, wall and ceiling fans, among others.
In 2021, Deepika Padukone-led family office KA Enterprises invested in Atomberg’s Series B funding round. So far, the startup has raised a total of $41.4 Mn from investors. Besides Padukone, its cap table also includes A91 Partners, Survam Partners, Trifecta Capital, and Whiteboard Capital Fund, among others.
During the time of its last fundraising, the startup said to have 400 service centres throughout India and clocked an annual revenue rate of INR 300 Cr.
Bewakoof
Founded in 2012 by Prabhkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot, Bewakoof sells a wide variety of clothes, stationery items, footwear and mobile accessories on its website. The D2C brand also sells a host of merchandise clothes and accessories in partnership with Marvel, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Star Wars, Disney, DC and Looney Tunes.
In August 2021, it secured $8.09 Mn in its Pre-Series B funding round thereby, taking its total funding to INR 23.6 Mn to date. Its cap table includes IvyCap Ventures, Spring Marketing Capital, Investcorp and Klub-led accelr8 fund, among others.
At the time of its last fundraising activity, it was said to have sold more than 1 Cr products and served 60 Lakh customers. It also aimed to record INR 2000 Cr in sales by 2025.
BlissClub
Set up in 2020 by Minu Margeret, BlissClub sells a host of women’s activewear including bottom wear, sports bras, tops, tees and co-ords, among others. Under the BlissQueen Royalty Program, the D2C startup offers reward points to its loyal customers.
In May, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round. It has raised a total funding of $17.25 Mn till date.
The startup claims to have grown its sales by 25X over the last year. It aims to attain an annualised revenue of INR 100 Cr by the end of 2022.
Eight Roads Ventures, Elevation Capital, Swiggy’ Sriharsha Majety, Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh, Licious’ Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, SoftBank’s Munish Varma and Sumer Juneja, Shopify’s Brennan Loh are among its investors.
Bluestone
Set up in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, Bluestone offers more than 8000 jewellery designs in rings, pendants and other allied products. It follows an omnichannel approach to sell its products.
In March this year, the D2C jewellery brand secured $30 Mn from Hero Enterprise’s Sunil Kant Munjal and other investors at a post-money valuation of $410 Mn. So far, it has raised $87.8 Mn from investors including Ratan Tata, Accel, IvyCap, Saama Capital, Kalaari and Iron Pillar, among others.
In the financial year 2020-21, it narrowed its consolidated losses by nearly 43% to INR 13.8 Cr. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations grew by 5% year-on-year to INR 269 Cr in the corresponding period.
boAt
Launched in 2016 by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, boAt is an audio direct-to-consumer brand that manufactures a host of audio products such as earphones, headphones and speakers, among others. It retails these products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In May, boAt received SEBI’s approval for INR 2000 Cr IPO. According to its DRHP, it would raise up to INR 180 Cr prior to its IPO.
So far, boAt has raised a total of $115.8 Mn from investors including Warburg Pincus, InnoVen Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and Fireside Ventures, among others.
In the financial year 2020-21, its profit grew by nearly 61% to INR 78.6 Cr while its earnings from operations widened to INR 1,531 Cr.
Bombay Shirt Company
Founded in 2012 by Akshay Narvekar, Bombay Shirt Company is an online clothing brand. The startup sells bespoke apparels for men and women. It presently leads four brands–Bombay Shirt Company, cityof_, Pause and Korra. It has a presence in India, Dubai and New York.
In 2019, the Mumbai-based clothing startup reportedly raised $9 Mn in its Series B funding round. It has raised a total of $11 Mn funding to date.
Its cap table includes venture capital firm Lightbox and individual investors Amit Patni and Arihant Patni.
Bombay Shaving Compan
Founded in 2016, Bombay Shaving Company initially started as a men-focussed D2C personal care brand but later started offering a range of products in hair removal and hair care categories. It has a portfolio of over 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) including shaving regimens, trimmers, beard products, razors for women, wax strips, hair removal creams, and other allied personal care products.
Earlier this year, it secured INR 30 Cr in its then-ongoing Series C funding round. So far, it has a total of $45.6 Mn funding. It counts Gulf Islamic Investments, Malabar Investments, Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC and Reckitt Benckiser as its investors.
