Flavour-first food brand Naagin raises Rs 18 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by 360 ONE Asset

Naagin, the flavour-first food brand, has raised Rs 18 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by 360 ONE Asset. The round also saw participation from existing investor 8i and other investors.

Founded in 2019 by Mikhel Rajani (ex-Francesco’s Pizzeria and Mandala), Arjun Rastogi (ex-BlackRock, EY), and Kshitij Neelakantan (ex-public policy and operations, SOAS alumnus), the startup plans to use the raised capital to scale operations across key verticals including factory expansion, team expansion, R&D and marketing, while accelerating growth across B2B, e-commerce, and D2C.

With multiple new products and category expansions in the pipeline, Naagin is poised to deepen its domestic presence while strategically building out its export roadmap.

“We aligned with 360 ONE instantly on our bold vision for the future. They’ve been very supportive from the get-go and we are excited to continue our journey to create products people truly love, be the flavour provider for the next generation of HORECA brands right here in India and expanding globally to put Indian Hot Sauce on the world map,” said Mikhel Rajani.

The startup claims it has served over one million customers and has a strong presence across e-commerce, quick-commerce and HORECA. It continues to invest in deepening its regional sourcing networks and strengthening its farm-to-flavour supply chain to ensure transparency, traceability, and impact at scale.

“Naagin isn’t simply bottling heat, it’s distilling India’s rich chilli heritage into a fresh, addictive flavour experience that belongs on tables from Mumbai to Brooklyn. Their relentless focus on craft, clean ingredients, and punchy brand storytelling positions them to redefine the global hot-sauce aisle, and we’re fired up to help fuel that journey,” said Abhishek Nag, Head of Early Stage VC at 360 ONE Asset.