Smytten raises ₹100 crore in pre-series B funding

Smytten has raised ₹100 crore in Pre-Series B round led by Fireside Ventures and Roots Ventures. The round also saw participation from Sharrp Ventures (Harsh Mariwala family office), Waao Partners (Pratul Shroff Family Office), Survam Partners (Munjal Family Office) and Sattva Group Family Office.

The leading tech-enabled product discovery and trial platform focuses on offering a better pre-purchase product trial experience for consumers by helping them try new products and brands from the comforts of their homes.

The start-up said it has witnessed an explosive growth in its user base in the last 9-12 months. “With more than 10 million users, Smytten is one of the leading innovators in consumer tech, fuelling the growth of a potentially-large D2C market in India, which is expected to be a $100-billion market by 2025,” the statement added.

Use funds for building tech and data solutions

The platform said it will use new investment primarily for building industry-first tech and data solutions with advanced applications of AI and ML to optimise the marketing funnel for D2C brands - starting from new product development to consumer acquisition and retention. It will also be investing heavily in creating a servicing infrastructure across the country to widen the product trial touch points and strengthen the online service delivery to better the pre-purchase buying experience for consumers at scale.

Siddhartha Nangia, Co-founder of Smytten, said, “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. Smytten has re-crafted the standard playbook of brand creation with the deep tech solutions built based on trial intent and feedback from millions of consumers. We are launching a new brand a day on our platform and bringing more than 15-20 new products every day for consumers to try. We are thankful to all our brand partners who have placed trust and confidence as we create a robust D2C ecosystem.”

Scaling up leadership team

Smytten, which currently employs 300 people, plans to double down on its hiring across supply chain, marketing and other key functions. It is scaling up its leadership team across its offices in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. To date, Smytten has raised more than $20 million in institutional funding.

Swagat Sarangi, Co-Founder at Smytten, added that the brand’s mission is to democratise access and experience of premium and D2C brands for the Indian consumers by offering direct-to-home product trials.

Kannan Sitaram, Partner at Fireside Ventures, said, Smytten’s integrated approach “to 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. The data-driven experiential solutions are already making waves and Smytten is becoming the first port of call for every consumer brand.”

Japan Vyas, Managing Partner at Roots Ventures, said, “Smytten has grown more than 12X by revenue since the time we invested. We have participated in every round of fund raise they had and will continue to back them in future with even stronger conviction.”

Smytten hosts over 900 brand partners on its platform across lifestyle categories, ranging from fragrances, beauty and makeup, male grooming, food and beverages, baby and mother care, health and wellness.