Plant-Based Wellness Startup OZiva Raises $12 Mn In Series B Round

Mumbai-based D2C nutrition brand OZiva has raised $12 Mn in a Series B round led by Eight Roads Ventures with participation from F-Prime Capital and existing investor Matrix Partners India.

Founded in 2016 by Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani, OZiva develops and sells plant-based products across categories such as women’s health, skin, hair, men’s health and general wellness, made using natural ingredients. It claims to be combining modern science and technology with ayurvedic principles to develop its products. 

Last month, OZiva was certified as a clean nutrition brand by the US-based Clean Label Project for ensuring top purity standards. “We will continue to focus on growing our portfolio of clean, plant-based products, expanding into newer categories while also further investing in our technology and R&D efforts,” said cofounder Gill.

Besides its product-line, OZiva also provides customers with access to personalised diet plans and fitness consultations, nutritional and fitness content, and community-centric events through its technology platform. 

“We have closely tracked the large yet under-penetrated consumer health category, looking for companies with the focus and capabilities to disrupt the sector. OZiva’s product leadership and technology-first approach around content and community set it apart from others in the market,” said Ashish Venkataramani, principal at Eight Roads Ventures India. 

Health foods and nutraceuticals have come into the focus amid the Covid-19 pandemic when consumers have grown more conscious of the need for preventive healthcare-related to immunity and personal care. 

India’s health foods market features several homegrown and international D2C brands such as Onelife, HealthKart, GNC’s Guardian Healthcare, Mosaic Wellness, Possible (formerly known as Truweight Wellness) and Wellversed. This week, foodtech unicorn Zomato also announced its entry into the segment with the imminent launch of its own brand of nutritional supplements. 

According to an Inc42 Plus report titled, India’s Healthtech Landscape In A Post-Covid-19 World, the Indian healthcare market is expected to grow 4x, from $144 Bn in 2019 to $638 Bn by 2025. The preventive healthcare category, which includes healthcare startups and D2C health food and supplement brands, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% between 2020-25 and is expected to reach a market size of $170 Bn by 2024.