Flipkart Ventures-backed Indian roll-up firm banks $50m

GOAT Brand Labs, a direct-to-consumer brand aggregator based in India, has bagged US$50 million in series A1 funding. The round saw participation from the startup’s existing investors as well as Winter Capital, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts.

Team GOAT Brand Labs / Photo credit: GOAT Brand Labs

Within a year of operations, GOAT has acquired 15 D2C brands. Focusing on digitally native lifestyle lines, the roll-up firm’s portfolio includes The Label Life, Frangipani, Doggie Dabbas, trueBrowns, and Abhishti.

GOAT said that it has partnered with the founders of the firms it has acquired in a bid to scale its portfolio by almost 85%. The company is also in talks to acquire 12 more brands.

The aggregator also said that despite maintaining the lowest overheads among competitors, it is profitable.

GOAT was established in 2021 by Rishi Vasudev, former CEO of both Lifestyle and Calvin Klein, and Rameswar Misra, founder of menswear brand Turms.

See also: Roll-up ecommerce flexes its muscles in India

The Indian roll-up firm competes with the likes of Thrasio, GlobalBees, and Mensa Brands – all of which became unicorns within a few months of being launched. India’s roll-up ecommerce space has received heavy funding in recent years as online shopping grew in popularity amid the pandemic.

Other investors in this round include:

• Vivriti Capital
• Oxyzo
• Tiger Global
• Flipkart Ventures
• Mayfield
• Nordstar
• Better Capital
• Trifecta