Latest news with #MoiSoi
Economic Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Investors gain big appetite for small consumer brands
About a dozen small, regional consumer brands are either in the process of raising private equity funding or are being pursued by investors keen to acquire minority stakes, executives said. These include Ahmedabad-based frozen food maker Iscon Balaji, skincare brand Dermabay, condiment and noodle brand Moi Soi, Raipur-based Zoff Spices, and soft drink maker Bindu Jeera. The intense activity in small and mid-sized companies comes at a time when their larger rivals are trailing in finalising acquisitions and broader growth plans as they battle with sluggish demand in India's major mid-sized funding deals were finalised in recent weeks including snacking brand Khari Foods, desserts chain FES Café, and moss-based supplement maker CosMoss. Chandigarh-based Lahori Zeera and dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight too have raised more than ₹200 crore each. 'We plan to raise ₹5-7 crore over the next two quarters from a clutch of angel investors and family offices to scale our presence and accelerate innovation,' said Divneet Kaur, co-founder of Dermabay. The Ludhiana-based maker of clinically-created skincare products started operations in Foods, which sells noodles, ready-to-cook meals, and condiments under the Moi Soi range, is raising its first institutional round of Rs 30 crore, said its director Deb Mukherjee. 'The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of growth and scale Moi Soi into a Rs 500 crore brand over the next three years… as a bootstrapped venture, we've gone up against legacy players with limited resources, reaching profitability along the way,' said attribute the surge in investor interest to a combination of factors.'We thought premium was about affluent metros but it's very much visible in smaller towns. Also, quick commerce and e-commerce have reduced the advantage of legacy brands on distribution and availability,' said Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has invested in Jaipur-based dairy firm Frubon, teen-care beauty brand Sammmm, and Chennai-based Sweet Karam Coffee, among others. 'It is this opportunity that investors including us are looking at—to build brands based on regional foundations.'Industry trackers said while the bigger consumer transactions have become rare with large companies grappling with slowing sales, especially in cities, it is the smaller ticket deals that have deal volumes rose 26% year-on-year in Q2 of the current calendar, though values dropped to the lowest since Q4 2022, reflecting a shift toward smaller-ticket transactions, consulting and audit firm Grant Thornton Bharat noted in its 'Consumer & Retail Dealtracker' report for the June quarter. The report added that it recorded 120 deals valued at $884 million in the quarter, including IPO and QIP activity. While palm oil-free snacking company Khari Foods raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Meri Punji IMF last month, Gurugram-based dessert cafe brand FES Café too raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding from serial entrepreneur Aakash Anand and his venture Wolfpack a wellness brand focused on sea moss-based supplements, also raised undisclosed seed funding. Executives at legacy companies, including Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Tata Consumer Products, have called out the threat from smaller brands in recent interviews and earnings calls. 'Smaller companies are turning more noticeable than the big giants, they are broad-basing consumption and also keeping larger companies from getting complacent. I think it's good for the industry,' said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing managing director at Nestle India. The instant noodles category itself has been exploding with dozens of regional brands, many of which are competing on price.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Investors gain big appetite for small consumer brands
About a dozen small, regional consumer brands are either in the process of raising private equity funding or are being pursued by investors keen to acquire minority stakes, executives said. These include Ahmedabad-based frozen food maker Iscon Balaji, skincare brand Dermabay, condiment and noodle brand Moi Soi, Raipur-based Zoff Spices, and soft drink maker Bindu Jeera. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Finance PGDM Technology Design Thinking MCA Others Cybersecurity Leadership CXO Healthcare healthcare Product Management Degree Digital Marketing Management Project Management others Data Analytics Data Science Operations Management Public Policy MBA Data Science Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details The intense activity in small and mid-sized companies comes at a time when their larger rivals are trailing in finalising acquisitions and broader growth plans as they battle with sluggish demand in India's major cities. Several mid-sized funding deals were finalised in recent weeks including snacking brand Khari Foods, desserts chain FES Café, and moss-based supplement maker CosMoss. Chandigarh-based Lahori Zeera and dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight too have raised more than ₹200 crore each. 'We plan to raise ₹5-7 crore over the next two quarters from a clutch of angel investors and family offices to scale our presence and accelerate innovation,' said Divneet Kaur, co-founder of Dermabay. Live Events Regional Foundations The Ludhiana-based maker of clinically-created skincare products started operations in 2022-end. Ceres Foods, which sells noodles, ready-to-cook meals, and condiments under the Moi Soi range, is raising its first institutional round of Rs 30 crore, said its director Deb Mukherjee. 'The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of growth and scale Moi Soi into a Rs 500 crore brand over the next three years… as a bootstrapped venture, we've gone up against legacy players with limited resources, reaching profitability along the way,' said Mukherjee. Executives attribute the surge in investor interest to a combination of factors. 'We thought premium was about affluent metros but it's very much visible in smaller towns. Also, quick commerce and e-commerce have reduced the advantage of legacy brands on distribution and availability,' said Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has invested in Jaipur-based dairy firm Frubon, teen-care beauty brand Sammmm, and Chennai-based Sweet Karam Coffee, among others. 'It is this opportunity that investors including us are looking at—to build brands based on regional foundations.' Industry trackers said while the bigger consumer transactions have become rare with large companies grappling with slowing sales, especially in cities, it is the smaller ticket deals that have surged. Total deal volumes rose 26% year-on-year in Q2 of the current calendar, though values dropped to the lowest since Q4 2022, reflecting a shift toward smaller-ticket transactions, consulting and audit firm Grant Thornton Bharat noted in its 'Consumer & Retail Dealtracker' report for the June quarter. The report added that it recorded 120 deals valued at $884 million in the quarter, including IPO and QIP activity. While palm oil-free snacking company Khari Foods raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Meri Punji IMF last month, Gurugram-based dessert cafe brand FES Café too raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding from serial entrepreneur Aakash Anand and his venture Wolfpack Labs. CosMoss, a wellness brand focused on sea moss-based supplements, also raised undisclosed seed funding. Executives at legacy companies, including Hindustan Unilever , Nestle and Tata Consumer Products , have called out the threat from smaller brands in recent interviews and earnings calls. 'Smaller companies are turning more noticeable than the big giants, they are broad-basing consumption and also keeping larger companies from getting complacent. I think it's good for the industry,' said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing managing director at Nestle India . The instant noodles category itself has been exploding with dozens of regional brands, many of which are competing on price.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Mint
Lounge Loves: People watching, rum-aged coffee and more
I know these two brothers who are now US citizens, but their biscuit of choice remains Parle-G, which they grew up eating. Yes, the same biscuit that moms dissolve in a glass of warm milk as enticement when their child is being difficult. Parle-G will be 100 in a decade or so, and there is something about snacking on a piece of history which has remained true to its crunch. In Britain, McVitie's Chocolate Digestive has turned 100, and now we are told that the right way to eat it is with the chocolate side down. I had to put this theory to test. But in our sweltering weather, the chocolate smears your fingers, more so when you are holding the dark side down. I had to put the biscuits in the fridge first to firm up the chocolate. I tried both versions, and I have to say that I prefer tasting the biscuit part first. Sometimes, you got to pick a side—not with Parle-G though. Coming home to a fridge stocked with interesting condiments brings me a lot of joy. I've dabbled in making my own aioli and XO sauce, but chilli oils hold a special place in my heart. I've tried many versions, from Moi Soi to a small business in Kalimpong, but Nomad's Bacon Chilli Oil has come out on top. This indulgent condiment is like a hybrid of bacon relish and chilli oil—it pairs surprisingly well with pesto on a Margherita pizza and adds a fun kick to sweet corn chicken soup. Its got chunky bacon bits, Byadgi chillies (the kind used in Mangalorean ghee roast) and Sichuan peppercorns. It's become my go-to way to curb my craving for several strips of bacon—just a little taste goes a long way. Beyond the museums, flea markets, food and drinks, one of the perks of being on vacation is watching people go about their day. Imagine sitting in a park and just looking at the world around you with no interruptions of work calls/mails/texts—a child playing with his father, a dog chasing a ball, a woman running in a leopard catsuit, two girls drawing each other's portraits, a formal suit-wearer hurriedly walking past with grocery bags, two young boys laughing while looking at their phones. You see them and cook up stories in your head about who they are, though there's no actual desire to get to know them or their life stories. In those few minutes, life seems good and all figured out.
