Yuvraj Singh-Backed Wellness Startup WellVersed Raises Funds From Jubilant FoodWorks

D2C wellness startup Wellversed, which offers nutrition guidance to consumers has raised INR 11 Cr (approx $1.5 Mn) from Jubilant FoodWorks. 

The startup plans to use the funds to further scale the platform and enable the sale of its products on wellness and nutrition D2C brands.

The global wellness market is valued at more than $1.5 Tn, with annual growth of 5-10%, and today’s consumers view wellness across all six dimensions – health, fitness, nutrition, appearance, sleep, and mindfulness, cofounder Aanan Khurma said in a statement. 

He added that the strategic alliance will give Wellversed “a disproportionate advantage to serve millions of people through the wellness brands and augment existing digital expertise with massive offline distribution capabilities.”

Founded by Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth, Ripunjay Chachan in 2018, Wellversed offers diet planning and nutrition guidance through experts as well as sells products for intermittent fasting, vegan, diabetes, gluten-free, high-protein, immunity regimes and more. 

The startup claims to have a presence in metros and Tier 1 cities and wants to penetrate smaller towns as well as overseas markets.

The startup began its journey as an enabler of food alternatives for people with lifestyle health conditions. Initially backed by Huddle Accelerator, later, the startup had raised funds from angel investors like Cuemath’s Late Govind Rajan, Indifi’s Alok Mittal, Tejinderpal Miglani, Rohit Chanana & and Sanaka Group’s Shankar Narayanan.

WellVersed has previously raised an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Series A funding round led by former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh. The investment from Singh’s YWC Ventures valued the two-and-a-half-year-old startup at INR 100 Cr. It later acquired another wellness Sportfit to expand its portfolio of training programmes for health transformation and athletic transformations.

Singh, an investor as well as brand ambassador in WellVersed had earlier launched YouWeCan Ventures in 2015 and has also invested in several other startups like Healthians, EazyDiner, Cartisan, Buddy, JetSetGo and salon chain Naturals.

Celebrities backing new-age companies and co-creating products or private labels with them have been a big trend in the Indian market in the past couple of years. Celebrities are no longer just endorsing products or brands but are highly involved in the business from making investments to co-owning them. 

Recently, cricketer Virat Kohli also joined global wellness startup Hyperice as athlete-investor and global brand ambassador.

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.