Fashion Brand The Pant Project Raises $4.25 Mn To Expand Omnichannel Play

D2C fashion brand The Pant Project has raised $4.25 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Sorin Investments.

The round also saw participation from MGA Ventures, Huddle, Dexter Ventures, Indian Silicon Valley, along with a clutch of angel investors, including Arjun Vaidya, Avni Biyani, Nikhil Bhandarkar and Vijay Taparia, among others.

Founded in 2020 by Dhruv Toshniwal and Udit Toshniwal, The Pant Project worked as bootstrapped for the past four years. With proceeds from the maiden funding round, it aims to propel the next phase of growth as it aims to be India’s leading bottom wear brand with an omnichannel presence, Toshniwal said.

“Our biggest moat lies in our understanding of the apparel supply chain, with access to best in global quality fabrics and designs for our customers. We have data on custom fit for over 100,000 Indian men, and are using that to constantly improve. With this funding, we plan to grow our team, tech capabilities, brand awareness and retail store presence,” he said.

The brand provides custom-made pants for all Indian body sizes. In 2023, it adopted an omnichannel strategy while also foraying into ready-to-made pants. With options for both men and women, the startup claims to offer pants across 250 styles ranging from formals to chinos, jeans, cargos, joggers, power stretch knit pants, luxury linens, and wools.

The Pant Project’s main sales channel is its website, which accounts for 65% of total sales. It also sells through online marketplaces like Amazon and Myntra, and has stores in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The brand has served over 100,000 customers in the past four years.

With plans to open new stores across the country and expand its casual and athleisure offerings, the company aims to reach INR 100 Cr in revenue in the next 18-24 months.

“Pant Project has created a strong brand recall as a destination for bottom wear for all occasions demonstrated by deep customer love and repeat behaviour. Sorin intends to add value through its network and deep understanding & experience in D2C brands,” said Mandar Dandekar, partner at Sorin Investments.

This comes at a time when Indian startups raised $657 Mn in May 2024, registering a fall of 34% from $1 Bn bagged in the same month a year ago.The funding also fell 24% from $868 Mn raised by the Indian startups in April 2024.

However, seed stage startups raised $107 Mn in funding across 50 deals in May 2024, up 2% from nearly $105 Mn raised across 28 deals in the year-ago month.

Meanwhile, many D2C fashion brands raised funding over the last few months. Last month, D2C ethnic wear brand Libas bagged INR 150 Cr in a strategic funding round from ICICI Ventures. Menswear brand DaMENSCH also raised INR 21.62 Cr (about $2.5 Mn) in an extended Series B round.