Bengaluru-based beverage startup Swizzle gets seed funding from multiple angel investors. The equity-based seed investment round, led by Swizzle’s existing investor Monika Rao, witnessed participation from other investors such as Dr. Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log9 Materials, Deepak Gambhir, and Sri Harsha Thota.
The beverage brand received its first funding in the year 2022 which was utilized in product development and attaining market-fit product. Till date, the startup has raised cumulative funding of over INR 1 Cr.
The newly acquired seed capital will enable Swizzle to promote its new range of premium canned mocktails on a grand scale. Moreover, the startup plans to use the funds towards team building (hiring skilled and talented people across sales, distribution, marketing, and other roles), inventory enhancement (building up more inventory to increase in-store product availability and meet surging demand), quality control (maintenance of premium, high-level standards across the production value chain), and expansion of its distribution network (optimizing logistics, partnerships, and systems to ensure smooth and widespread availability of Swizzle mocktails, especially on the retail side). Additionally, a significant portion of these funds shall also be allocated towards marketing and brand-building initiatives such as online and offline campaigns, pop-ups and events, branded packaging and collateral creation, and so on, with the end goal of increasing brand awareness and reaching a wider potential user base.
Speaking about the fundraise, Vrinda Singhal and Deepender Singh, Co-Founders, Swizzle, said, ”We are excited to announce our latest seed fundraise, which marks a pivotal milestone in Swizzle’s journey, and catalyzes our mission of revolutionizing the beverage industry in India. It allows us to introduce our line-up of refreshing mocktail products to a wide audience across both the B2C and B2B segments, and establish a strong presence across retail locations. By August 2024, we aim to be accessible in more than 1000 locations and plan to extend our reach to several new cities across the nation, thus bolstering our distribution network. The latest funds raised shall play an instrumental role in achieving this goal through implementing effective marketing strategies, thereby propelling us forward to experience accelerated growth in the years to come, and helping us become the preferred choice for more and more beverage enthusiasts across India.”
Swizzle offers ready-to-drink (RTD) mocktails available in different flavors, that are 100% vegan and artificial ingredients-free. The startup, which achieved an impressive 210% growth during FY 2023 as compared to the previous fiscal, is now on track to hit its projected revenue of Rs 15 Crore by the end of FY 2025. Besides selling to customers directly through its website, Swizzle is currently available on prominent e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, JioMart, Flipkart, and Swiggy-Mini, and has plans to partner with quick delivery platforms like Instamart and Blinkit to ensure convenience for its customers. Looking forward, the brand further plans to expand its offline retail presence and be readily available in 3000+ locations by the end of the current financial year, while serving up to 5 lakh mocktails per month. Alongside, Swizzle will be looking to venture into Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai, among other cities, and shall also be tapping into the HoReCa and QSRs segments.
