Non-alcoholic beverage maker Svami raises Rs 7.5 cr from Rukam, others

Svami, a company that makes non-alcoholic, aerated beverages, has raised Rs 7.5 crore in Pre-Series-A funding. The round was led by Rukam Capital Trust, and Norwest Venture Partners India Managing Director Niren Shah invested in his personal capacity. Investor Ashish Chand’s family office, Yukti Securities, also participated in the round. Svami had previously raised an angel round led by Singapore-based venture capital fund RB Investments.

Founded by Sahil Jatana, Rahul Mehra and Aneesh Bhasin, the startup will use the funds to penetrate deeper into existing geographies and grow into newer cities of India, besides expanding the current product line. It would also use the money to increase its production capacity and hire senior professionals to help in growth and brand building.

“We started Svami to create premium aerated beverages that did not exist in the country. Since launch, we have seen massive product acceptance across retail and HoReCa (Hotel/Restaurant/Café) and are now capitalising on our first-mover advantage,” said Sahil Jatana, co-founder and chief executive of Svami.

Apart from launching premium products in the aerated category, Svami is also one of the first brands to produce and manufacture tonic waters in India. Currently, the brand has 5 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in the market — Original Tonic Water, Light Tonic Water, Cucumber Tonic Water, Grapefruit Tonic Water and Ginger Ale.

“All product recipes are curated in-house, along with bottling and packaging,” said Aneesh Bhasin, co-founder of Svami.

Over half a million Svami drinks have been consumed since the launch of the brand. It is now available in eight states and Union Territories of India, including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Pune. Svami recently launched its products in Hong Kong and also plans to tap markets like Singapore, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

“Rukam Capital is pleased to support Svami and its vision to provide premium non-alcoholic drinks for India’s increasingly new-age consumers. The founders' zeal and the product impressed us the most,” said Archana Jahagirdar, managing partner, Rukam Capital Trust. “We look forward to working with the founders to drive their next phase of growth.”