Latest news with #FiresideVentures
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Pills, promotions and a dose of doubt: Influencers, VC money fuel India's booming supplements market
Live Events A decade ago, India's health supplements mostly meant vitamin C, iron and B12 tablets purchased at pharmacies after consulting a doctor. Fast forward to 2025, and a whole new market has emerged—gummies to enhance your hair health, powders to boost collagen, liquid for gut, pills for women's perimenopause hormonal imbalance, magnesium tablets for better sleep, testosterone boosters, capsules with calming properties and vegan versions of all supplement wave in the country was sparked by increased health awareness after the Covid-19 pandemic and powered by social media influencer marketing and a rush of venture capital (VC), according to industry executives and products are being sold directly to consumers on ecommerce websites as well as quick-commerce apps, spawning a fast-growing segment within the health sector. But as gummies and pills become lifestyle staples, the line between wellness and pseudoscience is blurring. Most items are sold over the counter—with no prescription, no pharmacist and often no clarity on whether they actually result? A shelf full of products that look similar, promise big results and raise a critical question—how much of it is science, and how much social media hype?India's nutritional supplement industry, pegged at $47.92 billion in 2024, is projected to expand to $68.43 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1%, according to market research firm Research and Markets. The growth story has attracted both founders and venture capitalists. 'Just after the Covid-19 pandemic, the evolution of these nutra products happened with immunity-building items. After seeing good acceptance from the audience and more usage of digital platforms (ecommerce and quick-commerce) to buy such products, brands started experimenting with their offerings,' said Renu Bisht, founder of Commercify360, a Gurgaon-based brand consulting funding numbers back this up. According to data firm Venture Intelligence, the sector raised more than $500 million between 2020 and May 2025. The latest in the line is Mumbai-based The Good Bug, a gut health startup that raised about $12 million in a round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with Fireside Ventures Khaitan, principal at Fireside Ventures, emphasised the sharpening focus on science and research, along with innovation, in delivery formats. 'As themes like women's health, longevity and bone health evolve, we are looking to double down on startups operating at the intersection of unmet consumer needs and science-led innovation,' he health professionals are beginning to worry that the focus is shifting from effectiveness to aesthetics. 'The wellness sector is booming in India, which is why a lot of companies are getting a lot of VC funding early on. They use a lot of that funding to basically not work so much on the formulation but more on the marketability of a product,' said Poorvi Bhat Khandige, a Bengaluru-based naturopathic physician and nutritionist.'Health supplement brands are heavily reaching out to influencers because the concept is fairly new in India,' said Commercify 360's Bisht. 'Brands are partnering with health influencers, doctors and fitness trainers for marketing in order to build the audience's trust. Some brands are spending 15–30% of their budget on influencer marketing.'For example, nutrition brand Plix partners with Gen Z creators to reach urban, health-aware label Kapiva, from Kolkata-based Baidyanath, works with regional wellness influencers, while nutrition brand Fast&Up aligns with athletes and fitness content creators. 'We are trying to reach our target audience and continuously build awareness at the right frequency with them,' said Keshav Biyani, founder of gut health-focused brand The Good Unilever-backed Wellbeing Nutrition , a direct-to-consumer nutraceutical player, said 20-25% of its expenses are allocated to companies are ramping up their marketing budgets to build awareness by partnering with doctors and the marketing-first approach leads to many consumers buying the products without understanding them, and sometimes overusing them, leaving experts and nutritionists worried.'We've seen almost 200% growth month-on-month where protein is concerned, which is good and bad,' said Avnish Chhabria, founder of Wellbeing Nutrition. 'It's good, because everyone's gotten the sense and understanding of what they need to take. It's bad, because even people who are eating enough protein in a day are now overconsuming it, which could eventually lead to kidney problems.'The lack of guidance regarding the usage of such products poses a real risk. In some cases, certain ingredients require specific lifestyle choices to be instance, a Jaipur-based consumer used a popular nutrition brand's metabolically lean powder for more than a year before eventually stopping, after realising that some ingredients in the product required lifestyle adjustments. 