Venturi leads $55m Series C for Singapore's Believe
Venturi Partners, a consumer-focused investment firm established by a former Verlinvest executive in Asia, has led a USD 55m Series C round for Believe, a Singapore-based consumer products company aimed at Muslim consumers.
IIFL Asset Management also came in as a new investor, while the likes of Jungle Ventures, Accel Partners, Alteria Capital, and Genesis Alternative Ventures re-upped.
Believe was formed as recently as 2019, but the company has already raised more than USD 80m in funding. The Series A and B rounds were led by Accel and Jungle, with participation from Wamda Capital, a Middle East-based investor.
Believe makes halal-based products across skincare, fragrances, make-up, and haircare. The company describes itself as a “house of brands” with a portfolio that features Lafz, ZM, and Dr. Rhazes. While Lafz is the premium flagship brand, made using traditional ingredients, ZM’s vegan, single ingredient position is popular among young and aspirational consumers, according to a statement.
Its core markets are India, Bangladesh, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. However, products are also available in South Korea, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. The new funding will support consolidation in India and Bangladesh, chiefly through acquisitions, and continued expansion in GCC and Southeast Asia, where growth will be organic and inorganic.
“We have received tremendous consumer love all the way from launching our first product in 2019 to witnessing 2.5x growth in last year. Our 2,000-plus family of happy Believers is our eyes and ears to the ground that help us be nimble and responsive to consumer needs,” said Ankit Mahajan, CEO of Believe.
“We have created a relentless marketing organisation that has the ability to identify consumer needs, use our 12-member R&D expertise to make fantastic products and then put our international supply chain to deliver global standard products to countries across the world.”
Nicholas Cator, founder and managing partner of Venturi, added that Believe has the potential to become a leading halal and clean bulk power consumer (BPC) house of brands.
The private equity firm reached a first close of USD 100m on its debut fund in June 2021 against an overall target of USD 150m. It backs companies in India and Southeast Asia in the fast-moving consumer goods, education, and healthcare spaces. The plan is to make 7-8 investments from Fund I, writing cheques of USD 15m to USD 40m.
Believe represents the firm’s second investment. The first came last September as Venturi participated in a USD 90m Series D for Livspace, a home interiors renovation platform with a presence in India and Southeast Asia.
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