Yoga and wellness startup Sarva has raised Rs 20 crore ($2.8 million) in its first institutional round of funding led by consumer-focused venture capital firm Fireside Ventures.
The company will use the capital to double its retail footprint in the next 12 months and launch an integrated digital service, as per a press statement. The company has identified Mumbai and Bengaluru as its key expansion markets.
Sarva, which is operated by Zorba Renaissance Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Sarvesh Shashi in March 2016. It has 91 yoga and wellness studios in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. It aims to have 500 studios in about 15 cities in the country.
The company also aims to launch its digital offerings in mindfulness music, guided meditation and interactive fitness segments by the end of this year. It wants to have 100 million customers on its digital platform by 2022.
Sarva had earlier this year raised an undisclosed amount in funding from a clutch of investors including global pop artist Jennifer Lopez and Mark Mastrov, founder of fitness firm 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc.
The company had posted net sales of Rs 8.4 crore for 2017-18 as against Rs 1.7 crore the year before, as per VCCEdge, the data and research platform of Mosaic Digital.
Sarva competes with the likes of Cure Fit Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. The health and fitness company is the most heavily funded startup in the country. Cure Fit was started by Myntra co-founder Mukesh Bansal and former Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori in 2017. It is reportedly in talks with Singapore state investment firm Temasek to raise $100 million.
Fireside Ventures was founded in 2017 by Kanwaljit Singh, who earlier co-founded venture capital firm Helion Venture Partners where he primarily managed investments in consumer companies.
The venture capital firm recently marked the first close of its second fund that has a target corpus of $100 million. Fireside has invested across segments including personal care, processed foods, lifestyle and home products. Its portfolio includes Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, Bombay Shaving Co., Mamaearth and Vahdam Teas.
