BRND.ME, a Tiger Global‑backed house‑of‑brands start‑up (formerly Mensa Brands), is raising ₹ 48 crore (approximately $5.6 million) in debt capital from existing investor Stride Ventures, Inc42 reported.
According to filings with the Registrar of Companies, BRND.ME’s board passed a resolution in March to issue 4,800 non‑convertible debentures (NCDs) to raise ₹48 crore. The house‑of‑brands unicorn plans to use the funds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
In a separate regulatory filing, the start‑up announced that it had received approval from its members to increase its authorised capital from ₹ 163 crore to ₹ 340.6 crore. This increase was facilitated through the addition of 17.6 crore equity shares, each valued at ₹ 10 and ranking pari passu with the existing equity shares, as well as the creation of 16 lakh Series D Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS), also valued at ₹ 10 each.
Previous Fundings
The e‑commerce unicorn BRND.ME has raised over $300 million in total capital to date, with investments from prominent backers including Accel Partners, Prosus, Tiger Global, Norwest Venture Partners, Alpha Wave, Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital. It competes with companies such as The Good Glamm Group and Globalbees, the house‑of‑brands division of FirstCry, a retailer specialising in baby and mother care products.
BRND.ME significantly improved its financial performance in FY24, reducing its consolidated net loss by 31% to ₹ 155.85 crore from ₹ 227.03 crore in the previous fiscal year. The company also saw an 11.6% increase in operating revenue, reaching ₹ 557.66 crore in FY24, up from ₹ 499.63 crore in FY23. According to its website, BRND.ME achieved profitability in September 2024.
Founded in 2021 by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan, the company owns and operates consumer brands such as Pebble, MyFitness and Dennis Lingo, among others, with the majority of its revenue derived from product sales.
Possible IPO
According to a previous Inc42 report, BRND.ME’s recent debt financing aligns with the e‑commerce unicorn’s plans to relocate its headquarters from Singapore to India in preparation for a potential initial public offering (IPO).
While BRND.ME has not yet formally announced its public listing intentions, Prosus, a Dutch technology investor, revealed in December last year that BRND.ME was among its Indian portfolio companies slated for potential IPOs. The company is expected to go public within the next one‑and‑a‑half years.
