Interior Design Startup Bonito Raises $6.3 Mn To Strengthen Business

Bengaluru-based Bonito Designs has raised $6.3 Mn in its pre-Series A round of funding led by Tomorrow Capital.

Talking to Inc42, Sameer AM, CEO, Bonito Designs said that the company has been bootstrapped since 2012 and the first round comes organically. “We were able to relate with the investor, they were relating to us and we even worked together for quite some time before they signed the deal,” he explained.

Bonito Designs: Redefining Homes

As a bespoke interior space creator with curated yet cost-effective designs, the company believes in getting acquainted with the client, to better understand their vision for their home.

The company caters to budget as well as luxury houses, but is now recreating itself as a premium brand to personalise the homes of Bengalurians. It uses a psyche analysis tool for ideation to final design of the home, with a goal of making great designs accessible to Indian customers at affordable prices.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, the company is planning to foray into Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. With a 100 member team, Bonito Designs has designed 1,200 homes in Bengaluru till now.

The company’s average ticket size is INR 14 Lakh – INR 15 Lakh, where they cater to the end-to-end home design. The company claims to have grown 60%-70% Y-o-Y initially but said growth has slowed down in recent years.

The company began with in-house manufacturing unit in 2012 to create the furniture etc needed to design the home. But then, it decided to focus on interior designing and now creates as well as puts in place the vision of a client for their home.

What’s Next With $6.3 Mn Funding?

With a focus on transforming experience of a home for its clients, Bonito Designs is looking to use the funds to extend its operations and ramp up the production.

The funds will also be allocated for R&D to build processes and delivery know how to bring personalisation and international appeal to every family and home we touch.

In terms of numbers, the company is looking to complete 600-800 homes in the 2019-20, Sameer said.

Rohini Prakash, CEO of Tomorrow Capital, said, “Bonito Designs is a brand that uses a process-driven delivery model to provide unique design solutions. The brand’s philosophy – ‘everyone deserves a designer home’ is what caught our attention.”

Differentiating Itself In The $5.29 Bn Market

In 2018, the home furnishings market in India grew at a CAGR of 8% by value to reach $5.29 Bn.

Technology-enabled home design startups are taking home interiors in India to a different level with their cutting-edge designs and end-to-end services. And it means a plethora of options for well-travelled, new-age Indians, who are looking for a seamless experience and world-class designs while doing up their homes.

Some of these players include Homelane and Livspace. The companies have been leveraging new age technologies to bring touch and feel to the customers. For example, Homelane enables its interior designers to collaborate with the customers via a software where they discuss and envision the space in 3D and can experiment with what works and what doesn’t.

On the technology front, Sameer explained that the company is exploring new age technologies like Virtual reality and augmented reality to diversify the options for a customer and to give them touch and feel of the space they want to call home.

At the same time, there are players betting on taking up individual projects as well as full homes to redesign a space as and when a customer needs.  However, for Sameer, the idea continues to stay focused on a complete home solution rather than a small individual project so that they can continue to give a user their complete home with a vision.