UpScalio, a Thrasio-style venture that aggregates and invests in e-commerce brands, on Tuesday said it has backed furniture brand Green Soul. The investment marks UpScalio's entry into the furniture segment.
Established by Ravi Khushwani in 2016, Green Soul claims to be amongst Amazon and Flipkart’s highly rated and most-reviewed brands.
The company said it has outpaced the growth of its category with over 100,000 chairs sold in the last twelve months. Green Soul has achieved Rs 100 crore in annual revenue rate, it said without elaborating.
UpScalio said it has created a strategic roadmap, aiming to continue the brand’s march momentum. The company plans to further expand in the gaming chairs vertical, while also focusing on the office chairs category.
The company said it plans to grow the work from home and gaming chair company by 5-10X in the next few years.
"At UpScalio, we are committed to investing in high-growth, digital-first brands and profitably scaling them 5-10x through capital assistance and operational excellence. As a category leader, Green Soul is an incredible addition to the UpScalio portfolio. We are highly impressed with Ravi’s depth of knowledge of this category and his desire to provide the best customer experience. Together, we’re perfectly poised to bring the ergonomic revolution in India,” Gautam Kshatriya, co-founder and CEO of UpScalio, said.
Veda Corporate advised the company on this transaction.
Founded in April 2021, UpScalio provides funds to digital brands selling on ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa and manages key operations for them including multi-marketplace management, digital marketing, branding, logistics, sourcing, finance, and business operations.
The company was founded by a former consultant at McKinsey & Company Gautam Kshatriya; Saaim Khan, a former consultant at Bain & Company; and former marketing and growth executive at Purplle, Nitin Agarwal.
The company claims to scale the business for the digital brands by 5-10x, providing a full exit to the entrepreneurs over time. The company has built a team of 50 specialists across functions to facilitate the digital brands with scaling their businesses, with plans of doubling the team to 100 by end of the year.
In August, UpScalio raised $42.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Presight Capital and an undisclosed global hedge fund.
UpScalio is the latest entrant to the Thrasio-model which has drawn keen investor interest over the past few months. Massachusetts headquartered startup unicorn Thrasio acquires and scales brands to sell on ecommerce platforms.
In India, Mensa Brands founded by former CEO of Myntra Ananth Narayanan, FirstCry backed GlobalBees and Fireside backed 10Club, among others have adopted a similar model.
The furniture and home improvement segment has seen investor interest in recent times.
This month, made-to-order furniture manufacturer and home improvement company Arrivae, raised Rs 50 crore (around $7 million) in an external round led by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
In September, Design Café raised $25 million (Rs 166 crore) in its extended Series B funding round led by existing investor WestBridge Capital and joined by Sixth Sense Ventures.
In the same month, interior design platform HomeLane raised $50 million (Rs 371 crore) in a Series E round of funding led by IIFL AMC’s late-stage tech fund, Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF II), and Stride Ventures.
