Exclusive: Mensa Brands To Raise INR 48 Cr Debt From Stride Ventures

Tiger Global-backed house of brands startup BRND.ME (formerly Mensa Brands) is raising INR 48 Cr (around $5.6 Mn) debt funding from existing investor Stride Ventures.

The unicorn’s board passed a resolution in March to issue 4,800 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to raise the sum, as per its filings sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The house of brands unicorn plans to use the capital to meet its working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

BRND.ME declined to comment on Inc42’s queries on the development.

In a separate regulatory filing, it said that it received the approval of its members to increase the authorised capital of the company to INR 340.6 Cr from INR 163 Cr previously by:

• Addition of 17.6 Cr equity shares of INR 10 each ranking pari passu with the existing equity shares 
• Creation of 16 Lakh Series D Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) of INR 10 each

The move is aimed at supporting the startup’s future funding requirements, expansion plans and other corporate actions, the filing said.

Founded in 2021 by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan, BRND.ME owns and operates consumer brands such as Pebble, MyFitness, Dennis Lingo, among others. It earns a majority of its revenue from sale of products.

The startup was earlier known as Mensa Brands before being rebranded as BRND.ME.

The ecommerce unicorn has raised over $300 Mn in total funding to date and counts the likes of Accel Partners, Prosus, Tiger Global, Norwest Venture Partners, Alpha Wave, Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital among its backers. 

It competes against the likes of The Good Glamm Group and Globalbees, the house of brands subsidiary of baby and mother care products retailer FirstCry.

On the financial front, BRND.ME managed to trim its consolidated net loss by 31% to INR 155.85 Cr in FY24 from INR 227.03 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue rose 11.6% to INR 557.66 Cr during the year under review from INR 499.63 Cr in FY23. 

On its website, the startup claims that it turned profitable in September 2024.

BRND.ME Eyes IPO In 2027

The debt fundraise by BRND.ME comes at a time when the ecommerce unicorn is in the process of shifting its base back to India from Singapore ahead of its potential initial public offering (IPO).

BRND.ME is yet to make a formal announcement on its public listing plans. However, in December last year, Dutch technology inventor Prosus revealed its pipeline of potential IPO candidates from its Indian portfolio, which included BRND.ME. The startup is expected to go public over the next one-and-a-half years.

Besides, Prosus also sees other portfolio startups such as Meesho, BlueStone, Captain Fresh, Mintifi, Eruditus, PayU, Urban Company, among others, going public in the next 18 months.

Earlier this month, Urban Company obtained the nod of its board to raise INR 528 Cr through its IPO. Meanwhile, markets regulator SEBI greenlit BlueStone’s draft IPO papers earlier this month. 

BRND.ME is not the only new-age tech company eyeing a ‘desh wapsi’. The likes of Flipkart, Razorpay, Freo, CleverTap, Udaan are also looking to move their corporate headquarters back to India from foreign countries amid the boom in startup IPOs.

According to Inc42’s annual investor survey for 2024 “The Pulse Of Tech”, 78% of the over 75 surveyed investors said that access to the Indian public markets was the primary reason behind the ‘reverse flipping’ trend in the startup ecosystem.

Notably, 13 new-age tech companies went public last year and raised a combined INR 29,000 Cr+ through their IPOs. This IPO mania is expected to continue this year, with over 20 startups, including the likes of Zepto, Physics Wallah, Aye Finance, Ather Energy, eyeing a public listing soon.