Clensta backed by IIT Delhi raises Raises 20 Crore in Series A led by Venture Catalysts and Inflection Point Ventures
Clensta is a brand into personal care and home care space with a focus on science & sustainability
New Delhi, NFAPost: Direct-to-Consumer personal and home care products startup, Clensta has raised over Rs 20 crore in a series A funding led by Venture Catalysts and Inflection Point Ventures.
Besides Hem Angels, part of Hem Securities Limited, N+1 Capital (RBF), the existing investors along with other marquee investors also invested in this funding round, the IIT-backed startup said in a Statement.
The funds raised will be used to scale up the company’s sales, ramp up brand marketing and expand Clensta’s online and offline presence across India. The brand has achieved a CAGR of over 130% and aims to earn Rs 1000 crore revenues in the next 5 years.
Venture Catalyst Cofounder and President Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma says Venture Catalysts gives a lot of significance to startups that work towards making the world a better place.
“Clensta’s innovative cleaning technology reduces usage of water to a great extent. Clensta’s entry into the D2C segment is likely to create a new category of personal and home care products. We are optimistic that Clensta will become a billion dollar tech-driven personal care brand in the next few years. Wishing the team a great journey ahead,” said Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma.
Inflection Point Ventures Cofounder Mitesh Shah says direct to consumer wave is birthing many innovative and disruptive brands.
“Clensta takes the innovation further with the introduction of waterless tech in their products. Their understanding of the fast-growing D2C segment and a varied range of products in personal care impressed our investors to lead this round,” said Inflection Point Ventures Cofounder Mitesh Shah.
Hem Angels Director Gaurav Jain says over the next five years, direct to consumer brands present at least a $100 billion opportunity across India.
“Clensta have been quick to capitalise on the product, innovation and price white space. There’s no better time than now for Clensta to get off their growth plan and take their product to the next level, witnessing rapid acceleration of scale,” said Hem Angels Director Gaurav Jain.
The five-year old start-up founded by Puneet Gupta in 2016, started with the flagship products based on Waterless Technology (Waterless Body bath & Shampoo) to enable bathing without the use of water.
As a developer of waterless technology and the curator of this category, the startup has a big presence in the B2B and B2B2C segment. However, Clensta is now tapping the massive D2C segment with its Super Cleansers filled with smart concentrates for household cleaning and plans to launch an innovative technology based personal care category.
Commenting on the funding, Clensta Founder CEO Puneet Gupta said Clensta matlab Cleanliness ethos revolves around Innovation, Science and Customer Centricity.
“Developing innovative technology has been one of Clensta’s foremost attributes ever since inception. Keeping in mind the Indian Home Care market size of USD 6.2 billion, we have adopted an omni-channel strategy to ensure Clensta’s presence in offline as well as online markets. In this light, this funding comes as an affirmation that we continue to lead in the right path,” said Clensta Founder CEO Puneet Gupta.
He also said the company will be focusing on developing innovative and sustainable products, enhancing its relations with customers and marketing and expansion of our footprints across the country.
“We aim to use technology to scale the personal care segment and provide personalised shopping experience to our customers.
There are many D2C brands in India, while Clensta aims to have its own space in this crowded market. We have disrupted this niche but how! By ensuring that we need to be a little smart for the smarter customers, the brand has charted a growth path unlike any other in the segment and came up with a super cleanser with smart concentrates wherein you can make your own super cleanser with just the tap water,” said Clensta Founder CEO Puneet Gupta.
Also, Clensta Founder CEO Puneet Gupta said it’s easy on customers pockets as there is no charge for 90% of water content in a ready solution.
“Contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development goals (UNDP), Clensta pledges to reduce the use of plastic and contribute to making our planet better and greener for all. All these things clubbed together makes Clensta a scientifically driven and ecologically ethical impactful brand,” added Puneet Gupta.”
A National Award winner, Clensta has proved its capabilities by surviving through the threat of developing and selling all together a new product, moreover entering into the strategic tie-up with Cipla is another attribute of fast trajectory business growth. The Company has registered 20x growth in five years. A team of IIT, IIM & SRCC grads, working experience with EY, Ogilvy, Xiaomi, Deloitte, ITC and some cool, creative minds made this possible. CA Pankaj Mittal, CFO at Clensta executed the entire financial transaction. Khaitan & Co. acted as Legal Advisors to the company.
About Clensta
Clensta, an IP conscious brand is into personal care and home care space with a focus on science & sustainability. Founded in 2016, backed by IIT Delhi & DST we have 30+ Products in our portfolio. Multichannel presence with recurring customer base, National Awarded Clensta achieved 4X growth since last FY. We are a team of IIT, IIM & SRCC grads and believe in novel ideas and smart execution.
Post commercialisation and strategic tie up with Cipla for the flagship products Waterless Body Bath & Waterless Shampoo, we have developed a new category of Homecare products based on EBDC Technology with Innovation in Products, Processes and Packaging. Clensta being the leader in B2B, B2B2C segment, now scaling into the D2C, GT and MT space.
Clensta aims to develop environmentally compassionate products that benefit all. We’ve been fortunate to have receive appreciation by The Honourable President of India Ram Nath Kovind, and have also gained recognitions across the U.S. Embassy New Delhi (Nexus: The Innovation Hub), The Indian Biotech community, BIRAC, Falling Wall Venture & also a National Awardee.
