SoftBank executives back $15m round of Indian D2C brand

India-based BlissClub, a direct-to-consumer firm, has raised US$15 million in its series A financing led by Eight Roads Ventures and Elevation Capital.

Photo credit: BlissClub

Investors including SoftBank executives Munish Varma and Sumer Juneja also took part, along with Shopify director of marketing partnerships Brennan Loh, Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety, and Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh, among others.

Founded in 2020 by former PhonePe executive Minu Margeret, BlissClub manufactures activewear for women. The company said it has clocked a 25x growth in revenue over the past 10 months.

“Activewear has become one of the fastest growing apparel categories globally, including India, driven by an increasing interest in fitness and shift towards comfortable clothing,” said Shweta Bhatia, partner at Eight Roads Ventures.

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BlissClub will use the fresh funds to invest in R&D and product development. It also aims to double its team size by hiring across functions including tech, marketing, business, operations, and product design.

In May 2021, BlissClub raised US$2.3 million from Elevation Capital, Goog Capital, and angel investors including Cred founder Kunal Shah, DST managing partner Rahul Mehta, former Lululemon executive Pam Lee, Urban Ladder founder Ashish Goel, and Country Delight co-founder Chakradhar Gade.

The latest investment comes amid soaring demand for fashion and accessories in India’s D2C segment, which is poised to become a US$43.2 billion market by 2025.