Bollywood Celebrities Flip Traders With An Eye On Startup Increase

The fast development of the Indian startup ecosystem over the previous few years has captured the eye of Bollywood celebrities. In consequence, Bollywood actors have additionally became traders, making an investment in Indian startups, in conjunction with project capital and personal fairness finances, to benefit from this development in Indian startups. 

India is house to 108  unicorns these days. Of this, unicorns like Mamaearth, Nykaa and Excellent Glamm Workforce have gained investments from Bollywood actors. But even so, Bollywood actors equivalent to Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma and Sonu Sood have arrange their very own startups Ed-a-Mamma, NUSH, and Pravasirojgar, respectively.

Previously few years, actors equivalent to Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Alia Bhatt have sponsored a number of early-stage and growth-stage startups. 2022 was once no other, we noticed a number of Bollywood celebrities making an investment in startups. As a part of the ninth version of 2022 in Evaluate sequence, we carry you the listing of Indian actors and actresses who made investments in startups this yr. 

General, Bollywood celebrities have sponsored 18 Indian startups in 2022. But even so, many of those actors additionally became model ambassadors for the startups they invested in, showing of their ads on virtual platforms and tv. 

Apparently, a majority of investments by way of the Indian actors have been within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector in 2022, whilst the remainder have been in edtech, ecommerce, foodtech, well being and health, and agritech sectors. 

Out of the 18 startups during which the actors invested, Mamaearth has won unicorn standing. In the meantime, others are both early-stage or growth-stage startups.

Right here Is A Record Of Bollywood Celebrities That Invested In Indian Startups In 2022

Anushka Sharma 

Along a a success performing profession, Anushka Sharma has additionally been actively making an investment in startups. The actor invested in 3 startups within the final 3 years.

In 2022, she sponsored two D2C manufacturers – Slurrp Farm and Blue Tribe. Whilst Slurrp Farm sells wholesome snacks, Blue Tribe is a plant-based meat startup.

Slurrp Farm was once based by way of Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik in 2016 and is a subsidiary of Wholsum Meals. It sells wholesome snacks like flavoured cereals, ready-to-make meals, and superfoods for youngsters. The startup has a presence in India, america, the United Kingdom and the UAE. 

Apart from Sharma’s funding, Slurrp Farm has raised a complete investment of $9 Mn until date. It counts Fireplace Ventures and Funding Company of Dubai amongst its traders. As a part of the deal, Sharma additionally was a model ambassador for the startup and its subsidiaries. 

Whilst plant-based meat startup Blue Tribe was once based in 2017 by way of Sandeep Singh and Nikki Arora Singh. It sells meat-alternative merchandise equivalent to frozen minced hen, hen nuggets, and keema. 

Blue Tribe claims that its merchandise are fabricated from pea, soybeans, and lentils. It reported a lack of INR 1.4 Cr within the monetary yr 2020-21, whilst its income stood at INR 15 Lakh, in line with information to be had with industry intelligence platform Tofler. 

Prior to those, Sharma, in conjunction with her husband Virat Kohli had invested INR 2.5 Cr in insurtech unicorn in 2020.

Athiya Shetty

Following the footsteps of her father, actor Athiya Shetty sponsored social trade startup Stage3 in March this yr. As a part of the deal, she additionally joined the startup as an artistic director. 

Arrange in 2016 by way of Sabena Puri, Sanchit Baweja and Rina Dhaka, Stage3 sells rapid model outfits recommended by way of influencers and celebrities. Apart from Athiya’ funding, it has raised $4.65 Mn until date.

Stage3’s cap desk contains Inflection Level Ventures, LC Nueva Funding Companions, Let’s Undertaking, Stanford Angels, Blume Ventures, and Mensa Manufacturers’ Ananth Narayanan, amongst others.

Dia Mirza 

Veteran actor Dia Mirza sponsored sustainable child clothes model Greendigo in September this yr. As a part of the deal, she can be selling the emblem as its model ambassador.

