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“Abhishek Kaushik’s Mitra Raises Rs 14 Crore from Bestvantage, Targets ₹500-Cr Valuation and GCC Entry

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Abhishek Kaushik’s Mitra Raises Rs 14 Crore from Bestvantage, Targets ₹500-Cr Valuation and GCC Entry

Delhi-based FMCG startup Mitra has secured Rs 14 crore in a bridge round led by Bestvantage Investments, with participation from existing investors, including a Dubai-based family office. The fresh infusion takes the company’s total funding to nearly Rs 25 crore since its inception in 2023.

Founder and chief executive Abhishek Kaushik said the company will channel the capital into scaling its operations, expanding its portfolio, and broadening its distribution network across India while also preparing to tap Gulf Cooperation Council markets.

A key milestone in the pipeline is the launch of a new 3,000-tonne refined flour manufacturing facility, scheduled to begin operations in October. Alongside, Mitra is gearing up to roll out a diverse range of new products, including multigrain flour, whole wheat flour, diabetic-friendly flour, sugar-free and gluten-free variants, as well as packaged rice. “Our vision is to position Mitra among the top five FMCG players in India over the next two to three years, with a roadmap towards an IPO,” Kaushik told ET.

Mitra’s growth has been sharp. Revenue jumped from Rs 11 crore in FY24 to Rs 40 crore in FY25, and the company expects to close FY26 with more than Rs 120 crore in sales. Its distribution footprint already spans 500 distributors and 40,000 retail outlets across the country.

The company is also preparing for a Series A funding round in April 2026, where it is targeting a valuation of Rs 500 crore.

Raman Sharma, founder and chief executive of Bestvantage Investments, said Mitra’s proposition lies in marrying traditional food preparation methods with modern quality benchmarks. “The FMCG sector in India is ripe for disruption, and Mitra’s scalability and strong demand curve make it one to watch,” Sharma noted.

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Hexafun Bags Rs 4.5 Crore from Prajay Advisors, Launches ‘Insanely Indian’ Line Inspired by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat and Punjab

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Hexafun Bags Rs 4.5 Crore from Prajay Advisors, Launches ‘Insanely Indian’ Line Inspired by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat and Punjab

Hexafun, a design-led lifestyle accessories startup, has secured Rs 4.5 crore in seed funding from Prajay Advisors. The Bengaluru-based brand, founded in 2021 by Harshit Singhal and Manali Sanghvi, said the capital will be deployed to strengthen retail channels, expand marketing campaigns, and build visibility in urban and high-growth markets.

The fundraise coincides with the launch of Hexafun’s new campaign, “Insanely Indian,” a culture-forward collection that reimagines everyday essentials with regional motifs and Gen Z sensibilities. The line features socks, tote bags, coasters, hankies, and gifting products, drawing design cues from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat, and Punjab. The company said the collection reflects India’s mix of tradition and irreverence, transforming basic items into style statements.

Hexafun has positioned itself at the intersection of design and culture, catering to young consumers who are looking beyond mainstream, repetitive offerings. “This generation is rewriting fashion language,” said co-founder Harshit Singhal. “They are as comfortable using emojis as they are showcasing where they come from. That balance of roots and rebellion is at the heart of Hexafun.”

Investor Prajay Advisors believes the startup’s strength lies in its ability to turn functional products into sought-after lifestyle objects. “The rise of Hexafun signals a new era for everyday essentials,” said founders Dr. Prakash Mody and Jayendra Shah in a joint statement.

India’s accessories market, pegged at over $2 billion, has seen a spurt of design-led brands targeting young consumers who value individuality. With this funding, Hexafun aims to accelerate growth and place culture-infused products on the radar of India’s style-conscious youth.

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IKEA India to Invest Beyond ₹10,500 Crore as CEO Patrik Antoni Maps 4–6 New Stores a Year, Targets 50% Local Sourcing by 2030

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IKEA India to Invest Beyond ₹10,500 Crore as CEO Patrik Antoni Maps 4–6 New Stores a Year, Targets 50% Local Sourcing by 2030

IKEA is preparing to fast-track its India growth story with a fresh expansion strategy, marking what its leadership calls the “second wave” of its journey in the country. After investing more than ₹10,500 crore in the first phase, the Swedish retailer now plans to roll out four to six new customer touchpoints every year, a significant acceleration from its earlier pace of one store every year or two.

Patrik Antoni, CEO of IKEA India, said the company is ready to scale its presence with a sharper omnichannel approach, new retail formats and a stronger supply chain. Upcoming additions will include flagship outlets in Noida and Gurugram, city-centre stores, planning studios and expanded digital platforms.