It claims to have served over 3 Mn customers till date and has clocked INR 150 Cr annual revenue rate, expanding 35% on quarter-on-quarter basis.
CaratLane
Founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane offers a host of jewellery, right from bracelets to kids-focussed pendants to customised jewelleries. It retails its products through an omnichannel marketing strategy.
In 2019, Tata Group-led Titan Company infused INR 99.9 Cr in CaratLane thereby, increasing its stakeholding to 66.39% in the startup.
So far, the Chennai-based jewellery brand has secured $31Mn in aggregate from investors.
In the financial year 2020-21, it reported earrings from operations at INR 723 Cr while its profit stood at INR 1.6 Cr, according to Tofler.
Chaayos
Founded in 2012 by Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma, Chaayos sells a wide variety of tea and packaged food products. It sells tea at its physical stores while other packaged food products are sold via ecommerce marketplaces and physical stores.
In June, it secured $53 Mn in its Series C funding round from investors including Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Ventures. It has raised $45 Mn funding to date.
It currently aims to set up an additional 100 physical retail stores by the end of the present year.
Chai Point
Set up in 2010 by Amuleek Singh Bijral and Professor Tarun Khanna, Chai Point follows an omnichannel approach to sell tea varieties and other snacks. It opened its first retail store in 2010 followed by introducing home delivery of its flagship teas in 2014 and rolling out tea and coffee vending machines in 2016.
In 2018, the D2C F&B brand secured $20 Mn in its Series C funding round. So far, it has raised $36 Mn funding from investors including Paragon Partners, Eight Roads, Saama Capital and DSG.
In the financial year 2020-21, it reported revenues from operations at INR 55.64 Cr and loss after tax stood at INR 78.49 Cr, according to Tofler.
Chumbak
Founded in 2010 by husband-wife duo Vivek Prabhakar and Shubhra Chadda, Chumbak is a home and lifestyle brand that sells furniture, home decor items, jewellery and footwear, among others. It has an omnichannel presence across India, particularly Tier-1 cities.
In 2019, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured INR 7.39 Cr in its Pre-Series E funding round from Gaja Capital Fund. So far, it has bagged $23.5 Mn funding from investors.
It looks to set up over 50 physical retail stores across India and further aims to have more than 100 retail stores in the country in the next two to three years.
Clovia
Founded in 2013 by Suman Choudhary and husband-wife duo Neha Kant and Pankaj Vermani, Clovia is a women’s lingerie brand that offers over 3,500 intimate wear styles. Recently, it has added Soumya Kant and Abhay Batra to its founding team.
In March, Reliance Retail invested INR 950 Cr in Clovia’s parent company Purple Panda Fashions for an 89% stakeholding in the startup. So far, Clovia has raised $24.7 Mn from investors.
Its cap table includes AT Capital, IvyCap Ventures, Singularity Ventures and Ravi Dhariwal, Ex-CEO of Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd, among others.
Country Delight
Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight sources milk and other food products such as ghee, cottage cheese, fruits and vegetables from farmers and delivers them to customers’ doorstep.
In May, it secured $108 Mn in its Series D funding round from Venturi Partners, Temasek, SWC Global, Trifecta Capital and a slew of other investors. So far, it has raised a total of $108 Mn in funding.
It claims to have grown 10x in the past three years and has served more than 1.5 Mn customers across the country. It further asserts to be delivering over 8 Bn orders every month across 11 Indian states.
Its cap table includes Matrix Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Elevation Capital, and IIFL PE Fund, among others.
Curefoods
Founded in 2020 by Ankit Nagori, Curefoods is a cloud kitchen aggregator that houses several brands–EatFit, Sharief Bhai, Aligarh House Biryani and CakeZone, to name a few. It manages over 150 cloud kitchens in 15 Indian cities.
Recently, Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi invested into Curefoods and also, became the brand ambassador of its sub-brand CakeZone.
In January, it acquired five D2C food brands and further aims to acquire 35 brands by the end of the present year.
Its cap table includes Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Accel Partners, Sixteenth Street Capital, Iron Pillar and Bollywood Actor Varun Dhawan, among others.
