UpScalio, a Thrasio-style venture that aggregates and invests in e-commerce brands, on Wednesday said it has invested an undisclosed sum in Trase and Polestar.
Thrasio is a US-based startup that rolls up popular brands sold on Amazon.com Inc.'s marketplace.
Trase, established in 2016 by Jitin Goel and Dhruv Gupta, is a brand in the comfort category in women’s footwear.
Polestar, founded in 2015 by Pranay Sehgal, is among top 3 sellers across online marketplaces in the travel and trekking bags space.
For both brands, UpScalio said it is looking at driving 5X growth over the next 2-3 years. To achieve this, UpScalio will focus on marketing, supply chain initiatives, and expanding the product portfolio.
The roll-up e-commerce company said it aims to scale both brands to Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the next 2-3 years.
“A ‘Make in India’ brand, Polestar is already creating waves and has infinite potential with its high-quality backpacks and rucksacks. Similarly, Trase is growing at a healthy clip with a strong foothold in the comfort footwear segment,” Gautam Kshatriya, co-founder and CEO, UpScalio, said.
Investment in Trase and Polestar comes a week after UpScalio announced its investment in furniture brand Green Soul.
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.
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.
