Brand Capital’s Scale Up Paces Up the FMCG Startup Space

Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of The Times Group, hosted a closed door Scale Up activation for growing businesses in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector recently in Gurugram. Young entrepreneurs met industry experts who shared their insights and actionable ideas on how to create a mark in this dynamic sector. So far, Brand Capital boasts of mentoring over 180 companies since 2014.

Mentee companies participating in the event were Clensta, which manufactures waterless personal hygiene solutions; Oddy Uniwraps, which produces recyclable, safe food wrapping paper that can be used to reheat food in ovens; Teafloor, which is an online tea store with customized range of tea varieties; To-Be-Healthy (TBH), which manufactures premium nutritious snacks; and Whyte Farms, which delivers fresh milk straight from farm to homes. They stressed on concepts such as focus on right partnerships and building proper distribution network, brand awareness and Below-the-Line (BTL) engagement, threat of competition and easy accessibility to substitutes, tackling high cost of raw materials, credit lending and sales efficiency, and optimizing sourcing and faster market penetration.

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The panel of mentors included Ashwani Arora, Managing Director, LT Foods Ltd., one of India’s leading rice brands; Ajay Batra, Founding Director, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Bennett Hatchery, Bennett University; Aseem Soni, CEO, Modern Foods with 25 years of business experience; Sharad Saluja, Director, Sterling Agro Industries Limited, a business engaged in the manufacturing and sales of all kinds of dairy products; Pranav Gupta, Vice President, Carpediem Capital – a PE fund focused on the India consumption opportunity; Sona Mazumdar, Chief Partnership Officer, KidZania, and Kshitij Torka, Vice President, Grofers.

Brand Capital has a portfolio of over USD 3 billion. As a key player in the investing ecosystem, Brand Capital-Scale Up connects ambitious entrepreneurs to industry experts who provide closed door mentoring in areas such as business strategy, branding, distribution, finance and funding. To get invited to the next up Scale Up near you, you can register at www.brandcapital.co.in.

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FMCG includes products that are sold rapidly and at low costs in comparison with others. The sector includes non-durable goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, over-the-counter drugs, and other consumables.

The Indian economy is expected to triple consumption in the FMCG sector by 2025. Hence, high growth opportunities and potential is available for upcoming startups, especially in the food business space. While established brands are adapting to a changing consumer-scape at a fast pace, new and ambitious startups face several challenges such as making it big in the market and gaining recognition in a niche area.

More than a quarter of the Indian FMCG sector is accounted for mainly from the Food and Beverage (F&B) and Wellness segments. Each company having their own unique product and propositions, faces equally distinct challenges. Success mantras envisaged for FMCG startups by Scale Up include grabbing attention in the market, marketing and positioning, knowing the consumer, connecting the product and the goal, effective package designing, need for discussions and qualitative analysis, and focusing on core competencies and outsource activities like distribution and supply chain.