Kalpavriksh, the private equity arm of financial services firm Centrum, announced that it has invested about $2.2 million (Rs 15 crore) in two niche consumer companies – The Ayurveda Experience and Dunzo. The PE firm has pumped in Rs 10 crore in The Ayurveda Experience, a Delhi-based online direct to consumer Ayurveda content and products company, while it has backed Bengaluru-based hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo with Rs 5 crore funding, it said in a statement. The Ayurveda Experience is engaged in manufacturing, sales and distribution of ayurvedic products in India and globally. Through its brands, iYURA and Ajara, the company sells healthcare, personal care and Ayurvedic nutrition products in five countries. It had raised an undisclosed amount in seed round in January. With the latest funding, the company is looking to scale its research and development facility to further strengthen its product portfolio and increase its geographic reach. As part of the agreement, Giri Krishnaswamy, CIO Kalpavriksh Fund will join the company’s board. Meanwhile, Dunzo is a chat-based task management app connecting consumers with its delivery partners. The partners perform tasks such as local grocery shopping, food delivery, arranging medical supplies, etc. and deliver them to consumers’ residence for a fee. Dunzo, which was launched on WhatsApp by Kabeer Biswas, Ankur Aggarwal, Mukund Jha, and Dalvir Suri in 2015, claims to have serviced approximately 1 million orders in March 2019. It will use the funds to expand operations in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi & Gurgaon and work towards being profitable in these micro markets. Anshul Agarwal, executive director, Kalpavriksh Fund said: “We believe that Dunzo’s focus on cost efficient logistics services by managing capacity utilisation throughout the day, will enable it to obtain a competitive edge in the hyperlocal services market.” “We continue to back niche businesses that have built a distinct business model, created brand equity and have the potential to scale up rapidly. Both investments are backed by a robust technology platform and have demonstrated sustained growth through innovation and strong customer engagement,” Giri Krishnaswamy, CIO of Kalpavriksh Fund added. Kalpavriksh Fund’s earlier investments include – The HEAL Institute, The Label Life and Littlemore Innovation Labs Pte Ltd. According to a recent Mint report, Dunzo is in talks with new investors to raise approximately $50 million. In February, Dunzo raised $6.5 million from a clutch of new and previous investors including Deep Kalra, the chairman and group CEO of MakeMyTrip. Other investors in the startup include Google, Blume Ventures and Alteria Capital.
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