Inc42 Daily Brief
Stay Ahead With Daily News & Analysis on India’s Tech & Startup Economy
US-based apparel and accessory design and distribution company of licensed and private label merchandise, BIOWORLD Merchandising, Inc., has acquired India-based licensing and merchandising startup VoxPop.com.
Started in 1999, BIOWORLD Merchandising is a design and distribution company of licensed and private label apparel, head-wear & accessories, to all retails channels. It has a Collaboration with some of the widely recognised brand and retail partners like Walmart, KOHL’s, Nordstorm, Disney, Ford, CocaCola, Marve, Ninetendo, and moany more.
With the acquisition of VoxPop, BIOWORLD Merchandising aims to build a strong product portfolio for apparel, accessories and footwear with over 100 brands across the entertainment industry.
Raj Malik, founder and CEO of BIOWORLD Merchandising said, “This acquisition is a part of the firm’s overall growth strategy. We will work together and play to our strengths to deliver a better value proposition for our customers.Through this partnership, BIOWORLD will have direct access to the customer and foster a stronger bond with the growing pop culture community in India.”
Mumbai-based VoxPop was founded in 2013 by Siddharth Taparia. Siddharth is a Harvard graduate and has worked in the licensing and merchandising category for Disney. The startup develops and retails limited edition merchandise in partnership with iconic brands such as Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, DC Comics and Warner Brothers.
VoxPop’s founder and CEO Siddharth Taparia said that the acquisition is the coming together of two major players in the licensed merchandise space. Also, VoxPop will continue to be independent in the way it operates.
He added, “We believe our combined strengths will unlock the opportunity to accelerate growth in the category. With a wider reach and deeper portfolio of products, we will maintain our position of leadership in the category of licensed merchandise, giving the Indian consumer a one stop shop for all their popular culture merchandise needs.”
In 2014, VoxPop had raised $1 Mn ( INR 6 Cr.) from Blume Ventures. It was planning to raise $7 m for licensing rights, last year.
Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.