PC: Stellaris Venture Partners
Mumbai-based direct-to-commerce (D2C) fashion brand Zouk is said to be in advanced talks with investors regarding raising a new funding round. It will be the first investment into the firm after more than 18 months since its one-time close happened. Zouk’s earlier funding has been quite renowned for its commitment towards not using cruelly sourced products.
According to sources directly informed about the subject, impact fund Aavishkaar Capital has closed a term sheet and has finished due diligence. In partnership with existing investor Stellaris Venture, the funding amount is expected to be over $10 million in Zouk, which would further consolidate its growth trajectory.
Aavishkaar Capital has invested in leading startups such as AgroStar, Altum Credo, Ergos, GoDesi, Milk Mantra, and Newtrace.
Started in 2015 by Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar, Zouk carries its specialty range of laptop bags, tote handbags, sling bags, and chain wallets. The brand has been very proud to have its handmade products made from 100% vegan leather, sourced and manufactured in India, by in-house artisans.
Zouk had earlier raised $3 million in a seed funding round in March 2023. It was led by Stellaris Venture and featured angel investors from Atomberg’s Manoj Meena and the founders of Sugar Cosmetics-Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee. The funding round was led by Stellaris and included undisclosed seed funding rounds that Titan Capital led in July and January 2021, respectively. So far, Zouk has raised more than $4.5 million in its funding.
As per sources, the estimated valuation of Zouk may be in the range of $50 million or around Rs 400 crore. In fact, if aggregated from data given by startup data intelligence platform, TheKredible, it was valued around $7 million during the last funding round.
Zouk’s revenue for the fiscal year that ended in March 2023 was Rs 47.41 crore – a spectacular rise from Rs 21.82 crore of the last fiscal. However, the losses have also witnessed an increase. It rose to Rs 10.55 crores from Rs 77 lakhs in the same period. The financial data for FY24 the company has yet not uttered.
As in the last funding round, co-founders Singh and Krishnakumar shared an equal 31% stake in the company, while the highest outside shareholder was Stellaris Venture with a 19.63% stake.
Reaching out to Zouk and Aavishkaar for comments on August 6, responses from the concerned parties are awaited, which would add more steam to the excitement that is awaiting Zouk’s funding round and brand trajectory in the near future.