In the financial year 2021, it reported earnings from operations at INR 1.96 Cr while its consolidated losses were INR 1.33 Cr, according to Tofler.
DaMENSCH
Founded in 2018 by Anurag Saboo and Gaurav Pushkar, DaMENSCH is a men’s clothing brand that sells a range of clothing styles such as odour-cancelling men’s underwear, polo-t-shirts, t-shirts, hoodies, joggers, tank tops, and chino shorts, among others.
In February 2022, it raised $16.4 Mn from A91 Partners, Matrix Partners, Whiteboard Venture Partners, and Saama Capital. So far, it has raised a total of $23.1 Mn from investors.
In the financial year 2021, it reported losses of INR 5.8 Cr whilst its revenue from operations stood at INR 22 Cr, as per Tofler.
Dogsee Chew
Founded in 2015 by Bhupendra Khanal and Sneh Sharma, the Bengaluru-based pet food startup offers vegetarian dog treats that are prepared from yak milk, sourced from villagers residing in Nepal, Sikkim, and Darjeeling.
Dogsee Chew raised $6.7 Mn in its Series A funding round from Mankind Pharma and Sixth Sense Ventures earlier this year. In total, the startup has raised funding of $13.9 Mn so far.
It claims to be the fourth-largest pet food exporter in India, and currently operates in more than 30 countries.
Dr. Vaidya’s
Founded in 2016 by Arjun Vaidya, Dr. Vaidya’s is an ayurvedic products startup. It claims to sell over 100 FDA-certified products and has a manufacturing facility in Silvassa, Mumbai. Its offerings include LIVitup, HERBOfit, Chakaash.
The Mumbai-based startup also manufactures products to cure chronic ailments such as diabetes, asthma and arthritis, among others. It sells products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
In 2021, the startup reportedly got acquired by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s venture capital arm for $6.9 Mn. Following this, its valuation soared to nearly INR 144 Cr.
Earth Rhythm
Founded in October 2020 by Harini Sivakumar, Earth Rhythm is a beauty and personal care brand that sells a host of haircare, skincare and bodycare products. It also sells zero-waste products including toothbrushes, vanity bags, combs and soap dishes, among others.
The Delhi NCR-based claims to have 160 stock-keeping units (SKUs) and has served over 150K users to date. It has raised a total of $1.2 Mn funding from Anicut Capital. It aims to reduce the carbon footprint and at the same time, use sustainable ingredients in making its products.
In the financial year 2021-22, it posted earnings from operations at INR 6 Cr. It asserts to have witnessed a 3x rise in its customer orders since its inception. In January this year, it received 15K orders.
FableStreet
Founded in 2016 by Ayushi Gudwani, FableStreet is a women-focussed clothing brand. It offers readymade as well as bespoke clothes for female working professionals. It claims to use a three-body measurement algorithm for creating customised apparels.
In 2019, it raised $2.95 Mn in its Series A funding round. Prior to that, it secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2017.
Its cap table includes Fireside Ventures, Pradeep Parameswaran from Uber India and South Asia, Dilip Khandelwal from Deutsche Bank, Suhail Sameer from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and Fusiontech Ventures, among others.
FabAlley
FabAlley, founded in 2012 by Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik, is a brand of High Street Essentials (HSE). It sells a wide range of women’s western apparel via online marketplaces, physical retail stores, multi brand outlets (MBOs), and its own website.
In May, FabAlley’s parent company HSE secured INR 40 Cr from Stride Ventures. So far, HSE has raised $14.02 Mn funding from investors including Elevational Capital, India Quotient, Dominor Holding, Trifecta Capital Advisors, SenseAI Venture, Baird Capital, and Institutional Venture Partners.
In the financial year 2020-21, FabAlley reported a profit of INR 27.5 Cr, while its revenue from operations stood at INR 105 Cr, according to Tofler.
Flistaa
Founded in 2021 by CA Harshvardhan Chhatbar, Flistaa is a beverage brand that offers premix beverages in sachets. It offers a wide range of Indian beverages such as street juices, milkshakes and sharbat, etc.
In December 2021, the Ahmedabad-based D2C startup reportedly received an undisclosed amount of investment from ah! Ventures’ First Gear Platform. So far, it has secured a funding of $32 Mn from investors.
