If there is one industry that has seen significant growth and massive development during the pandemic, it is the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector, especially in 2021.
With this rise in the D2C sector, the world is seeing more capital available for entrepreneurs to build digital-first consumer brands and against this backdrop; Fluid Ventures has emerged as one of the venture capital fund, which is focused on investing in D2C startups.
After investing in three startups since its launch six months ago, it has set a target of investing Rs 25 crore on D2C startups at a pre-Series A stage in 2022; this includes four companies before March 2022 with a ticket size of up to Rs 2 crore as the first cheque and participating in the follow on rounds with additional capital.
Fluid Ventures is known to invest in early-stage D2C startups that clock sales of, at least, Rs 50 lakh per month as a part of their investment criteria. “The fund is on a mission to invest in visionary entrepreneurs that are creating digital-first and world-class consumer brands,” said Amit Singal, General Partner, Fluid Ventures. “What’s interesting is that 2021 has been a historic year for D2C; consumer brands like Licious and Mamaearth entering the unicorn club, validating our D2C ideology,” he added.
Within six months, Fluid Ventures has invested in a Jaipur-based leading digital retailer of fabrics, Fabriclore as their debut investment, followed by, Bangalore-based sustainable safe wooden toys brand Shumee Toys and Wallmantra, Delhi NCR based Wall Decor and home furnishing company marking as the third investment from the fund.
According to Tracxn, a market intelligence company, the D2C market is on its way to cross $100 billion by 2025 as nearly 800 D2C startups have emerged in the Indian market in the last couple of years and is expected to increase exponentially. The industry estimates the growth to be 10-15 times more in 2022, however it does not end here. The growth is expected to continue at 9-10 percent in 2023 and 10-11 percent in 2024.
Dhianu Das, General Partner, Fluid Ventures, is not surprised with the rapid growth of the D2C’s growth and its future. He said, “With the lifestyle has taken a complete turn in a post-COVID world, it has accelerated the growth of digitization. It’s changed the way we communicate, socialize, shop and even, seek entertainment. And this form has connected with the young generation in a big way. Given these factors, D2C is here to stay.”
