 "Clensta raises Rs 20-cr funding from Hem Angels, Venture Catalysts, others")
Direct-to-Consumer personal and home care products startup Clensta on Thursday said it has raised Rs 20 crore funding from Hem Angels part of Hem Securities Ltd, Venture Catalysts and Inflection Point Ventures.
Existing investors N+1 Capital (RBF) and other investors also invested in this series A funding round, Clensta's said in a statement.
The funds raised will be used to scale up the company's sales, ramp up brand marketing and expand online and offline presence across India, it added.
Commenting on the fund raise, Clensta Founder CEO Puneet Gupta said, "we will be focusing on developing innovative and sustainable products, enhancing our relations with customers, marketing and expansion of our footprints across the country."
The company aims to use technology to scale the personal-care segment and provide personalised shopping experience to its customers, he added.
"Keeping in mind the Indian home care market size of USD 6.2 billion, we have adopted an omni-channel strategy to ensure Clensta's presence in offline as well as online markets. In this light, this funding comes as an affirmation that we continue to lead in the right path," Gupta said.
On the investment, Hem Angels Director Gaurav Jain said over the next five years, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands present at least a USD 100 billion opportunity.
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"There's no better time than now for Clensta to get off their growth plan and take their product to the next level, witnessing rapid acceleration of scale," he added.
Venture Catalyst Co-founder and President Apoorva Ranjan Sharma said, "we are optimistic that Clensta will become a billion dollar tech-driven personal care brand in the next few years."
Similarly, Inflection Point Ventures Co-Founder Mitesh Shah said the D2C wave is "birthing many innovative and disruptive brands" and Clensta takes the innovation further with the introduction of waterless tech in their products.
"Their understanding of the fast-growing D2C segment and a varied range of products in personal care impressed our investors to lead this round," Shah added.
The IIT Delhi backed start-up founded in 2016 has over 30 products in its portfolio. It had started with flagship products -- waterless body bath and shampoo -- based on 'Waterless Technology'.