Localisation is set to be at the core of this strategy. IKEA currently sources about 30 percent of its products from India and aims to raise this to 50 percent by 2030. Partnerships are already in place with 45 suppliers, many of whom also cater to global markets. A new design centre will focus on Indian homes, emphasising sustainable and recycled materials, including locally sourced wood varieties.

Distribution capabilities are also being ramped up. The retailer operates a hub in Pune servicing western and southern India and has just opened a rail-connected centre in Gurugram to cover northern markets and direct-to-customer deliveries. On last-mile logistics, IKEA has already transitioned more than 90 percent of its fleet to electric vehicles and targets full electrification by 2030.

Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee, added that India’s growing role as both a sourcing hub and a retail market makes it critical for the brand in navigating shifting global trade dynamics. The company is also banking on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement to unlock new opportunities.

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Lay’s and Ranbir Kapoor’s ARKS Label Turn Snack Pack Colours Into Vibrant ‘Colour-Lays’ Sneakers

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Lay’s and Ranbir Kapoor’s ARKS Label Transform Snack Pack Colours Into ‘Colour-Lays’ Sneakers

What happens when India’s favourite chips brand collides with Ranbir Kapoor’s streetwear label? You get Colour-Lays, a limited-edition sneaker drop that turns Lay’s iconic pack colours into bold footwear.

In the launch film, Ranbir Kapoor is brainstorming with his ARKS team when a basket of Lay’s chips catches his eye. The vibrant colours spark the idea of sneakers inspired by nostalgia, flavour, and pop culture. From snack packs to streetwear, it’s a cultural remix.

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z & Millennial Survey, two-thirds of young consumers prefer brands that reflect their values and culture. Lay’s has long owned that space with flavours tied to memory and celebration. Now, ARKS reimagines that legacy in sneakers that are both familiar and disruptive.

“Lay’s colours are cultural shorthand,” says Abhinav Verma, Co-Founder & CEO, ARKS. “We asked what if we reframed them in sneaker language? The result is not just fashion, but a conversation between nostalgia and identity.”

For Lay’s, the move continues its streak of cultural disruption. “We have always shown up where culture is created,” says Saumya Rathor, Marketing Director, Lay’s. “This collaboration with ARKS isn’t just footwear, it’s a true cultural drop that is playful, expressive, and rooted in the energy of now.”

Colour-Lays proves that when brands mix authenticity with creativity, they don’t just launch products, they launch culture.

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India’s Wearables Lose Shine: Smartwatch Shipments Crash 28% to 6.6 Mn Units as Boat Holds 28% Share, Boult Surges 21%

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India’s Wearables Lose Shine: Smartwatch Shipments Crash 28% to 6.6 Mn Units as Boat Holds 28% Share, Boult Surges 21%

India’s booming wearables story is hitting a pause. According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) India Monthly Wearable Device Tracker, shipments fell for the fifth straight quarter in April–June 2025, slipping 9.4% year-on-year to 26.7 million units. The slowdown was led by smartwatches and wireless earbuds, categories that had driven the explosive surge in 2022 and 2023 but are now showing signs of fatigue.

Boat, through its parent Imagine Marketing, held on to the top spot with a 28% market share, even as its volumes dipped 4.8%. Noise remained the second-largest player with 13.1%, though its shipments fell 8.6%. Boult, which recently rebranded to GoBoult, was the outlier, posting a sharp 21.8% rise and capturing 10.9% share. Oppo and OnePlus jointly held 8%, while Realme accounted for 6.5%.

The real pain was visible in smartwatches, which dropped 28.4% YoY to 6.6 million units. Their share of the overall wearables market shrank to 24.9%, down from 31.5% a year earlier. IDC attributes this to saturation in the entry-level segment and waning demand. Earwear shipments too slipped marginally by 1.2% to 19.9 million units, though within the category, truly wireless stereo (TWS) devices continued to dominate with a 71.2% share. Neckbands declined 16.1%, while over-the-ear headphones nearly doubled to 1.5 million units.

Average selling prices edged higher, with wearables averaging $19.2 (₹1,700) in Q2, up 2.2% YoY.

Amid the slump, new form factors are quietly gaining ground. Smart rings crossed 75,000 units, growing 2.8% YoY, with Ultrahuman, Gabit and Aabo together holding 65%. Smart glasses leapt to 50,000 units, up from just 4,000 a year earlier, driven by launches from Meta and Lenskart. Smart wristbands surged 118.5% to 83,000 units, largely on the back of Samsung’s Galaxy Fit3, which commanded over 80% share.