Happilo
Founded in 2016 by Vikas Nahar, Happilo sells a host of healthy snacks such as nuts, dry fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks, among others, via its website and offline stores. It also offers an option to pay through EMIs.
In February, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand secured $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity. The startup then claimed that it had expanded over 4x in the previous 24 months. It also said that it was aiming for a revenue of INR 2,000 Cr over the next four years.
So far, Happilo has bagged a total funding of $38 Mn.
Heads Up For Tails
Founded in 2008 by Rashi Narag, Heads Up For Tails sells a wide range of pet products such as preservative-free pet treats, organic supplements, and orthopaedic beds. It aims to increase awareness among pet parents regarding the need for pet care and wellness.
In August 2021, the Delhi-based pet care brand secured $37 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital India. It had a headcount of 350 employees then. Back then, it was looking to launch new product offerings across India and expand its product portfolio in international markets.
The startup has raised $49 Mn in aggregate to date.
iD Fresh Food
Set up in 2005 by PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar and Noushad TA, iD Fresh Food offers a slew of ready-to-make food – dosa and idli batter, rice rava idli batter – in India as well as abroad.
In July, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup announced ESOPs worth INR 46 Cr for 27 employees. Prior to that, it raised $68 Mn in its Series D funding round thereby, accumulating a total funding of $104 Mn.
Currently, it is operating in more than 45 cities across the world such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others.
Its investors include NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital, Helion Ventures and Azim Premji.
Lahori
Lahori, founded in 2017 by Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna and Nikhil Doda, sells Indian beverages in four flavours – Zeera (cumin), Nimboo (lemon), Kacha Aam (raw mango) and Shikanji (lemonade) – across India.
Lahori’s parent company Archian Foods creates approximately 1 Mn bottles in its manufacturing facility that is certified by FSSAI, ISI, HACCP, RoHS and Make In India.
In January, the Punjab-based startup received its first institutional funding of $15 Mn from Verlinvest for a minority stake in it.
Lenskart
Founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhury, and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear brand. It has nearly 750 retail outlets in more than 175 cities. It claims to serve over 7 Mn customers annually.
In June, the Faridabad-based unicorn was said to be raising about $28.2 Mn from Avendus Future Leaders Fund II. As part of the fundraising, it allotted 1,053,882 Series I CCPS in exchange for $28.2 Mn funding.
So far, the unicorn has raised $827.1 Mn in funding from investors such as Chiratae Ventures, TPG, Premji Invest and Unilazer Ventures, among others.
It is looking to grow the size of its engineering team to 500 in the financial year 2022-23. The startup is also working on supply chain integration and automation.
Licious
Licious, founded in 2015 by Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, sells a wide range of meat and seafood products such as mutton, prawns and kebabs.
In March, the Bengaluru-based unicorn raised $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, Aman Gupta from boAt and Haresh Chawla from True North. So far, it has raised total funding of $488 Mn from investors.
In the fiscal year 2020-21, it reported an annual revenue rate at INR 1,000 Cr and had a customer base of over 2 Mn.
Mamaearth
Mamaearth, founded in 2016 by Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh, started as a baby care products brand, but later pivoted to become a personal care brand. Its product offerings include haircare, skincare and bodycare products.
In May, the D2C unicorn’s parent company Honasa Consumer acquired a majority stake in Dr. Sheth at a valuation of INR 28 Cr. Prior to that, it acquired BBLUNT for nearly INR 134 Cr in January and Momspresso for an undisclosed amount in December last year.
In May, the D2C startup also allotted equity shares worth $17.04 Mn as bonus shares to its 12 investors, including founders. The startup counts Fireside Ventures, Sequoia India, Rishabh Mariwala from Marico and Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal from Snapdeal among its investors.
mCaffeine
mCaffeine, founded in 2016 by Tarun Sharma, Mohit Jain, Saurabh Singhal, Vikas Lachhwani and Vaishali Gupta, sells a host of caffeine-based skin and hair care products ranging from soaps to scrubs to oil through its website and physical retail outlets.