'The product has EGCG and ALA (epigallocatechin gallate and alpha-lipoic acid are ingredients typically used in weight loss products), both of which can cause issues if you're not active,' the person said on condition of some products may fall short of their promises. Hair gummies, for example, are marketed with the promise of improving hair health and making it stronger and shinier. However, according to Khandige, a nutritionist, many of these products don't contain a sufficient therapeutic dose to be truly as the market expands, several leading brands are grappling with challenges tied to regulatory scrutiny, supply chain issues and shifting consumer expectations. GNC , a supplement retailer in the US—where the supplements market is projected to exceed $70 billion by 2031, from around $43 billion in 2022, according to data and business intelligence platform Statista—has faced multiple legal battles over product quality. Elysium Health, known for its anti-aging supplements, has drawn criticism from scientists, who have questioned the efficacy of its claims. However, the risk of such products reaching Indian consumers is heightened by the rise of fast and frictionless delivery channels such as quick-commerce supplement products in India fall under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, and not the drug regulator. That means weaker scrutiny and lighter penalties despite brands making bold claims like 'improves liver health' or 'reverses aging'.Health experts have long called for stringent oversight. Recently, an inter-ministerial committee headed by former health secretary Apurva Chandra recommended that any supplement claiming to treat or mitigate a disease should be classified as a drug. That would bring such products under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and subject them to stricter regulation. Experts agree that until there is better education, regulation and transparency, consumers will largely have to navigate this booming market on their own—one Instagram ad at a time.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
VC funding, influencers power India's health supplements craze amid lingering safety concerns
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel BENGALURU/MUMBAI: A decade ago, India's health supplements mostly meant vitamin C , iron and B12 tablets purchased at pharmacies after consulting a forward to 2025, and a whole new market has emerged — gummies to enhance your hair health, powders to boost collagen, liquid for gut, pills for women's perimenopause hormonal imbalance, magnesium tablets for better sleep, testosterone boosters, capsules with calming properties and vegan versions of all supplements wave in the country was sparked by increased health awareness after Covid-19 pandemic and powered by social media influencer marketing and arush of venture capital (VC), according to industry executives and products are being sold directly to consumers on ecommerce websites as well as quick-commerce apps, spawning a fast-growing segment within the health sector. But as gummies and pills become lifestyle staples, the line between wellness and pseudoscience is blurring. Most items are sold over the counter—with no prescription, no pharmacist and often no clarity on whether they actually result? A shelf full of products that look similar, promise big results and raise acritical question — how much of it is science, and how much social media hype?India's nutritional supplement industry, pegged at $47.92 billion in 2024, is projected to expand to $68.43 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1%, according to market research firm Research and Markets. The growth story has attracted both founders and venture capitalists. 'Just after the Covid-19 pandemic, the evolution of these nutra products happened with immunity-building items. After seeing good acceptance from the audience and more usage of digital platforms (ecommerce and quick-commerce) to buy such products, brands started experimenting with their offerings,' said Renu Bisht, founder of Commercify360, a Gurgaon-based brand consulting funding numbers back this up. According to data firm Venture Intelligence, the sector raised more than $500 million between 2020 and May 2025. The latest in the line is Mumbai-based The Good Bug , a gut health startup that raised about $12 million in a round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with Fireside Ventures Khaitan, principal at Fireside Ventures, emphasised the sharpening focus on science and research, along with innovation, in delivery formats. 'As themes like women's health, longevity and bone health evolve, we are looking to double down on startups operating at the intersection of unmet consumer needs and science-led innovation,' he health professionals are beginning to worry that the focus is shifting from effectiveness to aesthetics. 'The wellness sector is booming in India, which is why a lot of companies are getting a lot of VC funding early use a lot of that funding to basically not work so much on the formulation but more on the marketability of a product,' said Poorvi Bhat Khandige, a Bengaluru-based naturopathic physician and nutritionist.'Health supplement brands are heavily reaching out to influencers because the concept is fairly new in India,' said Commercify 360's Bisht. 'Brands are partnering with health influencers, doctors and fitness trainers for marketing in order to build the audience's trust. Some brands are spending 15-30% of their budget on influencer marketing.'Ayurvedic label Kapiva , from Kolkata-based Baidyanath, works with regional wellness influencers, while nutrition brand Fast&Up aligns with athletes and fitness content creators.'We are trying to reach our target audience and continuously build awareness at the right frequency with them,' said Keshav Biyani, founder of gut health-focused brand The Good Bug. Hindustan Unilever-backed Wellbeing Nutrition, a direct-to-consumer nutraceutical player, said 20-25% of its expenses are allocated to marketing. These companies are ramping up their marketing budgets to build awareness by partnering with doctors and the marketing-first approach leads to many consumers buying the products without understanding them, and sometimes overusing them, leaving experts and nutritionists worried. 'We've seen almost 200% growth month-on-month where protein is concerned, which is good and bad,' said Avnish Chhabria, founder of Wellbeing Nutrition. 'It's good, because everyone's gotten the sense and understanding of what they need to take. It's bad, because even people who are eating enough protein in a day are now overconsuming it, which could eventually lead to kidney problems.' The lack of guidance regarding the usage of such products poses a real risk. In some cases, certain ingredients require specific lifestyle choices to be instance, a Jaipur-based consumer used a popular nutrition brand's metabolically lean powder for more than a year before eventually stopping, after realising that some ingredients in the product required lifestyle adjustments. 'The product has EGCG and ALA (epigallocatechin gallate and alpha-lipoic acid are ingredients typically used in weight loss products), both of which can cause issues if you-'re not active,' the person said on condition of some products may fall short of their promises. Hair gummies, for example, are marketed with the promise of improving hair health and making it stronger and shinier. However, according to Khandige, a nutritionist, many of these products don't contain a sufficient therapeutic dose to be truly as the market expands, several leading brands are grappling with challenges tied to regulatory scrutiny, supply chain issues and shifting consumer expectations. GNC , a supplement retailer in the US—where the supplements market is projected to exceed $70 billion by 2031, from around $43 billion in 2022, according to data and business intelligence platform Statista—has faced multiple legal battles over product quality. Elysium Health, known for its anti-aging supplements, has drawn criticism from scientists, who have questioned the efficacy of its claims. However, the risk of such products reaching Indian consumers is heightened by the rise of fast and frictionless delivery channels such as quick-commerce supplement products in India fall under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, and not the drug regulator. That means weaker scrutiny and lighter penalties despite brands making bold claims like 'improves liver health' or 'reverses aging'.Health experts have long called for stringent oversight. Recently, an interministerial committee headed by former health secretary Apurva Chandra recommended that any supplement claiming to treat or mitigate a disease should be classified as a drug. That would bring such products under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and subject them to stricter regulation.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Fireside bets on Gen Z, ageing millennials and AI wellness: Vinay Singh
With ₹3,000 crore under management, Fireside Ventures sees emerging consumer cohorts and tech-driven wellness as key to India's evolving consumer brand landscape Peerzada Abrar Bengaluru Listen to This Article With over ₹3,000 crore under management and a portfolio of 53 brands, Fireside Ventures has emerged as a leading early-stage investor in India's consumer space, backing names like The Sleep Company, Slurrp Farm and NatHabit. Now, the firm is turning its attention to emerging white spaces shaped by shifting consumer behaviour. In a video interview with Peerzada Abrar, Vinay Singh, Co-founder and Partner, discusses how ageing millennials and Gen Z are driving demand in areas such as preventive healthcare, AI-powered wellness, impulse-led food and lab-grade beauty. He also explores trends in fashion, home and Q-commerce, and where Fireside is placing
Mint
13-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
VC funding wave gains momentum as dealmaking rebounds, but caution prevails
Mumbai: A wave of fundraising is sweeping through India's venture capital landscape as firms like Nexus Venture Partners, Lok Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Peak XV Partners, and Fireside Ventures gear up to raise fresh capital, but with leaner fund sizes and more targeted approaches. Funds such as WEH Ventures and Avataar Venture Partner are also expected to hit the market in the coming months, while Arkam Ventures is reportedly in the final stages of closing its latest fund, multiple people familiar with the developments told Mint. While dealmaking is resuming after a lull, the fundraising strategies reflect a more selective and conservative approach. Investors are recalibrating amid valuation corrections and tougher exit conditions, experts said. Several funds have pivoted toward leaner sizes as the funding euphoria of previous years gives way to a more measured approach. This has led several firms to scale down fund sizes or maintain them at previous levels, a stark contrast to the aggressive raises from the years before. Read this | Private equity eyes fresh bite of regional food brands, repeat of Haldiram 'India's venture scene is suffering from too much money and too few investable targets. Funds raised during the 2021 boom have left about $20 billion of dry powder on the sidelines," said Siddharth Mody, partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors. 'Managers are now three years into their investment periods yet have deployed barely half of what they raised because many growth-stage founders are still anchored to peak-cycle valuations while revenue curves trail projections." This mismatch has created a 'deal-making bottleneck," with term sheets concentrating around a handful of breakout stories while other startups struggle to secure funding, Mody added. 'Limited partners see this mismatch and are in no hurry to write new cheques. That's why India-focused fundraising collapsed to $2.7 billion in 2024, its lowest since the pandemic, even though the macro backdrop is healthy," he said. 'General partners are responding by shrinking vehicle sizes, extending deployment timetables, and keeping larger follow-on reserves for the few companies that merit additional capital. Until exits accelerate and pricing expectations normalise, expect leaner funds and a slower tempo of initial investments. Dry powder is no longer a growth accelerant but is rather an opportunity cost weighing on returns," Mody explained. Fund moves Nexus Venture Partners is eyeing a $500-600 million corpus for its eighth fund, a slight decrease from its previous $700 million fund that invested in India and the US, the people cited above said. Chiratae, meanwhile, is looking to raise over ₹2,000 crore to back Indian startups, while Lok Capital plans a $250 million fifth fund, they added. Fireside Ventures is also gearing up to raise $230 million (around ₹2,000 crore), maintaining the corpus size of its third fund raised in 2022, according to news reports. Nexus did not respond to Mint's request for comment, while Arkam and Chiratae declined to comment. 'We are in the final stages of investing from our fourth fund. We have just launched our fifth fund and have begun discussions with LPs (limited partners). It is likely to be about $250 million largely led by our existing LP base although we are hoping to bring in new investors as well," said Venky Natarajan, co-founder of Lok Capital, confirming the development. Read this | Choppy markets take toll on pre-IPO deal talks The fund expects a first close by mid-2026 and will also seek to bring back some Indian LPs, although its investor base remains predominantly overseas, he added. Over the years, Lok Capital has pivoted towards growth-stage investments in financial services, food and agriculture, climate, and healthcare, sectors with clearer revenue paths and profitability potential. 'We started with an average ticket size of about $2 million in our first fund to $10 million in Fund IV. With our new fund, we plan to do $15-20 million investments and aim to increase our focus on the consumer space, as we see a lot of opportunities there," Natarajan said. WEH Ventures, known for backing Apps for Bharat, Jar, Smallcase, and Pratilipi, is also poised to launch its next fund, driven by inbound interest from existing domestic LPs and international investors. 'We are seeing interest from our existing domestic investor base and inbound interest from other international LPs as well…India has performed well in terms of exits, and valuations have corrected," said Rohit Krishna, partner at WEH Ventures. He did not disclose the fund size. 