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    DaMENSCH raises Rs 50 crore led by Matrix Partners, Saama Capital, others

    Synopsis

    DaMENSCH sells through its own website and other major e-commerce retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra.

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    Illustration: Rahul Awasthi
    Premium men’s innerwear brand DaMENSCH has raised Series A funding of about Rs 50 crore from Matrix Partners India, Saama Capital, Whiteboard Venture Partners and Alteria Capital.

    Founded in 2018 by Anurag Saboo and Gaurav Pushkar, DaMENSCH’s product line includes ‘Deo-Soft’ - India’s first odour cancelling underwear, and ‘Neo-Skin’ – thermo-regulating vests made from a curated composition of sustainable bamboo fibres.

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    DaMENSCH’s latest packaging is made from corn and is devoid of plastic. The brand’s target audience comprises men in the 20-45 age group, the company said in a statement.

    DaMENSCH sells through its own website and other major e-commerce retailers such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra.

    “The brand not only grew 3x post-lockdown but has also turned profitable… (and) clocked a cumulative sale of over Rs 1 crore within five days during the festive sale period in October,” it said.

    “Through our innovative products, we are on a mission to make men not only comfortable but also confident to stay distinctive in whatever they do. We started this journey by challenging the status quo for men’s innerwear and now plan to move ahead to further expand our offerings,” Saboo said.

    Other emerging innerwear brands such as Dollar Industries, XYXX, Tailor and Circus, and Lavos Performance have also caught investor fancy and have seen manifold growth in the last few years.

    “At DaMENSCH, we are pushing the limits of textile engineering and solving unseen problems. We are continuously improving and expanding our line up with unique and distinguished products which help us maintain a differentiated quality experience for our customers in the market,” Pushkar said.

    The men’s innerwear market, worth Rs 6,330 crore ($1.2 billion), is characterized by the presence of numerous Indian and international brands catering to different segments. Though many fashion/apparel brands have extended their existing labels in menswear to men’s innerwear as well, the product recall of players with focus solely on innerwear products is comparatively higher.

    The different sub-categories of men’s innerwear include vests, briefs/boxers, basic T-shirts, shorts/pyjamas, sleepwear and activewear.

    Consumers mostly purchase branded products for vests and brief/boxers, which are the largest category offerings from leading innerwear brands, according to a recent report in Indian Textile Magazine.

    “We're thrilled about the traction demonstrated by the DaMENSCH team in becoming the leading brand in India for men's essentials,” said Ash Lilani, Partner, Saama Capital.

    The company received seed funding from Whiteboard Venture Partners in 2018.

    “DaMENSCH is a strong example of how a new age direct-to-consumer brand should be built with high customer centricity coupled with sharp focus on the financial metrics and profitability of the business,” said Anshu Prasher, Partner, Whiteboard Venture Partners.

    Matrix Partners raised a $300 million fund early last year to invest in Indian startups and emerging businesses. It has invested more than $1 billion here. “We are excited to double down on our investment in Gaurav and Anurag with the excellent progress made at DaMENSCH,” said Avnish Bajaj, Founder and Managing Director, Matrix India.

    Matrix’s other marquee investments include Ola, Practo, Dailyhunt, Treebo, Mswipe, Five Star Business Finance, OfBusiness, Ola Electric, Razorpay, and Stanza Living.
    The Economic Times

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