Zouk, a Mumbai-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) lifestyle brand, has raised $3 million (around Rs 24.79 crore) in a Series A funding round led by existing investor Stellaris Venture Partners. 

Sharrp Ventures, JJ Family Office, Manoj Meena (Atomberg), Dilip Khandelwal (Deutsche Bank India), Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee (Sugar Cosmetics), among others, also participated in the funding round.

As per the startup, the raised funds will be used to expand its product portfolio and ramp up distribution. The D2C brand also plans to launch five exclusive outlets this year for a larger share of the bags and accessories market, which is projected to have a CAGR of 12 per cent to reach $10.6 billion by 2024.

Zouk | Premium Bags, Wallets & Footwear 

Founded by Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar in 2016, Zouk is a D2C Indian lifestyle brand that offers premium bags, wallets & footwear. The D2C brand claims to have recorded a 10x growth since its pre-Series A funding round in 2021, wherein it raised $1.5 million. 

Speaking about the development, Disha Singh, Founder of Zouk, said,

“We are rapidly expanding our collection of bags and footwear. Our recent launches of backpacks, baguettes and clutches have been received well. On the distribution front, we are now available in over 50 offline retail touch points. We will further see our first set of brand outlets. We will also be building our brand awareness. The biggest investment though will be on expanding our team and strengthening our supply chain.”

As per Disha, the startup plans to expand its collection on the bags and footwear side. On the distribution front, we are now available in over 50 offline retail touchpoints.

Commenting on the development, Rahul Chowdhri, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, said,

“We have been impressed with Zouk’s capital efficient growth. We thus decided to double down on our investment. With the expansion in footwear, the upcoming offline foray and the brand building initiatives planned, we are excited with what’s in store from Zouk.” 

As per a report by Shiprocket, D2C brands in India are estimated to become a $60 billion industry by FY27. In the initial days of March, Indiejewel Fashions Pvt Ltd, which operates consumer silver-jewellery focused startup Giva, raised debt funding of Rs 40 crore (around $4.9 million) from venture debt fund Alteria Capital. 

Oral care startup Perfora raised $2.5 million (around Rs 20.7 crore) in a Series A funding round led by RPSG Capital Ventures. Also, Off Duty, a Mumbai-based apparel brand, raised Rs 4 crore from revenue-based financier Velocity.

Earlier in February, D2C platform Blingg raised pre-seed funding of $100,000 (around Rs 82.7 lakh) led by Decentralized VC. In January, D’chica, a fashion brand offering innerwear along with a fashion line of sportswear, loungewear and footwear, raised Rs 1.62 crore from revenue-based financier Velocity. 

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