Pune-based billionaire businessman Adar Poonawalla of the Serum Institute has invested Rs 12 crore in independent cookie brand Sweetish House Mafia.
The funding is part of the pre-series A round of the company started by Aakash Sethi and Neha Sethi, MBA holders from Massachusetts University and Wharton Business School, respectively.
The funds will be used for aggressive expansion in current markets and to enter newer cities, besides expanding the product line, the founders told PTI on Thursday.
The funds will also be deployed for newer business vertical and e-commerce platform, they added.
Claiming to be the city's first home-grown cookie brand, Sweetish House Mafia was founded in 2013. It initially sold cookies on a car to customers on the move in Mumbai.
Some of its popular products include its signature Nutella sea salt, double chocolate chip and classic chocolate chip cookie. It also sells cookie shakes, cookie sundaes and plain milk cookies.
The cookies are available across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The company will be entering seven more cities, including New Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai.