Two startups, Nestasia and Mitra, have raised a lot of money to help grow their businesses. Nestasia focuses on home decor, while Mitra sells everyday items like food and spices. The new funds will help these companies improve their products, reach more customers, and build stronger brands in India.
Nestasia is a home decor brand that was started in 2019 by Aditi Murarka Agrawal and Anurag Agrawal. The company recently raised $8.35 million in a funding round led by Susquehanna Asia VC, Stellaris Venture Partners, and other investors. Nestasia sells about 4,000 different items, mostly for the home. The dining products are the most popular, making up half of the company’s income.
Nestasia plans to use the new money to open more stores, create new products, build the brand, and hire more people. They want to add new items like kitchenware, drinkware, cookware, and appliances, and launch new lines like Nest Baby & Kids for children.
Right now, only 10% of Nestasia’s income comes from stores because it only recently started opening physical locations. Most sales, around 55%, come from its website, and the rest comes from online marketplaces. Over the past year, Nestasia opened seven stores in six cities and plans to have 30 stores by 2025. The company hopes to reach Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in the next four years.
“We want to capture a large part of the market with our strong presence online and in stores, offering new products every week for different occasions and customer needs,” said co-founder Aditi Murarka Agrawal. Nestasia ended FY23 with Rs 27 crore in revenue and saw 70% growth in FY24.
Mitra is an FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) startup that sells everyday products like flour, pulses, rice, and spices at low prices. Founded in 2022 by Abhishek Kaushik, Mitra recently raised INR 11 Cr ($1.3 Mn) in funding from Bestvantage Investments and a Dubai-based family office. Mitra works with over 300 distributors and 15,000 retailers in 14 major locations across India.
Mitra will use the funds to expand its production plants in Mathura and Gurugram, improve its supply chain, and look into exporting products to Europe. The company also plans to work with government programs like NAFED and Bharat Aata and focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where affordable products are needed most.
Mitra has grown quickly, reaching INR 14 Cr in sales in its first year. The company aims to triple sales to over INR 35 Cr this year, showing 3.5 times growth. “We are thankful to our investors for their support as we grow,” said founder Abhishek Kaushik. Mitra plans to boost production, launch new products, and expand both in India and internationally.
The recent investments in Nestasia and Mitra show that investors are excited about companies that mix traditional products with modern shopping experiences. Nestasia plans to grow its home decor brand through more stores and online sales, while Mitra will improve its FMCG business by expanding production and supply. Both companies are set to grow fast and bring new ideas to their industries.