Arrange in 2019 by way of Barkha Bhatnagar Das and Meghna Kishore, Greendigo sells carbon-neutral garments for babies and youngsters, together with child blankets, child hooded towels and child cot units. Its merchandise are qualified by way of sustainable textile processing usual International Natural Textile Same old, in line with its site.

Whilst pronouncing its fundraise, the startup’s founders stated that it had 400 inventory preserving gadgets (SKUs) and would upload every other 300 SKUs by way of December. 

Greendigo reported a lack of INR 28.3 Lakh in FY20, whilst its income stood at INR 2.9 Lakh, in line with Tofler. 

Kajal Aggarwal 

Actor Kajal Aggarwal invested in D2C ayurvedic model The Ayurveda Co’s (TAC) $15 Mn Sequence A investment spherical in November.

Arrange in 2021 by way of Param Bhargava and Shreedha Singh, TAC sells ayurvedic merchandise in 3 classes – skin care, haircare and herbal make-up. 

On the time of its fundraise in November, the startup stated that it recorded 500% development in income from March to October and was once aiming for 10x development by way of March 2023.

TAC has raised $18 Mn in investment until date. Its cap desk contains Wipro Client Care Ventures, GetVantage, Speed, Shiprocket Capital, Tricity Applied sciences’ Rahul Gupta and College of Design and Entrepreneurship’s Harsh Gupta, amongst others. 

It posted a income of INR 12.7 Cr in FY22, whilst its loss stood at INR 2.8 Cr all through the yr. 

Nora Fatehi 

Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi sponsored cloud kitchen aggregator Curefoods in July this yr. She additionally was a model ambassador of Curefoods’ subsidiary model CakeZone.  

Based in 2020 by way of Ankit Nagori, the cloud kitchen aggregator homes a number of manufacturers like EatFit, Sharief Bhai, Aligarh Space Biryani and CakeZone. All over its final fundraise, the startup stated that it operated over 150 cloud kitchens in 15 towns. 

In July, the startup were given related to Hrithik Roshan’s health model HRX to increase throughout India, principally that specialize in the north Indian marketplace.

Apart from Nora’s funding, the startup has raised a complete investment of $132 Mn until date. It counts Red Iciness, Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, 16th Boulevard Capital, Accel Companions, and Binny Bansal amongst its traders.

Its running income stood at INR 1.96 Cr in FY21, whilst its consolidated loss stood at INR 1.33 Cr in FY21, in line with information to be had with Tofler. 

Pankaj Tripathi

Veteran Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi sponsored agritech startup Krishi Community previous this yr and was once additionally roped in as its model ambassador. 

Arrange in 2015 by way of father-son duo of Aditya and Sanjay Agarwalla, Krishi Community supplies an built-in provide chain to farmers, enabling them to at once promote their contemporary produce to consumers by way of getting rid of middlemen concerned within the procedure.

The startup has raised $3 Mn in investment until date, apart from Tripathi’s funding. It counts Mistletoe’s Atsushi Taira, Y Combinator, Thiel Basis, Undertaking Freeway, FundersClub, Lynett Capital and Gokul Rajaram amongst its traders.

The startup reported a lack of INR 74 Lakh in FY20, whilst its income stood at INR 4.5 Lakh all through the yr, in line with Tofler information. 

Rakul Preet Singh

Rakul Preet Singh sponsored D2C nutraceutical startup Wellbeing Diet in April this yr. As a part of the deal, she additionally was its model ambassador.

Arrange in 2019 by way of Avnish Chhabria, the nutraceutical startup sells nutrients and minerals dietary supplements by way of its site and offline shops. It manages over 2,000 shops in India and over 5,000 shops in different international locations together with america, the United Kingdom, the UAE and Germany.

In April, it stated that it grew 40% month-on-month (MoM) and had a presence throughout 600+ towns of India. 

Until date, Wellbeing Diet has raised a investment of $2.6 Mn from traders together with Fireplace Ventures, ACG, Beardo’s Roha Workforce, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah, former TikTok CEO Nikhil Gandhi and Harsh Vardhan Bhandari. 

It reported a lack of INR 5.8 Cr in FY22, whilst its running income stood at INR 19.5 Cr, in line with information to be had with Tofler.

Ranveer Singh

Ranveer Singh invested in D2C attractiveness model SUGAR Cosmetics in September this yr. As a part of the deal, Singh was once additionally roped in as its model ambassador and could be developing methods to draw GenZ and millennials. 

Began by way of Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee in 2015, SUGAR sells attractiveness merchandise throughout classes equivalent to lips, eyes, nails and pores and skin. It operates 1,750 unique model retailers and likewise sells its merchandise via retail chains equivalent to Consumers Forestall, Way of life, Central, Well being & Glow, NewU and others.

The startup has raised $100 Mn in combination until date and counts L Catterton, A91 Companions, Elevation Capital, India Quotient and Elevation Capital amongst its traders. 

Its overall income higher 21.6% to INR 127.8 Cr in FY21 from INR 105 Cr in FY20. In the meantime, its loss stood at INR 21 Cr as towards INR 28.2 Cr in FY20.

Rashmika Mandanna

Indian actor Rashmika Mandanna infused cash in D2C vegan model Plum and likewise was its model ambassador in June this yr.

Arrange in 2013 by way of Shankar Prasad, Plum sells attractiveness merchandise in 4 classes – skin care, haircare, private care and make-up. It has an omnichannel presence in India. 

All over its final fundraise, the startup stated that it sells merchandise by way of 1,000 multi-brand retailers and over 10,000 unique model retailers throughout 250 towns of India.

It has raised overall investment of $50 Mn until date. Plum counts A91 Companions, Unilever Ventures, Faering Capital, Trifecta Capital and Unilever Ventures amongst its traders.

Like different startups, Plum has additionally been impacted by way of the slowdown within the Indian startup ecosystem. In November, it was once reported that Plum was once sacking 36 staff as a cost-cutting measure.

Sara Ali Khan

Sara Ali Khan made an fairness funding in D2C startup The Souled Retailer in March 2022. 

Arrange in 2013 by way of Vedang Patel, Harsh Lal, Aditya Sharma and Rohin Samtaney, The Souled Retailer sells informal put on and pop-culture garments equivalent to best put on, backside put on, innerwear and activewear.

All over its final fundraise, the startup claimed it held over 180 licences equivalent to Disney, Warner Bros, WWE, IPL, and Viacom18, amongst others, and that it had a buyer base of over 4 Mn.

The startup has raised a investment of $13 Mn until date, aside from Khan’s funding.

Its cap desk contains Elevation Capital, Delhivery’s Sahil Barua, Zalora’s Gunjan Soni, Mosaic Wellness’ Revant Bhate, Livspace’s Ramakant Sharma, City Ladder’s Ashish Goel, and OYO’s Rohit Kapoor, amongst others.

The Souled Retailer’s running income stood at INR 146 Cr in FY22, whilst it reported a lack of INR 26.7 Cr all through the yr, in line with information to be had with Tofler.

Shilpa Shetty

Veteran actor Shilpa Shetty has sponsored 3 startups in 2022 thus far – upskilling platform Hunar, D2C unicorn Mamaearth and nutraceutical startup Rapid&Up. 

In November, she infused an undisclosed quantity in Hunar On-line. The Hyderabad-based startup gives on-line classes in 4 disciplines – model designing, house décor, baking, and attractiveness. Material designing, house décor, jewelry designing and makeup, are a number of the classes presented by way of it. 

All over its fundraise, the startup claimed that it was once managing a web-based group of 20 Lakh females. It additionally stated that it was once providing on-line classes to over 45,000 scholars, of which round 30% have been incomes INR 50,000 each and every month.

In the meantime, she invested INR 6.04 Cr in D2C unicorn Mamaearth in September. The startup, based in 2016 by way of the husband-wife duo of Gazal and Varun Alagh, sells attractiveness and private care merchandise equivalent to night time cream, frame lotion and toner, amongst others. 

It has raised $126.05 Mn thus far from traders together with Sequoia Capital, Sofina Ventures and UAE-based Evolvence, Stellaris Ventures, Fireplace Ventures, Marico’s Rishabh Mariwala, Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, amongst others. 

