Hello 👋 !

Feeling the Monday Blues? Maybe the thought of an afternoon nap can make you feel better! If the idea of naps is frowned upon in your office… Know that Wakefit, one of the biggest D2C players in the sleep solutions market, provides its employees the ‘right to nap’ during work hours (yeah, the same company that paid its interns to sleep the longest on its mattress).

But it is not all a gimmick, Research from NASA and Harvard does show that afternoon naps help with memory, concentration, creativity, and productivity of employees! Go take a nap and charge yourself up…

What’s in the news? 🗞️

👑 Shaking the empire

The OG of tailoring, 97 yr. old Raymond’s consumer care business is being bought by a barely 7 yr. old start-up, Good Glamm Group. But Why? owing to Raymond’s financial woes with 1000+ cr. net debt and losses worth INR 60 cr. in FY 21 alone.

With the acquisition, G3, which is building a presence in men’s personal care with acquisitions like Scoop Whoop, will have access to not just a legacy brand in the men’s category but also its 0.6 mn footprint across the country. Raymond also sells products under the brands: Park Avenue & Kamasutra.

🦷 Fairy dust on Toothsi

Toothsi is a dental care start-up that provides at-home teeth straightening service, with invisible, 3D-printed clear aligners. It has already served over 140K customers in India, across 2000 partner dental centers.

Toothsi has raised USD 40 mn from investors including Eight Road Ventures and IIFL to double down on Tier-II cities and become a one-stop solution for cosmetic dentistry and dermatology (Toothsi’s brand ‘Skinnsi’ provides at-home laser-assisted cosmetology services).

Toothsi also has a product line including aligner cleansers, chewies, electric brushes, whitening pens etc.

👵🏻 Backward is the new Forward

Nutty Yogi raised INR 50 mn in funding led by Multiply Ventures. With this funding, Nutty Yogi plans to build its offline channel by partnering with retailers and distributors. With Swiggy’s drone delivery announcement, you can access health on the fly.

Millet Vermicelli, Diabetic control atta, red rice poha, beetroot nachos … Nutty Yogi channels your inner yogi with 200+ staples, snacks, condiments, and superfoods that take you back to your grandmother’s kitchen but with a dash of convenience (by offering food in a form, it is meant to be eaten today).

Brands that caught our eye! 🧿

🧼 Desert your soaps for these Desserts

You will love these macarons and donuts, even though you can’t eat them - The Sass Bar offers a ‘delicious’ range of handmade soaps that look like desserts - cupcakes, tarts, cakes, and our summer favorite, popsicles.

We are not kidding! The best bit is the soaps do not just look pretty (for your Instagram feed), but they’re also Paraben-free, made using skin-safe colorants, and come packed with cocoa butter that’ll moisturize your skin. 

🛑 No Period pain. Period.

No more popping pills, carrying a hot water bag, random postures, etc. during your menstruation, trying to shirk away from the pain.

Welme has designed a period cramp machine that gives relief to period pain and makes sure that our Sheroes remain unstoppable every day. The device’s TENS technology blocks the pain signals by stimulating nerves without any side effects.

Trend of the Week: Nut Butters 🧈

Nut butter (especially peanut) has become one of the most consumed food spreads for breakfasts, recently. Parents are ditching the overtly sweet artificial jams, fats-loaded milk butter, for nut butter - almond, peanut, cashew & more! These are energy-rich products, with fiber, protein, and unsaturated fats. The market size of peanut butter alone is around INR 250 cr. in India.

Reads & Recommendations 🤓

• Hubspot analyzed millions of Instagram posts from all over the world to draw out insights on what works, give it a read - Instagram engagement report 2022.

• Here’s how free stuff makes consumer, irrational.

That’s all for this week!

Stay tuned for more insights about the D2C ecosystem in India.

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