D2C kids’ personal care brand Tuco Intelligent has secured $2 million in seed funding, led by Fireside Ventures and Whiteboard Capital.
The round saw participation from Ashish Goenka‘s Suashish Group and angel investors such as Vijay Nehra, Arjun Purkayastha, and early backers of brands like Mamaearth, Sugar, Pilgrim, The Whole Truth, and Mokobara.
Tuco͏͏ aims͏͏ to͏͏ utilise͏͏ the͏͏ funds͏͏ to͏͏ expand͏͏ its͏͏ operations.
Founded͏͏ in͏͏ 2023͏͏ by͏͏ former͏͏ Unilever͏͏ executive͏͏ Aishvarya Murali,͏͏ Tuco͏͏ provides͏͏ a͏͏ variety͏͏ of͏͏ natural͏͏ and͏͏ sustainable͏͏ personal͏͏ care͏͏ products͏͏ for͏͏ kids,͏͏ including͏͏ soaps,͏͏ lotions,͏͏ creams,͏͏ makeup,͏͏ and͏͏ deodorants.
The͏͏ startup͏͏ also͏͏ asserts͏͏ that͏͏ all͏͏ its͏͏ products͏͏ are͏͏ packaged͏͏ in͏͏ plastic͏͏ sourced͏͏ from͏͏ landfills͏͏ and͏͏ oceans.
Tuco Intelligent Products͏͏ Available͏͏ on͏͏ Major͏͏ Marketplaces:
In͏͏ addition͏͏ to͏͏ its͏͏ own͏͏ website,͏͏ Tuco’s͏͏ products͏͏ are͏͏ available͏͏ on͏͏ marketplaces͏͏ such͏͏ as͏͏ Amazon,͏͏ Flipkart,͏͏ Nykaa,͏͏ and͏͏ FirstCry,͏͏ among͏͏ others.
Commenting͏͏ on͏͏ the͏͏ funding,͏͏ Tuco͏͏ founder͏͏ and͏͏ CEO͏͏ Murali͏͏ stated,͏͏ “We’re͏͏ thrilled͏͏ to͏͏ have͏͏ the͏͏ support͏͏ of͏͏ incredible͏͏ investors͏͏ committed͏͏ to͏͏ building͏͏ a͏͏ meaningful͏͏ and͏͏ sustainable͏͏ business.͏͏ With͏͏ the͏͏ strong͏͏ traction͏͏ we’ve͏͏ gained͏͏ for͏͏ our͏͏ range,͏͏ we’re͏͏ ready͏͏ to͏͏ scale.”
Meanwhile,͏͏ VS͏͏ Kannan͏͏ Sitaram,͏͏ co-founder͏͏ and͏͏ partner͏͏ at͏͏ Fireside͏͏ Ventures,͏͏ noted͏͏ that͏͏ Tuco͏͏ has͏͏ established͏͏ a͏͏ solid͏͏ base͏͏ of͏͏ repeat͏͏ customers͏͏ and͏͏ is͏͏ “well-positioned͏͏ to͏͏ serve͏͏ the͏͏ market.”
Tuco͏͏ competes͏͏ with͏͏ startups͏͏ such͏͏ as͏͏ Mamaearth,͏͏ The͏͏ Moms͏͏ Co,͏͏ and͏͏ Hopscotch,͏͏ as͏͏ well͏͏ as͏͏ established͏͏ FMCG͏͏ brands͏͏ like͏͏ Hindustan͏͏ Unilever͏͏ Limited͏͏ (HUL)͏͏ and͏͏ Himalaya.
Growing͏͏ Interest͏͏ in͏͏ Kids-Focused͏͏ Brands:
This͏͏ development͏͏ comes͏͏ as͏͏ several͏͏ new͏͏ brands͏͏ seek͏͏ to͏͏ capture͏͏ a͏͏ share͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ rapidly͏͏ growing͏͏ kids-focused͏͏ market͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ country,͏͏ driven͏͏ by͏͏ rising͏͏ disposable͏͏ incomes.
In͏͏ August,͏͏ kids-focused͏͏ omnichannel͏͏ retailer͏͏ Firstcry͏͏ listed͏͏ on͏͏ the͏͏ stock͏͏ exchanges.͏͏ Meanwhile,͏͏ Flipkart’s͏͏ social͏͏ commerce͏͏ venture͏͏ Shopsy͏͏ entered͏͏ the͏͏ kids͏͏ market͏͏ earlier͏͏ this͏͏ year͏͏ with͏͏ the͏͏ launch͏͏ of͏͏ its͏͏ summer͏͏ collection͏͏ for͏͏ children.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ FirstCry͏͏ makes͏͏ strong͏͏ market͏͏ debut͏͏ with͏͏ 40%͏͏ premium͏͏ over͏͏ IPO͏͏ price
The͏͏ segment͏͏ has͏͏ attracted͏͏ significant͏͏ investor͏͏ interest.͏͏ In͏͏ April,͏͏ kidswear͏͏ startup͏͏ Includ͏͏ raised͏͏ $1.5͏͏ million͏͏ (approximately͏͏ INR͏͏ 12.5͏͏ crore)͏͏ in͏͏ a͏͏ round͏͏ led͏͏ by͏͏ Incubate͏͏ Fund͏͏ Asia.͏͏ Before͏͏ that,͏͏ Bengaluru-based͏͏ kids’͏͏ audio͏͏ content͏͏ platform͏͏ Vobble͏͏ secured͏͏ $1͏͏ million͏͏ in͏͏ a͏͏ round͏͏ led͏͏ by͏͏ early-stage͏͏ VC͏͏ fund͏͏ Lumikai.
