ConsumerX Ventures Bets ₹150 Cr on India's Next Consumer Start-Ups

Consumer-focused start-up funding may have lost some of its pandemic-era frenzy, but a new crop of investors believes the sector's biggest opportunities are only beginning to emerge. ConsumerX Ventures has launched a SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with a target corpus of ₹150 crore. 

The fund, which will back early-stage consumer start-ups, plans to invest in 20-25 ventures across categories, primarily at the pre-seed and seed stages. It also aims to maintain continued participation through the Series A stage.

The fund expects to write cheques of ₹3-5 crore per company, providing early-stage capital to founders building next-generation consumer brands. It will also approximately 40% capital for follow-on rounds as portfolio start-ups scale. 

The fund launch comes at a time when consumer start-up funding has become more selective. While deal activity remains healthy, investors are increasingly prioritising profitability, differentiation and founder quality over growth at any cost. 

In FY26, total funding in the sector declined to around $8.5 billion from $9.8 billion in the previous year, according to Grant Thorton Bharat data. Yet the number of deals increased significantly to 510 from 402, which suggests investors are writing more cheques but deploying smaller amounts of capital. 

The data also reflects a similar trend, with funding falling to $9 billion across 393 transactions in 2025, compared with $10.5 billion raised through 359 deals a year earlier.

Next Big D2C Opportunity

Despite the moderation in funding, ConsumerX Ventures Managing Partner Abhishek Shah believes that India’s D2C sector is entering a new phase. “The first phase of D2C was more about capex arbitrage and distribution. That phase is over now”, he told Outlook Business. 

According to him, founders can no longer rely solely on digital distribution advantages or performance marketing to scale. Instead, the next generation of winners will need stronger brand positioning, sharper consumer insights and a clear value proposition.

The fund is particularly bullish on categories such as GenZ-focused brands, kids products and businesses that can take Indian stories to global markets. “We believe there is an opportunity to build brands that the world talks about. We are looking for founders who are building Indian stories that can resonate globally,” Chhavi Bhardwaj, General Partner, ConsumerX Ventures. 

She added that a new wave of entrepreneurs is looking beyond building niche digital brands and aiming to create enduring consumer businesses. "The next decade is going to be mind-blowing for India. There are so many founders who have already built one brand and are now thinking about building for the globe”.