Kusha Kapila’s Shapewear Brand UnderNeat Gets New Investors - Fireside Ventures & Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh

According to recent reports, influencer-turned-actor Kusha Kapila’s newly launched shapewear brand UnderNeat has received funding from Fireside Ventures and Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh. [Source: Moneycontrol]

The investment

The seed-funding round is speculated to be around Rs 8-10 crore, though exact figures have not been disclosed.

Vimarsh Razan, Co-founder of UnderNeat, informed Moneycontrol of the fundraise, saying the round was closed but did not share the investment amount or the details of participating investors.

Interestingly, the brand amassed 1,76,000 Instagram followers in two days of launch, undoubtedly because of Kapila’s 4.1 million-strong personal digital presence.

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What's the plan for UnderNeat?

As reported, UnderNeat is positioning itself as a "mass-premium" shapewear brand, heavily inspired by Kim Kardashian’s shapewear giant, Skims, which grew from a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup in 2019 to a brand valued at over $4 billion, making more than $1 billion in annual net sales.

“Our strategy for the shapewear brand is to achieve rapid growth in this emerging category within India and establish ourselves as a market leader. We draw significant inspiration from Skims, a brand that was launched in 2019 and experienced early growth.... we aim to follow a similar trajectory of success in the Indian market,” the deck read.

Though the demand for shapewear is in the nascent stages in India, there is scope for growth.

“As semi-urban cities grow economically, individuals are more inclined to invest in their appearance, driving demand for shapewear,” a report by ProMarkets said.

“International brands like Spanx and Skims have popularised shapewear globally, influencing Indian consumers as well. The success of these brands has encouraged local startups to innovate and expand their offerings,” the report added.

Brands such as Zivame, Clovia, Triumph, PrettySecrets, C9 Airwear and Dermawear are selling shapewear in India.

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