'It's ultimately a question of which funds they want to invest in based on distributions rather than whether to invest in this asset class or not," Krishna added. Avataar Venture Capital, which raised its second $350 million fund in 2022 to invest in Enterprise/AI software, deeptech, and B2B2C business models, is now preparing to raise its third fund. 'While we have not decided on the exact size, we will never do a billion-dollar fund as it makes exits more challenging. We have stuck to around $350 million for our first two funds and aim to be in that range keeping in mind the kind of distributions we want to give our LPs," Avataar's founder Mohan Kumar told Mint. Blume Ventures and Peak XV are also in discussions to raise new funds. Blume, which has invested in Battery Smart, Purplle, and Unacademy, is expected to maintain its next two funds at about $290 million, in line with its previous corpus. Read this | India's mid-market gets a boost as Trident Growth launches ₹2,000 cr maiden fund Peak XV, meanwhile, is eyeing a $1.4 billion India-Southeast Asia fund, its first since separating from its parent firm. The new fund is expected to be raised by the end of the current fiscal year and may also invest in other funds launched by other former company executives, Mint reported last month. This comes after Peak XV cut the size of its previous $2.85 billion fund by $465 million last year to reduce its cost of capital. For context, investing in funds is a common strategy for new VC and PE firms to enter a market. Several global investors made LP investments in Indian funds before making direct investments, using these LP stakes to understand the market. The surge in fundraising activity aligns with a broader revival in Indian private equity and VC markets over the past six to eight months. Several firms, including Kedaara, ChrysCapital, Stellaris Ventures, India Quotient, Sixth Sense, Prime Ventures, Accel, A91 Partners, Cornerstone VC, and Bessemer Venture Partners, have launched new funds. 'The Indian market is fairly large and will continue to expand. While there has been some correction even in the number of GPs who have been able to raise follow-on funds, the market is very deep, and the investable opportunity is large," said Lok's Natarajan. Market mood While several firms are returning to the market, overall fundraising remains subdued. According to a report by Bain & Co., while exits in 2024 rose to $6.8 billion, total fundraising dropped by 35% to $2.7 billion, the lowest since 2020. This divergence suggests that despite increased exit activity, LPs are exercising caution, likely due to accumulated dry powder and ongoing volatility in public markets. These exits came on the back of 7x surge in returns from initial public offerings (IPOs) fuelled by investors seeking liquidity as they approach the end of their fund life cycles and a recovery in key tech stock valuations, regulatory reforms, and a pent-up IPO backlog. Some prominent startup IPOs from the last year include Ola Electric, Swiggy, Blackbuck, Unicommerce, FirstCry, and Ixigo. Also read | Venture cautiousness: Why Blume, other VCs are treading safe despite IPO wave The report noted that maiden funds also gained prominence last year, comprising nearly a third of all venture/growth capital raised. These funds are increasingly targeting specific themes such as sustainability, defence, and gaming, indicating that even as overall capital becomes scarcer, sector-specific strategies are gaining traction.
Fashion Network
12-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
The Good Bug raises Rs 100 crore in funding round
Nutraceutical consumer startup The Good Bug has raised Rs 100 crore ($11.8 million) in new funding from Susquehanna Asia VC along with participation from existing investor Fireside Ventures. The company will utilise the funds to expand its reach, hiring, research & development, and marketing. Commenting on the funding, Keshav Biyani, co-founder of The Good Bug in a statement said, 'This new capital infusion will be pivotal in accelerating our research and development efforts, driving groundbreaking innovations in gut health through rigorous R&D. Additionally, we will bolster our marketing and distribution strategies to enhance consumer awareness and expand our reach across India. Attracting top-tier talent across research, technology, science, and business will further strengthen our foundation.' Bhavani Rana, investment advisor to Susquehanna Asia VC added, 'What sets TGB apart is the strength of its leadership team and their exceptional ability to execute on their vision. With strong momentum and a clear strategy, the company is well positioned to capitalize on the macro tailwinds of India's rapidly expanding nutraceuticals market.' Founded in 2022 by Keshav Biyani and Prabhu Karthikeyan, The Good Bug offers wellness products across various categories.