In March, the D2C startup secured over $31 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Paragon Partners. Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, Sharrp Ventures, Amicus Capital Partners and RPSG Capital Ventures also participated in the round.
The startup has raised a total funding of $33.9 Mn till date.
It claims to have sold over 10 Mn products to date. It has 55 stock-keeping units and has served over 2.5 Mn customers so far.
Melorra
Founded in 2016 by Saroja Yeramilli, Melorra sells a wide variety of gold jewellery for women via its website and offline stores. It claims to have a presence in 718 districts and over 2,800 towns in the country.
In May, it raised $16 Mn in its Series D funding round from Axis Growth Avenues AIF-I, SRF Family Office, N+1 and a slew of existing investors. The startup has so far raised a funding of $66.9 Mn.
It claims to have grown by 200% CAGR in the last few years. It also said that it earned revenue of over INR 360 Cr and had an annual revenue rate of nearly $100 Mn in the financial year 2021-22.
It currently aims to record over $100 Mn of net revenue in the financial year 2022-23.
Minimalist
Founded in 2020 by Mohit and Rahul Yadav, the Jaipur-based D2C startup sells a host of skin care products ranging from serums to moisturisers to toners. It retails products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
Last year, Minimalist secured $15 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Unilever Ventures. A bunch of international investors also participated in the funding round.
During that time frame, it said to have gained over 1 Mn customers.
Mosaic Wellness
Mosaic Wellness, founded in 2020 by Revant Bhate and Dhyanesh Shah, sells men and women-focussed health and wellness products under the brands Manmatters and Bodywise. Both the brands offer telemedicine services along with medicines, supplements and other allied products.
The Mumbai-based D2C startup has built a content community for people to confer about their health and other related subjects.
In 2021, it secured $24 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India.
The startup then claimed to have an ARR of $14 Mn and said that it served over 100K customers on a monthly basis.
Mylo
Mylo, founded in 2018 by Vinit Garg, started as a community-based platform for new and expecting mothers and gradually turned into a personal care brand. Last year, it pivoted into a personal care startup offering over 100 stock-keeping units of ayurvedic products.
In April, Mylo secured $17 Mn in its Series B funding round led by W Health Ventures, ITC Ltd and Endiya Partners. Riverwalk Holdings, Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital also participated in the funding round.
The startup then said that it had sold over 7 Lakh units and shipped products to over 16,000 pin codes across the country via ecommerce marketplaces.
The D2C personal care startup has raised a funding of $24 Mn so far.
Noise
Founded in 2014 by Amit Khatri & Gaurav Khatri, Noise is a smartphone accessories and wearables brand. It sells products on its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Noise was reportedly acquired by Tata Group-led Titan Company. During the same time, Inc42 reported that Titan Company was mulling over acquiring the brand at a post-money valuation between INR 700 and INR 800 Cr.
Nua
Founded in 2017 by Ravi Ramachandran, Nua is a women-focussed wellness brand. Its offerings include sanitary pads, skin care and intimate hygiene products.
So far, it has raised $12.5 Mn in aggregate from the last four funding rounds. Its cap table includes Lightbox VC, Kae Capital and actor Deepika Padukone, among others.
It claims to have served more than 5 Mn customers so far. It further asserts to have 10 stock keeping units (SKUs) and witnessing 50% of its customer base revisiting its website.
Plum
Founded in 2013 by Shankar Prasad, Plum sells a wide variety of beauty products in skin care, hair care, personal care and makeup categories via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. It claims to operate nearly 1,000 assisted retail outlets and over 10K unassisted outlets throughout India.
In March, the D2C beauty brand secured $35 Mn in its Series C funding round from A91 Partners, Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital.
The startup at that time said that it had an annualised revenue of over INR 225 Cr and a monthly revenue of INR 19 Cr. It said it was aiming to double its revenue in the next 12 months.
Besides, it also said that it was targeting a run rate of INR 300 Cr over the next quarter and a net revenue between INR 370 and INR 400 Cr in the next fiscal year.
Rage Coffee
Founded in 2018 by Bharat Sethi, Rage Coffee sells a host of coffee-based products across India. Its products are certified by FDA, FSSAI, ISO and also, manufactured in a GMP’s facility. It claims to have a customer base of 210k and curated 85 prototypes of its products to date.
