SUMMARY
New investors including Bimal Parekh, Sweta Amrish Rau, Harish Narayanan, Rehan Shaikh, Shantanu Deshpande, among others also have participated in the funding round
Beco will use the raised funds for research and development activities, marketing, and supply chain functions. It will further utilise the funds to hire talent across verticals
Including the current fundraising, Beco has raised a total of $3.5 Mn to date
Sustainable D2C brand Beco has raised $3 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Rukam Capital along with Priyavrata Mafatlal, Better Capital, Prashant Pittie and Titan Capital.
Bimal Parekh, Sweta Amrish Rau, Arjun Purkayastha, Harish Narayanan, Rehan Shaikh, Shantanu Deshpande, Kolte-Patil Family Ventures, Gaurav Arora, Avinash Badaia and Exceed Entertainment also have participated in the funding round.
Beco will use the raised funds for research and development activities, marketing, and supply chain functions. It will also utilise the funds to hire talent across verticals.
As per Beco, presently, 67% of urban youth in India want to opt for sustainable products. And, less than 25% of these adolescents have managed to switch to sustainable solutions. “The reason for such a large gap between what the Indian youth wanted and what they got was lack of accessibility towards these (sustainable) products,” Aditya Ruia, cofounder of Beco, said.
To address this issue, Aditya Ruia, Akshay Varma, and Anuj Ruia had set up Beco in 2019. The Mumbai-based startup is a sustainable kitchen, home and personal care brand. It sells a wide range of products including tissue rolls, bamboo facial tissues, dishwashing liquid, toothbrushes, and biodegradable garbage bags, among others. It claims that all its products are biodegradable and combustible.
Ruia said, “We (co-founders) realised that we not only have to build a sustainable D2C brand in this space but change consumer behavioural patterns in order to increase adoption and awareness (about sustainable solutions).”
Originally, the three cofounders are engineering and MBA graduates. Prior to setting up Beco, Aditya and Akshay had founded Quorg and Pet It Up while Anuj previously worked along with Procter & Gamble, as per their LinkedIn profiles.
Ruia further said that Beco uses biodegradable and compostable raw materials including corn starch and bamboo to manufacture toilet rolls, facial tissues, garbage bags and toothbrushes. Besides, it also uses a coconut enzyme-based formula to produce liquid cleaners.
Understanding The Indian Consumption Patterns
Consumption patterns, consumers’ personas and reasons for their purchases are distinct and discrete throughout India. “Being a part of this (consumer) market, we understand the nuances that are involved to customize products for each type of consumer. Our offerings are also tailored to match those expectations, which these consumers have set,” Ruia said.
In the initial days, Beco faced challenges in developing sustainable products, launching them at a price point and then selling them to the end-consumers. To overcome these challenges, the startup carried out green marketing. It has also built communities that efficiently communicate its message to other consumers.
“Green marketing is sort of telling consumers potential hazards of using chemicals for their everyday use and meanwhile, pitching the health benefits of sustainable products that we are offering,” Ruia said.
Talking about the manufacturing process, the founder said, Beco’s team generally designs products on its own and then gives those designs to its contract manufacturing partners so they can develop the sustainable products.
The startup said that it aims to launch new products under its existing categories that will be more optimised, cheaper and economical.
India’s Sustainable Industry
According to a report, India’s sustainable home hygiene products market is anticipated to grow into a $74.05 Mn space by the financial year 2027, growing at a CAGR of 32.90% during FY22-FY27.
In the home hygiene product space, Beco faces competition from traditional players including Tide and Harpic.
Including the current fundraising, Beco has raised a total of $3.5 Mn funding to date. In 2021, it secured INR 4 Cr in seed funding round from Climate Angels Fund, Titan Capital, Better Capital, Rukam Capital, Sequoia Sprout, and Zivame founder Richa Kar.
Beco claims to be expanding its retail outlets to 10K across India and also, increasing its product offerings by launching new cleaner products and personal hygiene products.
Beco also claims to have grown its revenue by 5x in the previous financial year (FY2021-22).
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Update| 14 September, 2022
An investor’s name has been corrected in the story
