Bangalore, 12 June, 2024: Palette Brands (Earlier White.Inc), a next-generation consumer goods company that is building aspirational brands across high growth verticals, has raised close to $2 million in a Pre-series A round. The round was led by Rockstud Capital, along with participation from existing investors including IPV & Dholakia Ventures, and some prominent angels investors including Stoffer Anko Norden and Apurva Salapuria.
According to a report by Goldman Sachs Research, the cohort of affluent consumers in India will increase from around 60 million in 2023 to 100 million people by 2027. Palette is building for this aspirational affluent consumer who seeks great product design and value. This includes products in the mass premium segment of categories which have a large TAM and significant unmet consumer needs. Palette’s brands are disrupting through product innovation via high performance materials, design aesthetics, superior functionality and value for money pricing. Current brands include ‘Unbottle’, which is reusable & sustainable drinkware product and ‘Totem’, which creates accessories exclusively for the growing Apple consumer base in India. It will soon be launching the cookware brand ‘Ember’, a non-toxic product inspired by vibrant Indian lifestyle and modern décor.
The founders, Siddharth Gadodia, Young Yun, Himanshi Tandon & Bret Recor, bring together over 30+ years of combined experience in product development, technology, operations, ecommerce, supply chain, and marketing. As a team of product and brand experts led by Siddharth, they are united by a singular mission: to revolutionize the consumer products industry in India with better design, superior products, and enhanced lifestyles.
Additionally, Palette’s exclusive partnership with Box Clever, one of the world’s leading, award-winning design studio, reflects their shared dedication to innovation, quality, and making a difference in our customers’ lives. Box Clever is known for creating products & experiences that captivate consumers’ imagination and for creating products for market leaders in the USA.
According to Siddharth Gadodia, Founder of White Inc, “This funding will predominantly focus on the launch of Ember, a cookware brand as this category is ripe for innovation – with consumers looking to upgrade their kitchens while making healthier choices. This is a huge white space – marrying form and functionality. Ember aims to solve this by bringing India’s first absolutely non-toxic cookware brand with non-stick properties and stunning looks.”
Ivy Chin, Partner, Inflection Point Ventures, said “In today’s era, aesthetics often takes precedence, with consumers prioritizing the visual and tactile appeal of the products. This growing trend has led to higher-priced items that do not offer superior functionality. Palette Brands distinguishes itself by combining high-quality design, materials, and performance, thus providing excellent value for money. IPV aligns with Palette Brands core values of sustainability, innovative design, productivity, and affordability. We are confident of the brand’s potential to grow and are committed to supporting its journey.”
Abhishek Agarwal, Managing Partner of Rockstud Capital, said, “The founding team comes with a diverse background and complementary skillset which is extremely important when you are building a brand in the consumer space in India. Also, there is a huge whitespace and potential for disruption when it comes to cookware category in our country as consumers are seeking new product offerings and refreshing new designs.”
