31/5/2019 – Tanglin Venture Partners, a US$50 million fund floated by Tiger Global executives Ravi Venkatesh and Edwina Yeo has recently led the Series A funding round of Indian consumer durables Lifelong Online.
The round is said to consist of a mix between primary and secondary transactions, and also counts Flipkart Co-founder Binny Bansal, Udaan Co-founder Sujeet Kumar, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Facebook’s Asia-Pacific head Dan Neary among its investors.
Founded in November 2015 by Atul Raheja, Kalia, and Varun Grover, Lifelong Online sells home and kitchen products through its own website and other marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and Udaan.
The startup has a portfolio of more than 40 products, including ovens, mixer grinders, sandwich maker, gas stoves, as well as personal care appliances and health devices.
So far, the startup has been running on profit for the last two years. It posted net sales of Rs 21.4 crore (about US$3.07 million) for the financial year 2017-18 as compared to Rs 5.2 crore (about US$746K) in the previous fiscal, according to VCCEdge.
Lifelong Online controls end-to-end manufacturing and distribution, and plans to launch the health and fitness category over the next few months.
“There are significant opportunities for new brands to be created which are built for today’s consumer needs, piggybacking on new-age, online distribution channels,” said Edwina Yeo, Partner of Tanglin Venture Partners.
“The Lifelong team has shown the ability to innovate on products adapted to the online channel resulting in better specifications at 30 per cent lower cost than current market leaders. With the new capital raised, we believe that Lifelong will continue to gain market share and become one of India’s largest consumer brands” added Edwina Yeo.
Launched in October 2018, Tanglin Venture Partners focuses on investing in early-stage technology startups in India and Southeast Asia.
Moving forward, Lifelong Online will use the funding to increase investments in design, product development, and scaling of manufacturing capabilities while expanding the brand’s product portfolio.
“We want to build an ecosystem of distribution and service that facilitates fair, honest pricing, and reaches every household in India,” said Bharat Kalia, the co-founder of Lifelong Online.