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“Gordon Ramsay Lands in India: Street Burger Opens at Delhi Airport T1, Eyes Rs 14,000-Cr Burger Market with Mumbai Next”

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“Gordon Ramsay Lands in India: Street Burger Opens at Delhi Airport T1, Eyes Rs 14,000-Cr Burger Market with Mumbai Next”

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has made his India debut with his casual dining chain, Street Burger, opening its first outlet at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Terminal 1. The launch marks Ramsay’s first step into the Indian quick-service dining space, with a second outlet planned for Mumbai in the coming months.

Born in London in 2020, Street Burger was created as an accessible brand offering what the group calls “honest priced burgers with bags of flavour.” The Delhi outlet adapts that formula for Indian palates, with a menu that balances international favourites and local twists. Alongside Ramsay’s Fried Chicken Burger and classic cheeseburgers, diners will find a Tandoori Paneer Burger and a Butternut Bhaji Burger, both developed specifically for India.

The brand is entering one of the world’s fastest-growing food and beverage markets, where organised QSR chains have been expanding aggressively. India’s burger market alone is estimated to be worth over Rs 14,000 crore, dominated by McDonald’s, Burger King and a growing cluster of homegrown players. Street Burger is expected to target the urban traveller and millennial consumer base, with its first outlet inside one of India’s busiest airports, which serves more than 50 million passengers annually.

“India’s passion for its rich culinary heritage makes it a natural home for Street Burger,” said Andy Wenlock, CEO of Gordon Ramsay Restaurants Global. “Our aim is to create something familiar yet unique, combining Ramsay’s signature style with flavours that resonate deeply with Indian customers.”

The expansion adds India to the global footprint of Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, which now operates across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With Mumbai next on the map, industry watchers say Ramsay’s entry could intensify competition in India’s already crowded burger wars.

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Piyush Goyal Inaugurates “Mauli” in Kandivali: FSSAI and Danone India Roll Out Nation’s First All-Women Clean Street Food Hub, 6,000 Vendors Trained, 10,000 More in Pipeline

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Piyush Goyal Inaugurates “Mauli” in Kandivali: FSSAI and Danone India Roll Out Nation’s First All-Women Clean Street Food Hub, 6,000 Vendors Trained, 10,000 More in Pipeline

Mumbai’s Kandivali has become home to a national first. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in partnership with Danone India, has opened “Mauli,” the country’s first clean street food hub operated entirely by women. Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the project, calling it a milestone under the Eat Right India movement.

Mauli is staffed by women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) who have undergone FoSTaC training, a food safety and hygiene certification programme designed by FSSAI. The hub aims to show that street food, often celebrated for taste but questioned for safety, can meet high standards of cleanliness and trust while creating sustainable livelihoods for women.

Danone India’s Managing Director, Shashi Ranjan, said the project reflects the company’s mission to “bring health through food” and its long-term partnership with FSSAI. “By giving women access to training and resources, we are creating safe food spaces and enabling entrepreneurship,” he said.

For FSSAI, Mauli is more than a single initiative. The regulator has trained over 6,000 street food vendors in western India so far, with 200 more certified during the launch event. The next phase will cover over 10,000 vendors across the region, ensuring that safe food practices scale beyond Mumbai.

Piyush Goyal praised the initiative as “a shining example of women’s empowerment, food safety and community development coming together.” FSSAI has confirmed that more such hubs are planned for other Indian cities as the Eat Right India movement expands into schools, workplaces and community spaces.

With Mauli, Mumbai’s street food scene gains not only a new address but also a benchmark that could redefine how India eats on the go.

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Flipkart Minutes Hits 50 Million Shoppers in First Year, Plans 800 Dark Stores to Ride Festive Quick-Commerce Wave

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Flipkart Minutes Hits 50 Million Shoppers in First Year, Plans 800 Dark Stores to Ride Festive Quick-Commerce Wave

Flipkart’s one-hour delivery service, Flipkart Minutes, is betting big on India’s festival shopping spree. The Walmart-owned platform, which turned one this August, reported 50 million unique visitors in its first year and says customer appetite for instant delivery is only accelerating.

The service, currently live across 19 cities and 2,900 pincodes, has been doubling order volumes every 45 days. Backed by a plan to roll out 800 dark stores, it is positioning itself as a serious contender in the country’s fast-growing quick-commerce market.

