Jungle Ventures in talks to make twin investments
Mint. Jungle's investment in Walko Food is estimated to be more than $7 million, one of the people said. However, Mint was not able to procure the size of the investment in TAE.
Jungle and TAE declined to comment on the development while Walko did not respond to Mint's requests for a comment.
Pune-based Walko Food owns fast growing natural ice cream brand NIC. The company operates a manufacturing plant in Pune and retails in over 30 cities across India, via multiple sales channels like food delivery platforms, Modern Trade, Parlors. Last year, the VC firm led a $11 million investment in Walko Food's NIC.
The fresh funds were dedicated to boost production, enhance product offerings and broader distribution reach to cater to a larger population. TAE is a Delhi-based beauty and wellness platform with a customer base in countries including India, US, Canada, Australia, France. It offers products across segments such as skincare, bodycare, food & beverages.
It is backed by Fireside Ventures, a prominent early-stage VC firm that is focused on consumer brands. "There are some sections of people who think of a natural or healthy lifestyle. They want to break away from usual chemicals and have a more sustainable and natural way of living.
I think that solves that purpose," Arpit Beri, a partner in Jungle Ventures, said in a separate interaction with Mint on Thursday about the company's investments in the Ayurveda space. The VC firm houses two Ayurveda-based companies, TAE and an ayurveda tech startup NirogStreet. Jungle Ventures had their biggest investment year in India in terms of value and the number of deals, Beri said in the interaction.
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