In March, this Delhi-based food and beverage D2C brand received an undisclosed investment from Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Prior to that, it secured nearly $5 Mn in its Series A funding round.
Its cap table includes Sixth Sense Ventures, Refex Capital and Keiretsu Forum Chenna.
Last year, it was said to have over 2500 touch points across India via a network of four CFAs and over 30 distributors.
Soothe Healthcare
Set up in 2012 by Sahil Dharia, Soothe Healthcare sells sanitary napkin products and baby diapers under the brand Paree and Super Cute, respectively. It retails its products through various distribution channels including direct selling and selling through intermediaries.
In 2021, Soothe Healthcare secured $17.5 Mn in its Series C round from A91 Partners. With the funding round, the startup’s cumulative fund raise reached $31.3 Mn.
Symphony International Holdings, Sixth Sense Ventures and badminton player Saina Nehwal are among its investors.
SUGAR Cosmetics
SUGAR Cosmetics, founded in 2015 by Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee, is an omnichannel D2C brand that sells products in lips, skin, eyes and nail care categories. It claims to operate over 40K retail outlets in over 550 Indian cities.
In May, the Mumbai-based D2C brand closed its $50 Mn Series D fundraising round led by L Catterton’s Asia fund. Existing investors A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient also participated in the funding round.
The startup has so far raised a cumulative funding of $73 Mn from investors.
In the financial year 2020-21, it reported a narrowing of its loss to INR 21 Cr, while revenue from operations stood at INR 126.3 Cr.
TenderCuts
Founded in 2016 by Nishanth Chandran, TenderCuts sells a wide variety of meat and seafood products such as chicken, mutton, eggs and frozen food products via its website and offline stores.
In 2021, it claimed to have secured nearly $4 Mn in debt funding from Stride Ventures. It has raised a total of $19 Mn from investors – Stride Ventures, Paragon Partners, Nabventures – so far.
TenderCuts operates 50 retail stores in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The Moms Co
The Moms Co, founded in 2016 by Malika Sadani, sells organic products for expecting mothers and babies in face, hair, pregnancy, and body care categories. It claims to have catered to more than 2 Mn customers since its inception.
In 2021, the Delhi-based D2C brand was acquired by beauty unicorn Good Glamm Group. As part of the acquisition, The Moms Co founder joined Good Glamm Group to accelerate the brand’s presence in domestic as well as international markets.
At that time, the brand claimed to have more than 45 stock-keeping units across categories. It also said it was planning to ramp up its retail presence in the country by setting up over 20K retail stores in the future.
The Souled Store
Founded in 2013 by Vedang Patel, Harsh Lal, Aditya Sharma and Rohin Samtaney, The Souled Store is a casual wear and pop-culture D2C startup. It is said to have over 180 licenses–Disney, Warner Bros, WWE, and Viacom18, to name a few.
In March, the Mumbai-based startup secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Sara Ali Khan thus, making her its brand ambassador. Prior to that, it raised INR 75 Cr in its Series B funding round a year back.
Its cap table includes Elevation Capital, Sahil Barua from Delhivery, Gunjan Soni from Zalora, Revant Bhate from Mosaic Wellness and Ramakant Sharma from Livspace, among others. Its product offerings include top wear, bottom wear, innerwear and activewear.
Vahdam Teas
Vahdam, founded in 2015 by Bala Sarda, is an online tea brand. It sells its products in domestic as well as international markets.
In September 2021, Vahdam reportedly secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D round led by IIFL AMC’s PE Fund. After the round, the startup claimed that it had raised INR 290 Cr in total funding from investors.
In the financial year 2020-21, it clocked a net revenue of over INR 160 Cr and grew 110% year-on-year (YoY).
The startup aims to clock a net revenue of INR 500 Cr in the next three years.
Voylla
Voylla, founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi, is an online artificial and silver jewellery brand. It sells jewellery and other allied products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In 2021, Voylla was acquired by Thrasio-style D2C aggregator GOAT Brand Labs. Besides Voylla, GOAT Brand Labs also acquired 14 other brands, including Label Life, trueBrowns & Abhishti, Frangipani, Neemli and Nutriglow, among others.
