Artha Venture Fund partners with IIM Kashipur to lead pre-seed round in FMCG brand Himshakti

• Himshakti is an FMCG brand that offers organic Himalayan products such as spiced salts, spices and juices.
• The funding round also saw participation from angel investors such as Pier Counsel’s Anand Kumar and StarClinch’s Varun Agrawal.
• The money will be used for marketing and sales and improving the packaging of the products.
• The Uttarakhand-based startup plans to expand in France, Europe and ASEAN countries, targeting shelf space in 200 premium stores.
  

IIM Kashipur said on Thursday that it partnered with Artha Venture Fund’s Access program and that the partnership’s first investment was in Dehradun-based FMCG brand Himshakti, which has raised ₹17 lakh in its pre-seed round.

The pre-seed funding round also saw the participation of angel investors Anand Kumar of Pier Counsel and Varun Agrawal of StarClinch. Himshakti plans to use the money for marketing, sales and improving the packaging quality of its products.

Artha Venture Fund invests through its Artha Access program along with accelerators such as India Accelerator, Huddle and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park.

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Himshakti products, founded in November 2019 by Harshit Sehdev, are organic and claim to provide health benefits such as improved immunity and digestion. The startup aims to support and empower the local villagers and farmers by providing them with a consistent source of income.

“Himshakti is one of the most promising start-ups in Uttarakhand doing phenomenal grassroots work to stop rural migration and provide employment to Uttarakhand’s farmers,” said Professor Safal Batra, Director of the Foundation for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Development, said IIM Kashipur.

The money will be used for marketing and sales and improving the packaging of the products. Himshakti is currently applying for international certifications to start its operations in Europe and ASEAN. The brand is also looking to expand its presence in France, in addition to striving for shelf space in 200 premium stores.

Himshakti products have become more accepted at premium hotel chains and organic stores in the past 12 months, the company claimed.

India’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry grew 10.9% in the quarter ended June 2022, up from 6% in the previous quarter, according to
NielsenIQ’s FMCG Snapshot for
Q2 2022.