Mensa Brands, a unicorn in the realm of house of brands, has secured $40 million in growth capital from EvolutionX Debt Capital. This financing comprises a mix of debt facility and convertible investment.
With this recent injection of funds, Mensa Brands intends to further its investments in brand development.
“In the last 2 years, we have profitably scaled more than 20 brands across beauty and FMCG, fashion, home and consumer electronics. We plan to use this new funding to continue building consumer-loved brands for the next-generation of India,” said Ananth Narayanan, Founder and CEO of Mensa Brands.
Established in 2021 by Narayanan, the former CEO of Myntra, Mensa Brands presently manages a diverse portfolio of brands such as Pebble, MyFitness, Dennis Lingo, and Villain. With $200 million raised solely in equity, the company boasts prominent global investors including Accel Partners, Falcon Edge Capital, Prosus, and Tiger Global Management.
The company has previously secured debt financing from notable firms such as Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital, Stride Ventures, and TradeCred.
In November 2021, Mensa Brands secured $135 million in funding, resulting in a valuation of the company at more than $1 billion.
Rahul Shah, a partner at EvolutionX Debt Capital, expressed his confidence in Mensa’s ability to enhance the revenues and margins of digital-first consumer brands through the strategic use of technology and brand-building initiatives.
“Mensa has proven its execution capabilities with successful acquisition of multiple brands, and we look forward to supporting the company’s journey as it continues to grow its brands both in domestic and international markets,” said Shah.
Mensa Brands recently made its entry into the UAE market, unveiling three of its brands – Villain, Pebble, and Folkulture – on both Amazon and the Saudi e-commerce platform Noon.
Meanwhile, it’s important to highlight that this recent fundraising effort follows the company’s decision to reduce its workforce by approximately 30 employees at India Lifestyle Network (ILN), a brand it acquired in December of the previous year.
In its first year of operations in FY22, Mensa Brands reported a net loss of INR 96.62 crore while generating a total income of INR 217.89 crore.