D2C Denim Brand Freakins Bags $4 Mn Seed Funding From Blume, Matrix Partners, Others

D2C denim fashion brand Freakins on Wednesday (July 5) announced raising $4 Mn (INR 33 Cr approx.) in its seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India and Blume Ventures. 

The funding round also saw participation from over 30 angel investors, including Revant Bhate of Mosaic Wellness, Utkrishta Kumar of Meesho, OfBusiness’s Asish Mohapatra, and a few influencers.

In a statement, the startup said it will deploy the fresh capital to build partnerships with factories specialising in denim, knits and woven fabrics to bolster its supply chain capabilities. Freakins also aims to use the fresh funds to expand its omnichannel presence, strengthen operations by hiring new talent and launch new SKUs. 

Founded in 2019 by Puneet Sehgal and Shaan Shah, in partnership with Sachin Shah, Freakins started operating as a women-focussed denim brand. However, it entered the men’s category in February this year to emerge as a new-age, Gen-Z denim wear brand. 

“Our business model is to bring fast fashion to the country, so, that is where we can drop 100-150 new styles every month. We, anyway, drop about 25-50 new styles per week,” founder and CEO Sehgal told Inc42. “In order to do that, we are very clear that we need to be completely integrated on the supply chain side, we need to own product design, development, the sampling unit, and own bulk manufacturing or have partners who work very closely with us.”

By owning the end-to-end process, from storefront to design and factories, Freakins claims to be able to maintain exceptional quality control and achieve faster turnaround times. This also helps the brand to adapt to the changing consumer preferences.

Besides its own website, Freakins also sells its denims through online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra. Freakins also plans to take the offline route in the next 12 months. The startup is yet to zero down on its offline strategies.

Currently, the brand has products in over 35 categories, with more than 1,500 styles. 

Sehgal said Freakins generated gross revenue of INR 22 Cr-INR 23 Cr in FY23. The startup aims to become an INR 100 Cr brand by the end of 2024.

As per reports, India’s denim market is expected to reach INR 91,894 Cr by 2028. Freakins competes with international giants like Levi Strauss, Lee, Wrangler, Diesel S.p.A, Pepe Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch, as well as homegrown D2C brands including Mensa-acquired High Star, Snitch, and Bewakoof, in this highly competitive market.

As per Inc42’s analysis, the fashion and apparel market ecommerce will become a $112 Bn opportunity by 2030 from $20 Bn in 2022.