Startup accelerator Risers Accelerator has invested Rs 1 crore ($144,100 at current exchange rates) in ayurvedic organic skincare product maker Cosmeto Food Organic Pvt. Ltd, which sells its products under the Cosmetofood brand.
Risers said in a statement it had valued Cosmeto at Rs 20 crore and that its investment would be used for product distribution.
The group’s leadership director Pravin Khandelwal and finance and technology director Rachit Chawla said it was also in talks with Cosmeto’s promoters to invest seed capital in the company. “We will mentor them for distribution and digital marketing,” they said.
Separately, Cosmeto founder Himanshu Chadha said the company’s products were made from ingredients certified by organic certification organisation Ecocert, and that they were free of substances including animal by-products, silicon and mineral oils.
Risers Accelerator says it provides the startups it mentors with financial, infrastructural and knowledge-based support.
There has been an uptick in investor interest in ayurveda and organic product startups and firms in recent months as the consumer market for products made with natural ingredients grows.
Earlier this month, the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group acquired a majority stake in a Mumbai-based company that makes ayurvedic products for Rs 32.17 crore ($4.6 million). The diversified conglomerate, which has interests in sectors such as energy, retail and technology, made the acquisition through unit CESC Ventures Ltd.
In September last year, a private debt fund of UTI Capital Pvt. Ltd invested Rs 50 crore in Maharishi Ayurveda Products Pvt. Ltd, which has two factories in Noida and Faridabad that make a range of ayurvedic products.
