SUMMARY
As a part of the deal, HUL and Fireside Ventures will join Wellbeing’s board
The incoming funds will be used to expand product portfolio, hire leadership team and strengthen channel network
The development comes three days after HUL announced that it bought 19.8% stake in Wellbeing for INR 70 Cr
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutraceutical startup Wellbeing Nutrition has raised $10 Mn (INR 85 Cr) in its Series B funding round led by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures.
As a part of the deal, HUL and Fireside Ventures will join Wellbeing’s board.
The development comes three days after HUL announced that it bought a 19.8% stake in Wellbeing for INR 70 Cr. The deal is anticipated to complete in the coming 1-3 months.
Set up in 2019 by Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the nutraceutical startup sells vitamins and minerals supplements via its website and retail outlets. Its product portfolio includes Melts (vitamin-based thin strips), Korean Marine (collagen) and Daily Fiber ( plant-based prebiotic fiber), among others.
“HUL has a successful track record of building categories through market development. We are excited to work with the founder of Wellbeing Nutrition to grow the businesses further by leveraging our complementary expertise and capabilities,” said Ritesh Tiwari, CFO of HUL.
The startup said that Saurabh Kapoor, cofounder and CBO of Wellbeing, will continue to operate all functions of the business. It also claims to be currently operating over 3000 retail outlets and further, plans to expand its offline presence to more than 5000 retail touchpoints.
It will invest the fresh capital to expand product portfolio, hire leadership team, strengthen channel network and research and development activities.
“With the new funding, we aim to reach 100 million people over the next year by driving awareness through digital aggressively, as well as making use of HUL’s capabilities. We believe this partnership will help scale Wellbeing Nutrition and become a lifestyle wellness brand of choice for all,” said Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor of Wellbeing Nutrition.
The startup’s cap table includes Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh, Mira Kapoor, ACG, RENEE Cosmetics’ Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah, MX Player’s Nikhil Gandhi, Harsh Vardhan Bhandari, and Jeenendra Bhandari, among others.
In the D2C segment, it competes with the likes of Power Gummies and Fast&Up.
According to a FSSAI report, India’s nutraceuticals market is anticipated to reach the $18 Bn mark by 2026. The industry is likely to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2026.
