Wellness start-up Mojocare raises $20M in Series A funding round

Health and wellness start-up Mojocare has raised $20.6 million in a Series A round led by B Capital. Its existing investors Chiratae Ventures, Sequoia India's Surge and Better Capital, also participated in the round, which saw participation from other angel investors. It included Vineet Jain, MD of Times Group, Kunal Shah, founder of CRED, Ankit Nagori, founder of Curefoods, Adrian Auon, founder and CEO of Forward, Sajid Rahman, founder and CEO, Telenor Health, Ravi Bhushan, founder and CEO of Brightchamps and Vivekananda HR, CEO and founder of Bounce. 

Commenting on the investment, Karan Mohla, Partner at B Capital, said, "We believe they are solving one of the largest problems in consumer health and wellness and can radically transform how people think about specialty wellness. They are attracting the best talent in the country, and their patient experience and care layer is inspiring. We are thrilled to back what is emerging as a neo healthcare delivery system across emerging markets for conditions where the care value chain is fundamentally broken by leveraging technology and data across a full stack offering."

The Bengaluru-based start-up will utilise this capital to expand its product, content and care delivery teams. It will also strengthen and diversify its product portfolio and adopt a distribution-first omnichannel approach.

Ashwin Swaminathan and Rajat Gupta founded Mojocare in May 2021 to destigmatise intimate health by offering a full-stack platform focusing on sexual, women and mental wellness. Its personalised care delivery system assists users in managing chronic and lifestyle-driven illnesses across specialised wellness categories, including hair and skin care, weight management and women's fertility.

According to Gupta, over 400 million Indians are battling issues related to dermatological, mental health, fertility, and women's and sexual wellness. "Consumers have a serious lack of trust in them, and access is severely limited due to a nearly nonexistent care layer. The prevalence of unskilled and dishonest health professionals is alarming, and the likelihood of counterfeit products sold offline is considerable," he noted. 

According to IMARC, India's health and wellness market will exhibit a 5.45 per cent CAGR from 2022 to 2027. Functional food and beverages are the most significant contributor to this segment, followed by beauty and personal care products, with preventive and personalised medicinal products coming up next. 

An Allied Market Research report pegged the Indian sexual wellness market size at $1,153.5 million in 2020. It is estimated that this would reach $2,095.4 million by 2030, registering a CAGR of 5.8 per cent from 2021 to 2030. 

Despite this seemingly overcrowded space, Swaminathan believed that most players offer a transactional experience, selling generic products on third-party marketplaces where they have no ownership over the user's wellness journey. "We are taking a very distribution-first approach to unlock this latent market and drive top of the funnel through credible clinical content, access to experts and a digital engagement-led user journey," he claimed.