Actor Samantha Prabhu Invests In D2C Superfoods Brand Nourish You

Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has invested an undisclosed amount in D2C superfoods startup Nourish You. 

Prabhu’s investment is part of Nourish You’s $2 Mn seed funding round, which took place in January and saw participation from angel investors Triumph Group’s Y Janardhana Rao, Darwinbox cofounder Rohit Chennamaneni, and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, among others. 

Back then, the startup had said that the funding would be deployed towards marketing, scaling research and development and expanding its portfolio. 

“Investing in Nourish You was a natural progression since I have been consuming their products for a while… I believe that Nourish You can create value while making a positive impact on the health of consumers as well as the planet. I’m excited to partake in their innovative and sustainable approach to business,” Ruth Prabhu said.

Commenting on the development, Nourish You’s cofounder Krishna Reddy said, “We welcome Samantha to the Nourish You family; her thoughts on ancient foods are well aligned with ours… We believe this partnership with Samantha will help us strengthen our position in the market as we unfold India’s superfood growth story.”

Founded in 2015 by Rakesh Kilaru, Krishna Reddy and Sowmya Reddy, Nourish You sells healthy snacks as well as quinoa and chia seeds-based products through its website and ecommerce marketplaces.

This is not the first time that the actor has invested in a startup. Last year, Prabhu kicked off her investor journey by pumping in an undisclosed amount of capital in the Hyderabad-based ecommerce platform for sustainable products, SustainKart. 

Prabhu, along with Sushruthi Krishna, has also cofounded a D2C apparel brand for women called Saaki in 2020.

The startup competes across categories with startups such as Slurrp Farm and The Whole Truth. 

Nourish You operates within the larger D2C healthy foods market, which has recently seen a big spurt in adoption across metro cities. According to a report, the Indian healthy foods segment could grow to a market size of $30 Bn by 2026. 

This has led to increased investor interest, especially from FMCG giants and VC firms. While FMCG major Marico acquired a majority stake in healthy snacks startup True Elements last year, ITC, earlier this year, underlined plans to acquire D2C brand Yoga Bar in multiple tranches over a period of four years. 

In January, Ghodawat Consumer Limited acquired Delhi-based D2C healthy snack startup To Be Honest (TBH) for an undisclosed amount.