BlissClub, a women's active wear brand, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by Elevation Capital (previously SAIF Partners).
Neeraj Arora, ex-CBO of WhatsApp, Kunal Shah, Founder of CRED, Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner of DST, Pam Lee, Ex-Lululemon Executive, Ashish Goel, Founder of Urban Ladder, Chakradhar Gade, Founder of Country Delight, and Good Capital were also among those who took part in the round.
BlissClub, founded in 2020 by Minu Margeret, is the first of its kind community-first brand that caters to the clothing needs of modern women on the go. BlissClub will use the new funds to strengthen and grow its team, as well as for product development and marketing.
Drawing from her personal experience Minu said, “I always struggled to find good quality activewear in India - uncomfortable plastic like material, poor sizing and impractical designs. Ankle-length leggings were always churidar bottoms for me, sized to the height of western women. Most activewear brands in the country are largely focused towards men, leaving very limited options designed specifically for Indian women. From low-quality material to poor sizing and inappropriate designs, we [Indian women] had to make do with whatever we could find. Not anymore." Drawing from her personal experience Minu said, “I always struggled to find good quality activewear in India - uncomfortable plastic like material, poor sizing and impractical designs. Ankle-length leggings were always churidar bottoms for me, sized to the height of western women. Most activewear brands in the country are largely focussed towards men, leaving very limited options designed specifically for the Indian women. From low-quality material to poor sizing and inappropriate designs, we [Indian women] had to make do with whatever we could find. Not anymore."
The founder who is also a national level Ultimate Frisbee player, further explained that BlissClub is a community that wants to enable women to come together and move and live an active life. “Apart from conducting various events and fitness challenges, BlissClub is a safe space for women to share, motivate and discuss their fitness journey with each other," she added.
The company is a part of the lucrative Indian activewear market, which has seen consistent revenue growth. Minu went on to say that India has the world's fastest growing activewear market, with the women's segment accounting for the majority of the growth.
“While there has been an increasing awareness about health and fitness among women in the recent past, the current pandemic has accelerated the growth in the women’s fitness space. The new round of funding will be utilised in building our team and strengthening our product and marketing strategy to cater to the growing needs of activewear for women” she said.
Speaking about the funding, Chirag Chadha, Associate Vice President, Elevation Capital, said “Activewear has found massive adoption across the globe over the last two decades. Today, it has captured more than 20 percent of the total apparel sales. In India, however, activewear has less than three market share. Further, the size of women’s activewear is 4-5X lower than men’s activewear today. Given the varied body types, weather conditions and individual sensibilities and preferences in India versus the west, Minu has identified a big product gap in the space."
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