Vahdam raises Rs 174 cr from IIFL AMC, Kris Gopalkrishnan's family office

The company, which sells teas, spices and superfoods to the US, Canada and Europe, has raised a total of over Rs 290 crore so far

Vahdam India, a native Indian wellness brand, which sells teas, spices and superfoods to markets like the US, Canada and Europe has raised Rs 174 crore in its Series D Round led by IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund.

The existing investors include a consortium of Sixth Sense Ventures affiliates, the Mankind Group Family Office, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalkrishnan’s Family Office, Urmin Group and White Whale Ventures also participated in this round, continuing to back the fast-growing consumer business.

Following this round of investments, the total funding raised by the company till date is over Rs 290 crore.

The amount raised will be utilized to expand the company’s distribution - both online and offline, enter new geographies and foray into new complementary categories. The company is working on a vision to take native Indian products to global markets, with a focus on the wellness category.

“The pandemic has accelerated our growth, given the shift towards high quality and trusted wellness products, and larger adoption of e-commerce globally,” said Bala Sarda, founder and CEO of Vahdam. “With the current fundraising, we plan to continue deepening our distribution in key markets, both online and offline. We will also look at entering new categories, new markets, invest heavily in R&D and further strengthen our management team.”

Vahdam closed FY21 with net revenue of over Rs 160 crore, growing 110 per cent year-on-year from a revenue of Rs 75 crore in FY20, while becoming profitable. The firm is now aiming to reach Rs 500 crore in revenue over the next three years.

Vahdam India was founded in 2015 by Bala Sarda, with a mission to build a home-grown Indian brand for the world. It has direct sourcing from farms and estates across India and has in-house manufacturing in its facility in NCR. It also has local distribution in key markets like the US, Canada and Europe. The firm said it has received endorsements by global celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey. The company is executing a unique digital playbook of creating strong & scalable consumer brands globally.

“Vahdam is a rare example of a company, which has successfully taken products of Indian origin to global markets,” said Chetan Naik, fund manager, private equity at IIFL AMC. “With its superior quality and innovative blends, Vahdam has been able to create a premium brand and reach out to global consumers via digital channels. It is remarkable that the company under the leadership of Bala (Sarda) has been able to execute this by being highly capital efficient and achieving EBITDA profitability.”