The venture capital division of Azim Premji’s Wipro, Premji Invest Opportunity Fund, has led a Series B round of investment of Rs 177 crore in the domestic mattress and sleep-tech brand The Sleep Company. Along with other investors, the round included current backers Fireside Ventures and Alteria Capital. Co-founders Harshit and Priyanka Salot told Business Today that both Fireside and Alteria Cap had increased their interests in the business.
According to the business today Premji said “Our investment in The Sleep Company is part of our broader thesis of India getting more online, premiumization and increasing aspirational demand from Tier1+ towns. As per capita income increases, we see higher demand across consumption categories, including comfort and The Sleep Company with its product offering is fast emerging as a brand of choice.”
According to Tracxn, the startup had secured Rs 13.4 crore from Fireside Ventures in a seed round prior to this, in July 2021. Varun Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth, and LogX Ventures also took part in the round.
Mumbai-based The Sleep Company intends to use the additional capital to boost its omni-channel brand strategy and increase its offline presence. By the end of FY23, it hopes to have 25 experience centres, up from the current three. Priyanka, a co-founder, revealed that although the business began as a D2C and digital-first brand, it now intends to go multichannel.
“You need to be present where your customers are if you want to create a long-term, sustainable business… spanning numerous media and geographical regions. We want to do it,” she stated.
“Part of this investment will be dedicated to product and technology development, which is key to meeting our larger goal of changing the way the world sleeps and sits,” Priyanka added.
Additionally, The Sleep Company wants to scale up its team and strengthen its customer base in the UAE, Japan, and the UK, where it already has a presence. “We are planning to invest in marketing as we look to create a strong brand identity,” Co-founder Harshil added.
The Sleep Company, a 2019 startup, claims to have reached an ARR of Rs 200 crore this October, growing 10x post-Covid and happening at the same time as the D2C market growth. Despite the expansion, the path forward appears difficult.
According to a survey by Research and Markets, the crowded Indian mattress industry is valued Rs 12,000–13,000 crore and expanding at a CAGR of 11%. Legacy players like Kurl-on and Sleepwell currently hold a majority of the market share, but D2C start-ups like Wakefit, SleepyCat, Duroflex, and others are becoming more and more competitive.
The founders of The Sleep Company, however, are unafraid of rivalry. The potential for a brand like ours is enormous, according to Priyanka.