Latest News | Fireside Ventures Closes Fund II at Rs 863 Cr

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) Fireside Ventures on Wednesday announced the close of its second fund (Fireside Fund II) at Rs 863 crore (approximately USD 118 million) that will invest in consumer brand startups while continuing to focus on digital-first brands.

Over 100 investors participated in the fund, including marquee investors like Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) operated by Sidbi, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Nippon India Digital Innovation AIF, Bajaj Holdings and Investment Ltd, ITC Ltd, L'OREAL, Pidilite group, Premji Invest and a large US university endowment.

Fireside will invest in 15-20 consumer brand start-ups while continuing to keep its focus on digital-first brands, Fireside Ventures founder and Managing Partner Kanwaljit Singh said.

"We have commitments of Rs 863 crore. We started with a target of Rs 750 crore and saw some really strong interest from various types of investors and have now formally closed the fund of Rs 863 crore and also equally heartening for us is the mix of investors," he added.

Singh said the pandemic further validated the Fireside investment thesis of investing in digital-first consumer brands.

The Fund II saw its first close of around Rs 440 crore (USD 60 million) in November 2019.

Singh highlighted that "wellness and goodness" segments are seeing strong growth in consumer demand.

As D2C (Direct to Customer) and e-commerce become more mainstream, brands can leverage technology and data analytics to offer even more relevant and personalised offerings to the consumers.

"We are eager to go all out and partner with young Indian entrepreneurs who are creating exciting new digital-first brands across the consumption spectrum and are consciously building brands that focus on good for consumers and good for the world," he said.

Factors like India's online shopper base poised to triple by 2025 (from over 110 million now), growing internet penetration and heavy investment in supply chain and logistics are expected to help brands grow further.

Singh noted that Fireside Fund II has received investment interest from over 1,500 companies so far and has deeply evaluated over 300 of them before making the four investments.

The Fund II portfolio companies to date are – Fable Street, SARVA Yoga, Gynoveda, and Slurrp Farm.

Fireside had closed its first fund in February 2018 with a corpus of Rs 340 crore (about USD 50 million) and made 18 investments from it.

About 95 per cent of the investible corpus of Fund I has been deployed, and the remaining 5 per cent is reserved for follow-ons.

Launched in 2017, Fireside Ventures invests in early growth stage companies with a focus on consumer brands. It has invested in digital-first consumer brands across sectors such as food and beverages, beauty & personal care, lifestyle and home products, etc.

Since inception, it has invested in 22 brands including Slurrp Farm, FableStreet, SARVA Yoga, boAt, Mamaearth, Vahdam Teas, Yoga Bar, SLAY Coffee and Bombay Shaving Company among others.

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