Tamil Nadu's tea retail chain Chai Kings, shoe care brand SHOEGR, and men’s apparel and accessories brand The Bear House have raised early-stage funding, the companies said on Monday.
Chai Kings
Chai Kings, the tea retail chain from Tamil Nadu, has raised $3 million (around Rs 26 crore) in its Series A funding round from AV Thomas and Co (AVT), a player in the packaged tea industry, as part of a strategic investment.
With this new investment, Chai Kings plans to accelerate its expansion, enhance its product offerings, and strengthen its supply chain. The funds will also be used to further drive technology-driven customer engagement and improve operational efficiencies, the company said in a statement.
Chai Kings expects to close FY25 with a revenue of Rs 48 crore and a positive EBITDA. The company aims to double its revenue over the next two years while maintaining profitability, the statement said.
As part of this funding round, The Chennai Angels (TCA), early backers of Chai Kings, will be making a partial exit.
Founded in 2016, Chai Kings currently operates 57 stores across Chennai, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore.
Mohali-based SHOEGR, a shoe care brand, has raised $100,000 in pre-seed funding from early-stage startup accelerator PedalStart.
The company plans to use the funds to expand and scale its product portfolio. It will also use the investment to increase its market reach and build brand awareness, the company said in a statement.
Co-founded by Saurabh Gupta, Anuj Sachdeva, and Ankit Roy, SHOEGR offers a range of shoe cleaning, protection, and storage solutions.
In addition to its website, SHOEGR sells its products on platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Ajio. Last October, SHOEGR reached Rs 50 lakh in monthly sales and is projected to surpass Rs 1 crore in monthly sales in FY26, the statement said.
Contemporary men’s apparel and accessories brand The Bear House has secured Rs 1 crore from Emcure Pharmaceuticals’ executive director, Namita Thapar, during Shark Tank Season 3. In exchange, Thapar has acquired a 1% stake in the company at Rs 100 crore valuation. The deal also includes an additional Rs 2 crore as debt at a 10% interest rate, repayable over five years.
The company was co-founded by Tanvi and Harsh Somaiya in 2017.
This year, the company has established an offline presence in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad and plans to expand into other tier I and II cities, including Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. It expects to surpass Rs 140 crore in net revenue this year, with over 40% YoY growth, according to a press statement.