Kitchen appliances and cookware firm co-promoted by celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Wonderchef has raised $5 million from Zurich-headquartered investment firm Capvent with the investment firm committing another tranche of a similar amount in future, a company spokesperson told VCCircle.
“We plan to invest as much as Rs 30 crore in manufacturing and marketing to create a powerful brand in kitchen appliances,†Ravi Saxena, co-founder and managing director, Wonderchef Home Appliances Pvt Ltd, said.
The funds will be utilised for building sharper brand focus, reinforcement of the design team and increasing the distribution network. The firm also plans to set up an integrated manufacturing unit in the country for high-end cooking appliances.
“We love what the brand has achieved in a relatively short period of time and we would do everything to help make it the leading brand of quality kitchenware in India,†said Varun Sood, managing partner of Capvent.
Wonderchef was founded by Saxena, an electronics engineer and IIM Ahmedabad grad, who has previously been involved with brands such as Sodexo Vouchers, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, FunCity gaming zone and others.
He joined hands with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor in 2006 to take his restaurant brands global. Three years later they launched Wonderchef, a brand positioned for healthy cooking. The brand sells across 6,000 towns and cities through retail, television marketing, internet and direct marketing via more than 25,000 self-employed women.
The kitchen appliance and cookware industry is dominated by brands such Hawkins and Prestige, among others.
In the sector, listed firms Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances counts Reliance Capitals’ PE arm as a shareholder while Cartica Capital had backed TTK Prestige.
For Capvent, this is the first known India deal in two years, as per VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle. It has previously invested in firms like Hangyo Ice Creams, water & air purifier firm Morf India, lifestyle related direct marketing firm B.Lab, Ratnakar Bank and independent multi-brand car servicing firm Carnation Auto. It operates out of offices in India, China and Switzerland.
Equirus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Wonderchef for the transaction.