Prior to the acquisition, Voylla had raised a total of $16.9 Mn funding in Series B and Series A funding rounds. Its cap table includes Peepul Capital, Snow Leopard Technology Ventures and a slew of other angel investors.
Wakefit
Founded in 2016 by Ankit Garg and Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Wakefit sells a host of sleep and home decor products such as mattresses, pillows, bed frames, comforter, and back cushions, among others. It sells these products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
The Bengaluru-based startup manufactures products at its facilities in Bengaluru, Jodhpur and Delhi. It claims to have served over 8 Lakh customers since its inception. It operates 22 experience stores in 22 Indian cities.
Wakefit has raised a total funding of $59 Mn so far. Its cap table includes Sequoia Capital, Verlinvest and SIG.
Wellversed
Founded in 2018 by Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth and Ripunjay Chachan, Wellversed is a health and wellness brand. Its products are sold via its website and ecommerce marketplaces.
In the past three years, it acquired three startups – Sportfit, Rimoy Naturals and Ketofy to strengthen its house of brands. It claims to have offered over 12K health plans for weight loss, skin nourishment and other ailments to customers.
It has raised a total of $3.1 Mn funding from investors Mensa Brands, GlobalBees, GOAT Brand Labs and Patanjali.
In the financial year 2021, it reported earrings from operations at INR 20 Cr.
Wingreens Farms
Founded in 2011 by Anju Srivastava and Arun Srivastava, Wingreens Farms sells packaged food products such as sauces and spreads, spice mixes, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, and protein shakes, among others. It sells these products via its website and offline distribution network in more than 200 Indian cities.
In April, the D2C food brand was said to be acquiring Postcard’s parent company Dharmya Business Ventures for about $2.1 Mn in a cash and share swap deal.
In December 2021, it raised $17 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Investcorp. So far, it has secured a total funding of $47.1 Mn from investors.
Wonderchef
Wonderchef, founded in 2009 by Ravi Saxena and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, offers cookware, kitchen appliances, bakeware, and other allied culinary tools. It claims to operate 22 exclusive retail outlets and have served over 3 Cr customers so far.
In 2021, it secured INR 150 Cr in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. Godrej Family Office, Malpani Group, and other high-net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.
It claims to have over 500 stock keeping units and a presence in India, the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, among others. It is looking to increase the count of its exclusive outlets to 100 by 2025.
Wooden Street
Wooden Street, founded in 2015 by Lokendra Ranawat, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Virendra Ranawat and Vikas Baheti, sells furniture and home decor products such as modular furniture, kitchen and wardrobe, lighting and office furniture, among others, via its website.
It operates over 50 experience stores and has served over 15 Lakh customers in more than 300 Indian cities. It has several manufacturing facilities and R&D units in the country.
In April, it secured around $30 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Westbridge Capital. Wooden Street then claimed that i grew its business 100% year-on-year over the previous three years, and aimed to attain a turnover of INR 600 Cr in the next two years.
Wow Skin Science
Founded in 2014 by Manish Chowdhary and Karan Chowdhary, WOW Skin Science is a beauty and personal care brand. It sells a host of skincare, haircare, bodycare and nutraceuticals products via its website. It claims to have 300 SKUs and operates 2500 retail stores in the US.
In June, the Bengaluru-based D2C skincare brand secured $48.02 Mn from Singapore-based GIC at a post-money valuation of $280 Mn. Prior to that, it raised $50 Mn from ChrysCapital.
In the financial year 2021-22, it reported losses of INR 8.8 Cr while its expenses grew by 17X year-on-year to INR 108.6 Cr.
Zivame
Zivame, founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, sells lingerie, activewear, shapewear and sleepwear via its website and offline retail stores.
The startup had earlier claimed that nearly 42% of its sales come from Tier-2 and 3 cities of India.
In 2020, Reliance Brands acquired a 15% stake in Zivame. Following this, reports said that the retail subsidiary of Reliance Industries was planning to acquire 100% stake in Zivame for $160 Mn.
Zivame claims to have built an offline presence in more than 30 retail stores and more than 800 partner stores across the country.