Woodsmen Mountain Whiskey, a burgeoning alcoholic beverage startup, has secured $1.5 million (approximately INR 12.5 crore) in its Series A funding round, spearheaded by FinFirst Group and Anthill Ventures.
The funding round also attracted investment from several other notable investors, such as Nikhil Vora, managing partner at Sixth Sense Ventures, Chaitanya Rathi, former COO of Sula Vineyards, Shantanu Deshpande, founder of Bombay Shaving Co, Bala Sarda, founder of Vahdam Teas, Pradeep Gidwani, former MD of Diageo, and Arjun Vaidya, cofounder of V3 Ventures.
Additionally, existing investors, including Country Delight cofounders Nitin Kaushal and Chakradhar Gade, as well as several executives from Woodsmen Mountain Whiskey, participated in the Series A funding round.
The startup plans to utilize the new funding to broaden its market presence, intensify marketing efforts, introduce new products such as a single malt range, and grow its team.
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In addition to the funding, Gidwani and Rathi will also serve as advisors to the startup. Woodsmen Mountain Whiskey operates under its parent company, Ginglani Distillers, founded by Shivam Ginglani. The startup asserts that its whiskey is crafted using water sourced from the Himalayan mountains and reports sales of over 2 million bottles this year.
Founder and CEO Ginglani took to social media, expressing the startup’s ambition to establish an “iconic” Indian whiskey brand.
Meanwhile, commenting on the funding round, Rathi stated, “As an experienced industry professional, I have been advising Shivam in establishing his whiskey company from the ground up. In just two years in the world’s largest whiskey market, Shivam’s distinctive Himalayan origin-driven ‘Mountain Whiskey’ positioning for Woodsmen has successfully carved out a unique niche, diverging from the traditional IMFL whisky paradigm by prioritizing quality, branding, and storytelling.”
Woodsmen Mountain Whiskey competes with industry giants such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and Bacardi in the rapidly growing Indian alcoholic beverages market. This burgeoning market has given rise to several startups and has also captured the interest of investors.
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