Wellbeing Nutrition raises USD 2.2 million in Series A led by Fireside Ventures

Wellbeing Nutrition – a wholefood nutrition company that trusts plant-based ingredients to deliver wellness to individuals with fast-paced lives has raised $2.2 million in a Series A round. The round was led by Fireside Ventures and also saw participation from ACG, one of the world’s leading providers of integrated solutions for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

The funds will primarily be utilized to strengthen R&D and create the next generation of nutraceuticals which will rely on Advanced Nano Technology, Delayed Release technology, and Sustainability, to launch new products, acquire talent, and create better awareness and reach.

Kannan Sitaram, Venture Partner at Fireside Ventures will join the company’s board. Fireside is focused on investing in consumer start-ups and helping them become strong brands that people love. Its portfolio includes well known new-age brands like boAt, Mamaearth, Vahdam, and Yogabar.

Founded in 2019 by Avnish Chhabria a serial entrepreneur with start-ups in the USA and India, Wellbeing Nutrition was launched to provide organic, non-genetically modified vitamins and minerals that are not chemically synthesized. Wellbeing is a research-based wholefood nutrition company that uses plant-based ingredients to deliver wellness to individuals with fast-paced active lives. The products use research-driven formulations in innovative delivery formats that are proven to be more bioavailable, effective, and fast-acting compared to traditional formats like tablets and capsules. The team works with leading researchers including Dr. Rainer Duchmann, a leading Gastroenterologist from Germany, and Dr. Anne Marie Fine, an award-winning researcher from the USA.

The Nutrition / Nutraceuticals market has shown strong growth of 50% CAGR with the added impetus coming from the pandemic. Customers have become exceedingly cautious about their health and there is heightened consciousness of the need for clean, plant-based supplementation. Wellbeing, with a strong focus on research and clinical studies, has created a strong brand presence with customers wanting to choose Organic and Plant-based wellness alternatives to traditional lab-derived nutraceuticals. Wellbeing has grown 40% Month on Month with a strong retail presence across 600+ stores in India while also opening up a large export opportunity with sales to markets like UAE, UK, Germany, and USA. The brand is available on marketplaces including Amazon.in and also has a strong D2C channel https://wellbeingnutrition.com/

On the investment Kannan Sitaram, Venture Partner at Fireside Ventures said, “Healthy India is a big consumer theme and today’s consumers want to invest in their everyday wellness. The nutritional supplements space is attracting a lot of interest from millennial consumers who are making considered choices on what they eat and how they look after their physical and mental health and we at Fireside believe that Avnish and his team at Wellbeing Nutrition are creating a brand that will be one of the leaders in this area. We value their focus on product innovation using high quality, organic ingredients which will drive rapid growth as consumers take their wellness into their own hands.”

On the fundraise Avnish Chhabria – Founder, Wellbeing Nutrition said, “Nutraceutical and dietary supplements space has witnessed unprecedented growth post the pandemic. We saw an increase in demand for our innovative and carefully designed research-driven products. As we enter the next phase of growth and innovation, we look forward to benefitting from Fireside and ACG’s pedigree, collective experience, and resources in helping us scale. ”

MGB Advisors acted as exclusive advisors to Wellbeing Nutrition on the fund raising from Fireside and other investors.

Karan Singh, Managing Director at ACG said, “We are excited about this partnership, as the pandemic has brought newer and elevated opportunities for the Nutraceutical industry. We believe that under the leadership of Avnish, Wellbeing Nutrition with its innovative range of products will continue to create a meaningful impact in the preventive healthcare space.
By investing in and collaborating with start-ups that have the potential to make a difference in people’s lives, ACG is committed to playing its part in helping make the world a healthier place.”

In September 2020 Wellbeing Nutrition raised a $400k angel round. The investors include Roha Group, Ashutosh Valani, and Priyank Shah, the co-founders of Beardo, Nikhil Gandhi, ex-TikTok India CEO, Harsh Vardhan Bhandari, and Jeenendra Bhandari.

About Fireside Ventures
Launched in 2017, Fireside Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund investing across the early growth stages of the business with a focus on consumer brands. Fireside invests in young start-ups and supports them through their evolution by providing in-house resources along with a partner and advisor network. The fund invests in digital-first consumer brands across sectors such as food and beverages, beauty & personal care, healthcare, Nutraceuticals lifestyle and home products, etc.

Fireside Ventures is helmed by Kanwaljit Singh – Founder & Managing Partner, Vinay Singh – Partner,
Kannan Sitaram – Venture Partner, and Dipanjan Basu – Partner and CFO. The leadership team is also supported by a six-member strong and multi-dimensional investment team.

Also Read: Affine launches Accelerator Program to empower Global Startups

Since its inception Fireside has invested in 25 brands that include Wellbeing Nutrition, Pilgrim, Fitterfly, Slurrp Farm, FableStreet, SARVA Yoga, Gynoveda, boAt, Mamaearth, Vahdam Teas, Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, SLAY Coffee, Design Café, Bombay Shaving Company, Magic Crate, Pipa Bella, Azani, BluSpider, The Ayurveda Experience, Kapiva Ayurveda, Tasty Tales, AnKa SumMor and Ninety One Cycles (previously known as Frog Cycles) and Kwik 24.

About ACG
ACG is one of the world’s leading providers of integrated solutions for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Today, with sixty years of global expertise, we are established on six continents and in over a hundred countries as providers of innovative, trusted solutions covering the entire spectrum of manufacturing needs – from capsules and film and foil barriers, to engineering equipment, inspection systems, and more.

Our state-of-the-art process and development laboratories and engineering design facilities are compliant with all major international regulatory and certification requirements, and our people are renowned for offering specialist know-how, hands-on problem solving, and dedicated service.

At our heart is a simple vision: to help make the world a healthier, happier, and ultimately better place. And to help all those we partner with across our industry to do the same.