24 April 2019, India:
CPG brand Haldiram has invested in incubation platform Venture Catalysts.
Venture Catalysts will strengthen CPG domain expertise with its new investment from Haldiram’s enabling a stronger platform and mentorship for start-ups to acquire first-hand knowledge and expertise from the highly successful brand, the company said in a statement.
Post this collaboration, Venture Catalysts plans to invest in 10-15 relevant CPG start-ups in the next 12-24 months and build strong start-up stories such as men’s grooming brand Beardo, female hygiene start-up PeeSafe and India’s first herbal energy shot drink FYRE, the statement added.
“The association with Haldiram’s gives start-ups in our CPG portfolio an immense boost. The success and reputation of the brand in the sector is known to everyone and its business principles and product quality serve as a benchmark for potential entrepreneurs in the sector. However, the expertise gained through this collaboration with Haldiram’s is also expected to benefit our existing portfolio of consumer brands,” said Anuj Golecha, Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts.
Anuj Golecha, added, “Venture Catalysts always strives to bring the best industry veterans and brands and people to empower the start-ups in our framework, and it is our firm belief that this collaboration with Haldiram’s will give our CPG start-ups the knowledge, confidence and resource opportunities to achieve robust growth and scale quickly.”
“The alliance with Haldiram’s sets a benchmark for other enterprises to enter into active collaborations that look to empower the start-up ecosystem. The Haldiram’s growth story and the way in which they have built an empire from the ground-up, and this is the ideal example that we want to set for the enterprises that are a part of the VCats set-up right now,” said Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Founder, Venture Catalysts.
Haldiram’s spokesperson family business further added, “Over a course of more than eight decades with over 400 products, Haldiram’s has established its position as a leader, risk-taker and quality seeker in the industry. We have always strived to focus on identifying market opportunities and make the best use of them through product diversification and listening to the consumer intently. We want to share the knowledge acquired over the years and contribute to the burgeoning start-up ecosystem in the country, and what better partner than Venture Catalysts to achieve such an objective? VCats has constantly been at the forefront of empowering India’s start-ups with a strong investor network and world-class infrastructural opportunities. Furthermore, it has encouraged the growth of start-up culture in tier-II and III cities, a vision which Haldiram’s identifies with wholeheartedly. The current generation of Haldiram’s looks forward to this alliance and is very upbeat about encouraging more such collaborations in the future.”
(Image – Venture Catalysts)