Indian Actress Rashmika Mandanna Backs D2C Vegan Startup Plum

Maharashtra-based D2C vegan startup Plum has received an undisclosed investment from an Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna.

As part of the deal, Mandanna has joined the startup as a brand ambassador to help widen its consumer base.

Commenting on the investment, Mandanna said, “I am excited to represent and also come on board as an investor, supporting a brand that is passionate about adding real goodness to the world we live in. Plum has witnessed stupendous growth over the last few years and I am confident that the brand will become the ‘go-to’ vegan brand in time to come.”

Founded in 2013 by Shankar Prasad, Plum is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) vegan brand that offers an array of products in skin, hair, men’s, personal care and makeup categories. It functions through an omnichannel model and thus sells products via its website and other ecommerce marketplaces including Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa and Purplle.

In its offline operation, Plum has nearly 1000 multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and more than 10K exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) spanning across 250 cities of India. 

According to the startup, it has an annual revenue rate (ARR) of about INR 300 Cr, which it aims to double in the next 12 months.

Plum is currently looking to expand its omnichannel presence across India and also, scale its production. It said, it will further launch new products and hire talent across verticals. 

In March, Plum secured $35 Mn in its Series C funding round from A91 Partners, Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital. Previously, in 2020, it bagged INR 110 Cr in its Series B funding round from Faering Capital, Trifecta Capital and Unilever Ventures.

It faces competition from the likes of RENEE Cosmetics, Bare Anatomy and WOW Skin Science.

Growing Number Of Bollywood Stars Backing Indian Startups  

In the last couple of years, many B-town celebrities have made a plethora of investments in the Indian startup ecosystem.

This month, actor Sonu Sood and Jitin Bhatia founded an AI-enabled social media app Explurger that can create automatic travelogues for users. Besides, Sood has also founded a job platform for migrant workers called Pravasirojgar and previously backed a rural fintech startup Spice Money (in 2020). 

In May, Bollywood diva Kriti Sanon also donned the entrepreneur hat as she launched fitness brand- The Tribe. She cofounded the startup along with Anushka Nandani, Karan Sawhney and Robin Behl.

In April, Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan made an investment in dark kitchen aggregator Curefoods. Prior to this, he also invested in the nutraceutical startup, Fast&Up in 2021.