Smytten raises fresh fund in pre-Series B led by existing investors
Summary
Ltd, which operates sampling and engagement platform for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, Smytten has raised Rs 100 crore (around $15 million) in a pre-Series B funding round led by its existing investors Fireside Ventures and Roots Ventures.Smytten plans to use the funds to hire engineering talent and enhance its tech infrastructure with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning for brand building and customer acquisition. The company currently employs more than 300 people.The platform was founded by Nangia, a former Unilever executive and ex-Google official, Swagat Sarangi in 2015 as a luxury product sampling service. However, the broken supply chain for luxury brands in India made the company pivot focus towards direct-to-consumers (D2C) as well as premium brand sampling across fragrances, beauty, makeup, male grooming, food and beverages, baby and mother care along with health & wellness categories.We believe sampling led tried-and-tested method of customer engagement will change the way D2C brands and consumers interact, making it more immersive and experience-based. Kannan Sitaram, Partner at Fireside Ventures said, We continue to believe in the development of an enabling ecosystem for the consumer brand revolution thats shaping up in India and Smytten is right at the forefront of it. Their integrated approach to the consumer funnel and technological innovations to solve the key challenges faced by many D2C brands, makes them the unequivocal leader in a potentially $10 billion sampling and advertising market.In August, Smytten raised $6 million in Series A funding led by Fireside Ventures.