Swizzle, a new-age beverage startup, raises seed funding

Bengaluru-based Swizzle, a new-age beverage startup providing Made-in-India mocktails crafted with natural ingredients, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from multiple angel investors. 

The recently concluded equity-based seed investment round was led by existing investor Monika Rao, with participation from another existing investor, Akshay Singhal, Founder and CEO of Log9 Materials.

This round's new investors include Deepak Gambhir and Harsha Thota. Swizzle raised its first funding round in 2022, the proceeds of which were spent by the startup on product development and obtaining product-market fit. To date, the startup has raised over Rs 1 crore.

What is the purpose of fundraising? 

According to the company's statement, the seed capital raised will soon be used to promote its exciting new range of premium canned mocktails on a grand scale. 

Moreover, the startup plans to use the funds towards team building (hiring skilled and talented people across sales, distribution, marketing, and other roles), inventory enhancement (building up more inventory to increase in-store product availability and meet surging demand), quality control (maintenance of premium, high-level standards across the production value chain), and expansion of its distribution network (optimizing logistics, partnerships, and systems in order to ensure smooth and widespread availability of Swizzle mocktails, especially on the retail side).

Additionally, a significant portion of these funds shall also be allocated towards marketing and brand-building initiatives such as online and offline campaigns, pop-ups and events, branded packaging and collateral creation, and so on, with the end goal of increasing brand awareness and reaching a wider potential user base.

Extending reach

 Vrinda Singhal and Deepender Singh, Co-Founders of Swizzle, said, “We are super excited to announce our latest seed fundraise, which marks a pivotal milestone in Swizzle’s journey and catalyses our mission of revolutionizing the beverage industry in India. It allows us to introduce our lineup of refreshing mocktail products to a wide audience across both the B2C and B2B segments and establish a strong presence across retail locations."

He said Swizzle aims to be accessible in more than 1000 locations by August 2024 and plans to extend reach to several new cities across the nation.

Offering ready-to-drink mocktails

Swizzle said that it offers ready-to-drink (RTD) mocktails available in different flavours that are 100% vegan and artificial ingredients-free. The startup, which achieved an impressive 210% growth during FY 2023 as compared to the previous fiscal, is on track to hit its projected revenue of Rs 15 Crore by the end of FY 2025.

Besides selling to customers directly (D2C mode) through its own website, Swizzle also sells on prominent e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, JioMart, Flipkart, and Swiggy-Mini, and has plans to partner with express delivery platforms like Instamart and Blinkit to ensure convenience for its customers.

Expanding offline retail presence 

On the retail front, Swizzle’s flagship mocktails have a marked presence in more than 350 locations across Bengaluru, including numerous vending machines, Nature Basket stores, MRP outlets, and supermarkets.

Looking ahead, Swizzle plans to furthermore expand its offline retail presence rapidly and be available in 3000+ locations by the end of the current financial year, while serving up to 5 lakh mocktails per month.

Alongside, the startup will be looking to venture into Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai, among other cities, and shall be majorly tapping into the HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, and Catering) and QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants) segments.