Sixth Sense Retail Pvt Ltd, which runs Wiggles.in, a direct-to-consumer petcare brand, on Thursday said it has raised $5.5 million (around Rs 41 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Anthill Ventures.
The round also saw participation from Panthera Peak Ventures and investors like Varun Alagh, founder of Mamaearth, Nikhil Bhandarkar, Ubiquity Capital, Nachikhet Deshpande, COO of L&T Infotech.
Siddharth Sikchi, promoter of Clean Science and Technology, Nitin Chandel, ex-Microsoft & Visa, Rahul Rathi, promoter of Sudarshan Chemicals, and Abhay Amrite, partner at IIFL Wealth, among others also took part in the round.
The company said the fresh infusion of funds will enable the brand to increase its investment in research and development. A part of the funds will also help Wiggles.in deepen its geographical footprint and presence in India. The company aims to launch its services in at least two new markets by FY22.
Founded in 2018 by Anushka Iyer, Rajh Iyer & Venkat Mahadevan, Wiggle.in has over 42 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across food, treats, supplements, medicines, as well as petcare services such as dog boarding, the vet on call, grooming, training, online vet consultations, behavioral & diet consultations.
Wiggles.in has also launched products such as Wiggles Instant Pet Sanitizer, CannaPawTM, StripzyTM.
“Over the last 3 years, our bond with pets and pet parents has only strengthened and this has given us a deeper insight and understanding into the needs of pets and their parents. Leveraging these learnings and insights, we have been able to introduce products that filled grey spaces and created new categories. Products like our Instant Pet Sanitizer, CannaPaw, Dentapet, Stripzy, Wet Food, Cocotail, Hemp Seed Oil are loved by pet parents across India,” founder and CEO, Anushka Iyer, said.
“With the new infusion of funds, we will continue to invest in research and dial-up our offerings that will further add value to the pet care ecosystem,” she added.
There have been a few deals in the pet care space.
This week, direct to consumer (D2C) personal care brand Bella Vita Organic acquired pet wellness firm Petveda.
In August, Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) raised Rs 277 crore ($37 million) in a Series A funding round led by Verlinvest and Sequoia Capital India.
Earlier this month, VCCircle reported that consumer-focused venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures is in talks to invest in dog food company Dogsee Chew.