In July, Shetty invested in Fullife Healthcare’s subsidiary model Rapid&Up. Arrange in 2015 by way of Vijayaraghavan Venugopal and Varun Khanna, Fullife Healthcare additionally manages women-focused nutraceutical model Chicnutrix. 

Pronouncing the funding by way of Shetty, Fullife Healthcare stated that Rapid&Up and Chicnutrix have a presence in India and world markets, together with america, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Apart from Shetty’s investment, Fullife has raised a complete investment of $34.5 Mn until date from traders together with Morgan Stanley Non-public Fairness Asia (MSPEA), Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal, 6th Sense and Amansa Capital, amongst others.

Suniel Shetty

Veteran Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty has been aggressively making an investment in startups for the previous few years. The actor invested in 5 startups over the past 3 years.

Shetty has sponsored D2C startup Aquatein and men-focussed jewelry model MetaMan in 2022. 

MetaMan, arrange in 2022 by way of Anil Shetty, sells males’s jewelry equivalent to bracelets, pendants and chains, earrings and rings. It counts Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, Accel Companions’ Prashanth Prakash and cricketer KL Rahul as its traders.

Aquatein is a health model, based by way of Ananta Prabhala in 2019. It sells protein-enriched beverages. It follows a subscription-based style and delivers those beverages at shoppers’ doorstep. 

But even so Shetty’s funding, Aquatein has raised simply $500K in its seed investment spherical from project capital company Eaglewings Ventures.

Aquatein reported a lack of INR 57 Lakh in FY21, whilst its running income stood at INR 18 Lakh all through the yr, as in step with its filings accessed from Tofler.

In 2021, the actor invested in NFT startup Colexion. Based in 2021, Colexion permits customers to shop for and business virtual collectables associated with cricket and movie stars. On the time of fundraising, the startup claimed that it hosted greater than 1,200 NFTs from over 100 celebrities throughout 10+ international locations. In 2020, Shetty invested in healthtech startup Vieroots and nutraceutical startup BodyFirst. 

Tiger Shroff 

Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff invested in edtech startup Freadom’s $2.5 Mn investment spherical in January this yr. Arrange in 2016 by way of Kavish Gadia and Nikhil Saraf, the startup deploys AI and knowledge science to assist youngsters be informed the English language. The startup is an initiative of Stones2Milestones Edu Products and services Pvt Ltd. 

Whilst pronouncing its final fundraise, the startup claimed that it was once on target to have 10 Mn readers by way of the top of 2022 and aimed to increase its consumer base to 50 Mn globally by way of 2023. 

Freadom counts Ashneer Grover, V-Mart Retail’s Lalit Agarwal and PayU’s Aakash Moondhara, Unreasonable Capital, Quantiphi, and Singapore Angels amongst its traders. 

Varun Dhawan

Like lots of his Bollywood colleagues, Varun Dhawan is these days construction his startup portfolio. Within the final two years, the actor invested in two startups – Curefoods and Rapid&Up.

In April this yr, he infused an undisclosed sum of money in cloud kitchen aggregator Curefoods. As a part of the deal, he was a model ambassador of Curefoods’ subsidiary EatFit.

Integrated by way of Ankit Nagori, Curefoods runs more than a few cloud kitchen manufacturers equivalent to EatFit, Sharief Bhai and Aligarh Space Biryani, amongst others.

In January, it merged cloud kitchen startup Maverix’s with itself to develop marketplace presence and production features. Curefoods additionally purchased unique franchise rights of US-based meals model Sbarro and a majority stake in milkshake model Frozen Bottle this yr.

In the past, Dhawan sponsored Fullife Healthcare’s D2C nutraceutical model Rapid&Up in 2021.

The continuing investment iciness has led to a downturn and layoffs within the Indian startup ecosystem in 2022. Then again, the startup ecosystem is anticipated to shake off the transient slowdown and proceed its ahead march within the long-term. As such, the rage of Bollywood celebrities turning traders to benefit from this development adventure is anticipated to proceed in 2023 and past.