Exclusive: Wellness Beverage Brand TOVA Bags Funding From Poonawalla Group

Wellness beverages startup TOVA has secured an investment from Yohan and Michelle Poonawalla via their family business Poonawalla Group.

Although the startup did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but said that it plans to use the fresh capital to expand its footprint across India.

“This partnership empowers us to strengthen our research and development, expand our distribution, and deepen our impact on promoting everyday wellness,” said TOVA cofounder Lakshmi Srinivasan.

Founded in 2022 by Lakshmi and PS Srinivasan, TOVA is a herb-infused water brand, based in Bengaluru. The company is focussed on penetrating into the “mass-premium” segment and claims to have already begun gaining recognition for making wellness more inclusive and accessible.

Currently, the brand sells beverages in six flavours, weighing 350ml per bottle.

The development comes at a time when wellness brands operating in the D2C sector are witnessing a growth, with consumers pivoting to a healthier lifestyle like opting for premium water, beverages, chocolates and breakfast options.

For instance, D2C healthy snacking brand Farmley secured $40 Mn and gut health startup The Good Bug raised INR 100 Cr, earlier this month.

Prior to that, Be Bodywise parent health and wellness startup Mosaic Wellness raised over $20 Mn.

It is pertinent to note that Poonawalla’s investments are spread across diverse sectors such as engineering, real estate, finance, new-age technology and renewable green energy innovation, where it seeks to back new-age startups that create impact.

Commenting on the investment, Yohan said, “TOVA’s vision of bottling the benefits of Ayurveda in a convenient and appealing form is perfectly aligned with today’s wellness-conscious consumer, and we look forward to mentoring and supporting their journey towards becoming a household name.”

Poonawalla Group invested an undisclosed amount of capital in fleet management startup trackNOW to scale up operations, in January.