1908 e-ventures, which runs clean beauty platform, Sublime Life, on Thursday said it has raised $2 million (around Rs 15 crore) funding from Roots Ventures, the family offices of Apar Industries and Umesh Sanghvi India and a host of high net-worth individuals (HNIs).
The round also saw participation from senior professionals from Reckitt, Google, IBM and Ador.
The platform will use the fresh funds to scale up and boost operations, besides bolstering 1908’s strategy to set up itself as a house of brands.
Nyuleaf Advisors and ALMT Legal Bangalore were advisors for the transaction.
“We will use these funds to grow our existing owned and exclusive brands portfolio, launch international brands and also acquire smaller direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands across BPC and wellness space, creating a unique platform with end-to-end capabilities,” said Deep Lalvani, CEO of 1908 e-ventures.
Roots Ventures is a sector-agnostic fund that focuses on investments across sectors and the company life cycle.
“India’s D2C ecosystem has evolved over the past five years and has seen emergence of unique product offerings in the beauty and wellness space. Rather than just a brand acquisition strategy, brands require a platform which enables R&D to distribution.
Leveraging the parent company’s existing capabilities in R&D and manufacturing, the Company intends to create a Portfolio of domestic and international brands and an ensemble of brand enabler services to be used as a plug and play offering for external brands for a fee,” said Japan Vyas, Managing Partner of Roots Ventures.
Habanero Foods, which makes ready-to-cook sauces, salsa and tortilla wraps, on Thursday, said it has raised an undisclosed sum from BlackSoil Capital.
The funds will be used to expand the platform’s footprint, augment product offerings and boost its D2C presence.
The company also aims to touch a revenue of Rs 200 crore ($28 million) over the next six years.
Habanero Foods claimed it has reported a 170% year-on-year growth in revenue in the fiscal year 2021, mainly due to ecommerce and its expanding footprint.
“We have witnessed a phenomenal spike in our revenues fuelled by consumers embracing digital channels in their daily lives. We will be launching new products over the next few months. Our aim is to make Habanero the household name for those looking to recreate the restaurant experience at home,” said Griffith David, Founder and MD of Habanero Foods.
Founded by Griffith David in 2012, Habanero Foods is spread across 19 Indian cities.
Ankur Bansal, Co-founder and Director at BlackSoil said, “Their unique business positioning and ability to survive through adversities like Covid-19 is what made Habanero Foods an attractive proposition for BlackSoil. We are optimistic that our debt capital will help take their businesses to the next level.