Festivals have already given the platform a sales boost. Raksha Bandhan alone saw a 30-fold surge in gifting orders, with 8 pm emerging as the single busiest shopping hour. High-ticket categories are also driving momentum: in its first year, Flipkart Minutes sold nearly five lakh smartphones and over 20 lakh consumer electronics units, alongside daily staples, food, beverages, and personal care.

Senior leadership remains bullish on demand. “There is a lot of positive sentiment. Be it Rakhi, Independence Day or Janmashtami, we are seeing customers lean on us for convenience during key moments,” said Hemant Badri, Senior Vice President at Flipkart. Vice President Kabeer Biswas added that the rise of gig workforce availability, digital payments, and evolving shopping behavior are accelerating adoption.

For the festive quarter, Flipkart Minutes is deepening inventory across essentials, mobiles, electronics, and festival-led assortments. AI-powered demand forecasting will be used to predict buying patterns region by region, while Ekart’s last-mile network is being ramped up to handle peak volumes.

With more than 900 categories already live, the company believes the season ahead could be a turning point, as quick-commerce shifts from occasional convenience to a mainstream shopping habit.

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Emami Agrotech Bets Big on Branded Staples: Targets Rs 2,000-Crore Foods Business in 5 Years, Launches Atta, Maida and Sooji

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Emami Agrotech Bets Big on Branded Staples: Targets Rs 2,000-Crore Foods Business in 5 Years, Launches Atta, Maida and Sooji

Emami Agrotech Ltd, the Rs 20,000-crore edible oil, foods and bio-diesel arm of the Emami Group, has announced its entry into India’s fast-growing branded staples market. With this foray, the company has set its sights on scaling its foods vertical to Rs 2,000 crore in the next three to five years.

The move positions Emami Agrotech inside India’s branded staples space, a category pegged at over Rs 80,000 crore, where consumer preference is steadily shifting away from loose grains and flours toward packaged, hygienic, and trusted labels.

The company launched its Emami Healthy & Tasty branded atta, maida and sooji on Tuesday, marking the start of its staples portfolio. Its foods business, currently valued at nearly Rs 100 crore, will now expand beyond edible oils, spices and soya chunks into daily-use pantry essentials. Officials said the immediate priority is to consolidate presence in eastern India before rolling out nationally.

“More than just another product launch, this is our step into the core of Indian kitchens. With staples, we want to be part of everyday meals and family connections around food,” said Vibhash V Agarwal, Director, Emami Group.

The company is also exploring an initial public offering (IPO) within two to three years as part of its long-term strategy.

Industry data indicates packaged staples are gaining share across both urban and semi-urban markets, driven by changing consumer habits and rising incomes. Emami Agrotech plans to leverage its wide distribution reach and digital supply chain to capture this shift.

Since the launch of Healthy & Tasty in 2010, the brand has steadily diversified. With the addition of staples, Emami aims to reposition itself as a full-spectrum kitchen solutions brand, extending well beyond edible oils.

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Captain Fresh Joins IPO Wave with ₹1,700-Crore Issue as Losses Narrow to ₹229 Crore

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Captain Fresh Joins IPO Wave with ₹1,700-Crore Issue as Losses Narrow to ₹229 Crore

Captain Fresh, the Bengaluru-based B2B seafood exporter, has formally set the stage for its stock market debut with a plan to raise ₹1,700 crore through a fresh issue of shares. The decision, cleared by its board last week, follows the company’s recent shift from a private to a public entity and its rebranding to Infifresh Foods Limited, according to regulatory filings.

Founded in 2020 by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh has rapidly grown into one of India’s leading tech-led supply chain platforms for packaged seafood. Its operations stretch across India and international markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. The company positions itself as a bulk supplier to retailers and distributors, connecting fishing communities and aquaculture hubs directly with demand centers.

Financially, the momentum has been strong. In FY24, the company posted an operating revenue of ₹1,395 crore, marking a 71 percent surge from ₹817 crore in FY23. Net losses also narrowed to ₹229 crore compared with ₹294 crore a year earlier, highlighting improving operational efficiency.

The IPO plans come on the heels of a ₹250-crore pre-IPO funding round in January, which saw participation from marquee investors such as Prosus Ventures, Accel, and Tiger Global. Prominent backers also include Swiggy cofounder Sriharsha Majety’s family office, Sid Khanna of India Equity Partners, and the late Sunjay Kapur of Sona Comstar.

With this move, Captain Fresh joins the growing list of B2B tech-first firms like Zetwerk and Infra.Market preparing to tap public markets. If successful, the ₹1,700-crore fundraising will give Captain Fresh capital to strengthen its sourcing base, expand global reach, and double down on technology that ensures fresher seafood for buyers worldwide.

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