Mom and baby care consumer start-up Mamaearth has raised nearly $4 million in a Series A round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and existing investor Fireside Ventures, a top company executive said on Tuesday.
Marico’s Rishabh Mariwala, who manages Sharrp Ventures, and Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, have also participated in the round. It has so far raised $5.3 million, Varun Alagh, co-founder, Mamaearth, told Mint.
Founded in 2016 by husband and wife duo Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Mamaearth, run by Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd, offers over 50 natural, toxin-free products, including bamboo-based baby wipes and easy tummy rolls. Actor and entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra, had invested nearly $250,000 in Mamaearth, in April, The Economic Times reported.
“Digital first brands are creating immense value globally. With the e-commerce ecosystem maturing in India, we feel the time is right for Indian brands to achieve the same,” said Rahul Chowdhri, partner, Stellaris Venture Partners.
Mamaearth plans to use the money to hire more people across its offline, technology and marketing verticals, while strengthening its product portfolio and on research and development.
“There are a lot of unsolved problems in the mom and baby care product segment and people often turn to DIY or imported products. We are looking for a wide range of innovative products ahead and will build brand awareness, too,” said Alagh over telephone. “We want to build a strong offline presence as well as become a household name.”
Mamaearth has offline presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and plans to expand to six other metro cities through many channels, including pharmacies and retail stories. It sells its products on Amazon, Flipkart, Netmeds, 1MG, Firstcry and on the company’s website, serving 50,000 orders a month, contributing to 90% of its sales, said Alagh.
According to him, the domestic baby FMCG market is worth $2 billion, and is expected to clock compounded annual growth rate of 16%. The company expects to reach one million users in the next three years from the current 150,000. Other players in the mother and baby product segment include Mothercare, Patanjali, Dabur and Johnson’s and Johnson’s.
Source: Mint