💲Turning passion into paychecks💲
Artisanal bakers, sustainable luggage market, and Cool-tronics!
Hey 👋
We got a bunch of exciting scoops for you today from Shopsy’s rocket growth to brands offering healthy meals in 30 seconds, to a Twitter Poll!
Speaking of Twitter, its zaddy, Musk is getting cold feet about the nuptials. He has officially knocked on SEC’s door seeking to terminate the deal, claiming Twitter is in “material breach” of its contract with him, by failing to share data on platform’s spam accounts. Twitter is in no mood for being taken on a ride and is pushing back hard.
What’s sizzling hot? 🔥
🎒Bagg-it
Design-first and environmentally sensitive Travel Gear brand Uppercase (by Acefour Accessories) raised $7 mn in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. Interestingly, Uppercase is not revenue-generating as of yet.
Its products are designed for new-age consumers keeping style and function in focus. Uppercase aims to increase the share of organized luggage in the Indian market.
Indian luggage market is valued at approx $3.5 bn with only 1/3 rd share being in the hands of organised players. Contemplayers players include Mokobara, Scarters, Clownfish and Daily Objects.
🥯Money Bun in the Oven
India’s baking industry is still dominated by small mom & pop stores and convenience stores that offer minimal shelf space to artisanal bakers. The industry that sees high consumption sadly, is stagnant in terms of variety and novelty. The Baker’s Dozen attempts to modernize this segment with its artisanal products across categories like bread, cookies, tea-time cakes, crackers, and baking mixes. It secured $5 mn in the funding round led by Fireside Ventures (equity-debt mix) .
How does The Baker’s Dozen differ from a traditional bakery:
centralised manufacturing unit
new-age food preservation methods to increase shelf life
exclusive retail outlets across India and abroad (currently 43 outlets)
dream to clock in an ARR of ₹100 Cr. by FY24 (….most important!)
🥬Eat Healthy in 30 seconds
Supply6, a brand that provides nutrition access to those who lead busy lives and are always on the go, secured Series A funding from ah! ventures. Supply6 makes wholesome drinkable meals containing the power of 6 nutrients, amongst other healthy food options like nut butters. Supply 6 plans to identify further dietary lifestyle gaps and offer category-first products to solve them.
👧Just let dem be!
While Indian mentality has come a long way in normalising periods, the industry still seems to lack luster and research to curate unique solutions for unique problem statements. E.g. enabling habit shift to more sustainable options. With this agenda in mind, period care brand Lemme Be offers products like period underwear, menstrual cups & discs, mini tampons, panty liners etc. Lemme Be recently raised ₹13.5 cr., in a mix of debt & equity. Other challenger brands in the feminine care space include Sirona, Sanfe, andMe & Oziva.
🗞️Marketplace Updates
Shopsy brings in about 25% of Flipkart’s new customers🛍️
Bookmyshow backs D2C marketplace startup Popclub🍿
Swiggy completes the acquisition of Dineout, a restaurant tech platform🍱
Brands that caught our eyes 👀
🕯️Waxin’ & Viben’
Check out the whacky Scented Candle Collection from RAD Living that offers candle ranges like “Netflix and Chill”, “work from home”. It also curates smells for different personalities with its FLY (First-Love-Yourself) range . One such candle is named “Turning passion into paycheck” - a sniff of its fragrance is like inhaling 10 shots of espresso alongside creamy vanilla and woody notes. So, when are you vibing with waxing!?
💅Get in touch with yourself
Sassiest designs the sexiest sexual wellness products for a woman’s sacred spaces. The brand is making intimacy easy, comfortable, and fun with its product range slide & glide lube, clit stimulator, body massager, hush & blush massage oil, and more! It competes alongside brands like MyMuse, That Sassy Thing, Salad, and Bleu.
Trend of the week: Cool-tronics 🤳
The growth in the use of consumer electronics has led to substantial sales of consumer electronic accessories across the globe - accessories for car, cellphones, laptop, office desk, camera accessories etc. India has seen multiple players enter this segment. Infact boAt started out with this category.
Reads and Recommendations 📚
Kunal Shah on observing trends 📊🎧
The categories that are likely to take a hit as consumer spending slows 📉
Read this thread and let us know if you agree with "Being data-driven is the death of art." 👨🎨
That’s all for this week!
Byeee! Stay tuned for more insights about the D2C ecosystem in India.
Liked this week’s issue? Share some love. Click the ❤️ below.