New Delhi-based Carmesi has secured ₹3.4 crores ($500,000) in pre-series A funding from Samrath Bedi, Managing Director at Forest Essentials, a luxury ayurvedic beauty store. Other investors that participated in this round include Satveer Thakral from Thakral Group, Mahesh Patel, Rohit Reddy, along with Samir Saran.
The fresh capital will be used to strengthen the brand’s marketing, introducing a new product line for more sustainable period-care products. It will also be used to devise a strategy to expand its distribution.
Talking about the investment, Samrath Bedi, Managing Director, Forest Essentials said, “Carmesi as a brand is very relevant today, both socially and environmentally. Given our long association with Women empowerment, it has been a natural fit for me to collaborate on this.”
He further added, “There is a gap in the market with respect to addressing female hygiene with a safe yet environmentally-conscientious approach, and I think that this space has huge potential going forward. Not only should it be our endeavour to remove the taboo associated with a women’s menstrual cycle and health, but to also do it in a manner which is not detrimental to the planet.”
Carmesi was founded by Tanvi Johri, along with Rikshav Borah in November 2017. With its all natural and biodegradable sanitary pads, the startup aims to empower women by providing them with a hygienic way to deal with menstruation. Its pads are made of corn starch and bamboo fibre, making the pads completely natural and chemical-free.
Its products are available on various e-commerce including Flipkart, Amazon, Nykaa, Purplle, along with its own website. Carmesi claims to have a customer base of around 50,000. The startup has been growing at a rate of 25% month on month, giving its revenues a nice boost.
Other players dealing with the issue of menstrual hygiene include Boondh, Shecup among others. There is a need to deal with the issue of women hygiene and these startups play a vital role in dealing with the issue in an innovative and sustainable way.