Haldiram's tie-up with Venture Catalysts to push packaged goods startups

Seed and angel investor Venture Catalysts has announced a partnership with sweets and snacks manufacturer and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brand Haldiram’s to boost its overall understanding and facilitation of start-ups in the CPG sector. 

The CPG sector, consisting of goods consumed every day by the average consumer, has shown significant growth potential in the Indian market, and Haldiram's tie-up aims to utilise this opportunity. Venture Catalysts plans to invest in 10-15 CPG start-ups in the next 1-2 years and build strong start-up stories such as men’s grooming brand Beardo, female hygiene start-up PeeSafe and India’s first herbal energy shot drink FYRE. They have previously invested in roasted snacks brand Keeros, Chai Break and restaurant chain The Bohri Kitchen. 

"The alliance with Haldiram’s sets a benchmark for other enterprises to enter into active collaborations that look to empower the start-up ecosystem. The Haldiram’s growth story is the ideal example that we want to set for the enterprises that are a part of the Venture Catalysts set-up right now," said Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, founder, Venture Catalysts.

The FMCG sector, the larger segment which houses CPG sector, has an estimated market value at about $ 50 billion and is growing at about 7-10 per cent. Venture Catalysts will leverage Haldiram’s expertise to intricately evaluate its investments in the CPG sector and achieve – a much stronger foothold in evaluation, industry relevant mentoring, identifying market opportunities, and developing better consumer understanding in the CPG space.

"The current generation of Haldiram’s looks forward to this alliance and is very upbeat about encouraging more such collaborations in the future,"said a Haldiram's spokesperson. 

Last month, Venture Catalysts announced a partnership with London-based Well Tech (a health-focused innovation platform) to launch a health tech accelerator - HealthCare Catalysts to foster technological innovation in the field of healthcare.