Wonderchef, a premium kitchenware brand co-founded by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Ravi Saxena, has raised Rs 150 crore from venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures, family office of the Godrejs and others, valuing it at around Rs 750 crore.
In the fourth round of fundrasing that closed on Tuesday, a portion has also come from the Malpani Group and a few high networth individuals.
With this, the Mumbai-based firm, set up in 2009, has so far raised Rs 200 crore in external funding that translates into an equity dilution of around 10 per cent, and a valuation of around Rs 750 crore, Saxena told PTI.
For Sixth Sense, whose founder Nikhil Vora gets a board position, this is the first investment in the domesitc kitchenware space, which according to Vora is a hot investment segment now.
Saxena, who was heading the Dubai-based retail chain Landmark Group (which is now its largest distribution partner in the Middle East), said this is the largest funding in the domestic kitchenware space.
Wonderchef Home Appliances sells premium kitchen appliances and nets over 45 per cent sales online, of which 30 per cent are sold through its own website. Saxena said most of the fund will go into building the online presence by way of setting up a new team of 25 people (total headcount is a little over 600) and product and market development.
The company offers over 600 products, including a range of premium non-stick cookware, nutriblend mixers, stainless steel pans, oressure cookers, and other appliances like mixer-grinders, cooktops, chimneys, kitchen tools, flasks and bakeware, among others.
Earlier this year, Saxena had told PTI that the lockdowns were a blessing for his business as this has led to increased home cooking and raised did demand for cookwares.
Accordingly, he had set a target of adding Rs 100 crore to the turnover this fiscal, taking the overall topline to Rs 400 crore. He is almost there already, he added.
Saxena said the latest fundraising is a combination of primary and secondary deals as the new investors have bought out the Mauritius-based investment firm Capvent who had invested in 2015.
The primary capital raised will be used to strengthen the online presence and capabilities, besides expanding and deepening distribution network and enhancing branding initiatives, Saxena said.
On the reason for entering the kitchenware space, Vora said the kitchen appliances segment is expected to grow in double-digits driven by growing urbanisation, increasing disposable incomes and changing lifestyle.
Vora said the investment is being made through his third fund, which was closed with Rs 900 crore and is now a Rs 2,000-crore fund.
In the past seven years, Sixth Sense, which is the countrys’ first consumer-focused venture fund, has invested over USD 500 million and this maiden investment is worth Rs 90 crore.
Since its founding in 2014, Sixth Sense has completed 14 investments, including in Fraazo, Nobel Hygiene, Parag Milk, Open Secret, GoodDot, Stylam, Neeman’s, Rage Coffee, Storia, Bira, Design Cafe, Dogsee Chew and Giva.
