Homegrown beer brand Proost Beer, men’s fashion marketplace Barcelona and flavoured sparkling water brand Polka Pop have raised early-stage funding, the companies said.
Delhi-based beer brand Proost Beer on Thursday said it has secured Rs 8.5 crore ($1.1 million) in a mix of debt and equity funding round.
The round saw participation from Mumbai Angels, Hyderabad Angels, Speed Fund, GetVantage and Finvolve, with a clutch of angel investors.
Proost Beer was one of the startups to have featured in Shark Tank India, a reality show where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas.
The fresh capital will be used by the brand to expand its production capacity, venture into new markets and fulfil its working capital requirements.
Founded in 2017, Proost Beer uses high-quality, locally as well as globally sourced raw materials to add to the quality of its brews, it said in a statement.
“The recent investment from existing and new investors indicates their trust and confidence in our business approach and strategy. This latest investment is part of a larger fundraising plan and will enable us to expand our production capacity and penetrate new states,” said Vijay P Sharma, co-founder of Proost Beer.
Initial public offering (IPO)-bound menswear brand Barcelona has raised Rs 5 crore (around $ 610,000) as a part of its debt funding round from GetVantage.
The Ahmedabad-based startup will deploy the fresh to launch close to 50 outlets across the country and in scaling up its marketing efforts.
Founded in 2015 by Jaimin Gupta, Barcelona claims to be India’s one of the largest and fastest-growing branded apparel brands in the retail sector for men’s wear. It has over 130 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in over 70 cities in the country and also operates a B2B app to create a single brand to retailer channel.
“Fortunately, revenue-based finance in India is gaining popularity and helping SMEs like us grow exponentially. We have seen a massive spurt in our business after raising funds from GetVantage,” said Gupta.
Flavoured sparkling water brand Polka Pop has raised an undisclosed pre-seed capital from a host of angel investors including Atishe Chordia, founder of Doodleblue Innovations, Parasar Sarma, a former growth leader at Wakefit and Senthil Natarajan, managing partner at Kovai Pazhamudir, among others.
The fresh funds will be used to scale up Polka Pop’s monthly sale volume of bottles.
Launched in 2021 by Gaurav Khemka, the startup claims that it currently sells over 40,000 bottles a month and has presence across quick commerce platforms such as Swiggy, Zepto and BlinkIt.
“The shift towards leading a healthier & better life is constant. We have seen some of the largest brands in the world built on this. However, the current Indian beverage shelf, including ’diet’ drinks, comes with long-term health concerns. At Polka Pop, we are working on building a clean beverage brand where taste and health go hand-in-hand,” said Khemka.
