Direct-to-consumer (D2C) oral care startup Perfora on Tuesday said it has secured $2.5 million (around Rs 20.7 crore) in a Series A funding exercise.
The round, led by RPSG Capital Ventures, also saw participation from existing investors such as Sauce.vc, Lotus Herbals family office, Sara International family office and Huddle, among others.
The Gurugram-based company will deploy the fresh funds for scaling its operations on other e-commerce marketplaces as well as its website.
Founded by Jatan Bawa and Tushar Khurana in 2021, Perfora is an oral care startup that produces a range of oral wellness products like smart electric toothbrushes, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-free toothpastes, teeth whitening pens and powder, among other products.
“With this new fundraise, we look forward to scaling our presence digitally both through marketplaces and direct-to-consumer i.e. our website,” said Bawa.
Last year, Perfora raised $1.2 million in a seed funding led by Sauce.vc.
Meanwhile, RPSG Capital Ventures is an early-stage, consumer-focused venture capital fund. The fund, established in 2018 typically invests up to $4 million in Series A rounds and counts D2C brands such as The Souled Store, mCaffeine, Plix, True Elements, Vedix, and SkinKraft, among others, as part of its portfolio.
Agritech startup Barton Breeze has raised $800,000 (around Rs 6.6 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round from a clutch of angel investors including Rajeev Bairathi (Ex-Knight Frank), Neeraj Kumar (DSK Legal), Manish Agarwal and Umang Agarwal (KTL Automotive) and Shishir Poddar (Tridents group), among others.
The Gurugram-based company plans to use the fresh capital for adding 20 more stock-keeping units (SKUs) in its current repository, along with the expansion of its farms across Delhi-NCR.
Founded in 2018 by Shivendra Singh and Gaurav Rai Chawla, Barton Breeze is an agritech startup that grows crops through hydroponics.
The startup claims to grow, package and supply more than 40 varieties of crops. It also produces value-added products such as ready-to-eat salad boxes, dips, and oils available at online marketplaces and retail stores across Delhi NCR.
India’s agritech space has been witnessing an uptick in investment for the last three years. This month, agritech startup BharatAgri (formerly LeanAgri), raised $1.6 million in an extended Series A funding round led by Capria Ventures. In January, Bengaluru-based agritech firm Cropin Technologies raised $13.7 million from a series of investors including Google.
Gold & Glitter Pvt. Ltd, which operates D2C brand O'2 Nails India, raised $150,000 (Rs 1.24 crore) as a part of its seed funding round from Real Time Angle fund and Atal Incubation Centre (AIC)- Birla Institute of Management and Technology (BIMTECH).
With this infusion, the Noida-based company plans to develop its nail art tech stack along with expanding the retail presence.
Founded by Aparna Singh and Vikram Singh in 2021, O'2 Nails India is a nail care startup that provides nail extensions, color gels and other nail care services. It currently claims to operate 30 stores across 15 cities across India and plans to open 100 stores for the FY 2023-24.
“We plan to use these funds for technological advancement and expanding our stores and retail presence. With this new funding, O'2 Nails India will be able to give customers access to innovative nail care products,” said Singh.
“The market for Indian nail art and nail care products is seeing growth due to a focus on fashion, beauty and hygiene," said Amit Singal, general partner, Real-Time Angel Fund,
Last year, Real Time Angel Fund (RTAF) announced the launch of its Rs 100 crore fund and marked its first investment in the business-to-business (B2B) marketplace for cart-pushers, MyMandi. The early-stage fund invests in pre-seed to pre-series startups with a ticket size of Rs 1 crore per startup.
