How Homegrown D2C Startups can Scale up their Presence?

How Homegrown D2C Startups can Scale up their Presence?

By Vaishnavi Gupta , Sr Correspondent

05 Mar 2024 | 4 min read

One of India’s leading accelerators, Huddle based in Delhi NCR has launched an exclusive Acceleration Program inviting early and growth stage consumer-focused startups in the country. The accelerator has grown a rich portfolio of startups including the likes of Wellversed, Bold Care, Cell Propulsion, Trillbit, GoSocial (Hapramp), along with several more well-funded and reputed ventures in their field, has created a special offering to propel consumer-led ventures in India.

The core objective of the program is to tackle common pain points suffered by early-stage consumer startups including a host of support that entails expansive distribution access, logistics enablement, marketing advisory, and financing, in addition to the ability to access the country-wide portfolio catering to the consumer sector.

Huddle has partnered with relevant industry leaders such as Pidge, Klub, One Impression, and Tugo to offer 360-degree support and speed to scale for ventures selected as part of the program. As a way of extending contextual support, Huddle has carved out a dedicated mentor panel of industry experts, namely: Gautham Mukkavilli (Ex India Bev, Ex-Pepsico), Vikas Bhatia (CFO, Varun Beverages Ltd - Only supporting CPG, Wellness and Personal Care verticals of the program), and Aman Arora (Co-founder, Keventers).

The Indian D2C ecosystem is estimated to hit a total addressable market of $100 bn by the end of 2025. Over 600 D2C brands have been launched since 2016 out of which over 100 of them have been VC-backed amounting to $1.6bn+ in cumulative VC funding.

Sanil Sachar, Founding Partner, Huddle, said, “Our experience in accelerating ventures across emerging sectors has reinstilled the importance of a core ecosystem of support functions to ventures in order to enable them with speed, ease, and agility. With this program, we are proud of the multiple associations and learnings that have come together to back consumer ventures with the ideal financial, social and intellectual capital they would need to succeed. The goal is to build ventures that come together to serve India, across consumer needs, starting from their head to toe, be it a product or service.” 

The program is focused on new-age D2C startups, from unfunded ventures with limited traction to seed-funded ventures, that are able to command a differentiated product or service or are challenger brands to existing traditional consumer sectors.

The focus areas of the program will include ventures in Food and Beverage - Both digitally native and traditional homegrown brands that have achieved early validation for their products, Consumer Packaged Goods - Applicable to early-stage ventures in the apparel, home-care, and furnishing space. Wellness Supplements - Early-stage ventures offering wellness-related nutraceuticals for prevention, immunity, and other common treatable ailments. Personal Care - Applicable to beauty and personal care brands offering skincare, haircare, and body care products. 

One of India’s leading accelerators, Huddle based in Delhi NCR has launched an exclusive Acceleration Program inviting early and growth stage consumer-focused startups in the country. The accelerator has grown a rich portfolio of startups including the likes of Wellversed, Bold Care, Cell Propulsion, Trillbit, GoSocial (Hapramp), along with several more well-funded and reputed ventures in their field, has created a special offering to propel consumer-led ventures in India.

The core objective of the program is to tackle common pain points suffered by early-stage consumer startups including a host of support that entails expansive distribution access, logistics enablement, marketing advisory, and financing, in addition to the ability to access the country-wide portfolio catering to the consumer sector.

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