D2C Startup Nourish You Raises Funding To Strengthen R&D, Distribution & Market Presence

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) superfood brand Nourish You has raised $2 Mn in a seed funding round from Triumph Group’s Y Janardhana Rao, Darwinbox’s founder Rohit Chennamaneni,  Zerodha’s founder Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas’ founder Abhijeet Pai and KIMS Hospitals’ CEO Abhinay Bollineni, among others.  

The proceeds from the funding round will help the startup to double down its investment toward research and development for new products thus, diversifying its portfolio. The startup will also allot funds for branding and marketing, hire talent, and strengthen its distribution as well as market presence. 

Founded in 2015 by Rakesh Kilaru, Krishna Reddy and Sowmya Reddy, the Hyderabad-based startup sells quinoa and chia seeds-based products including nut mixes, edible seeds, flour and meal mix. 

The startup sells these products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Flipkart, BigBasket and Amazon, among others.

“Having personally experienced the benefits of quinoa and chia- we launched Nourish You to introduce Superfoods to Indian consumers.  As India’s foremost Superfood brand, we are confident of driving the category’s growth in a sustainable manner,” said, Rakesh Kilaru, cofounder and CEO of Nourish You.

Calling itself a clean-label and vegan brand, the startup said that it manages 5000 acres of Quinoa and Chia farms across Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. 

Further, according to the startup, it exports products to Singapore, Nepal, Kenya, Dubai, Mongolia and Maldives.

“From getting the mother seed, government approvals, to field trials across India and finally large-scale cultivation of Quinoa and Chia. As a category-creating brand, Nourish You’s proposition of homegrown chia and quinoa seeds is attractive,” said Rohit Chennamaneni, cofounder of Darwinbox.

In India, it faces competition from the likes of Phab, Wellbeing Nutrition and Lo! Foods.

According to an IMARC report, the global superfoods market was pegged at $152.71 Bn in 2021. The industry is anticipated to become a $214.95 Bn space by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.74% by the forecasted period. 

However, the country’s D2C market is expected to grow to $300 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 24% during 2021-30, according to an Inc42 report.

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