Lifestyle startup Zouk has raised $3 million in fresh capital and has outlined plans to expand its product portfolio and increase distribution channels by launching five exclusive brand outlets this year, according to a statement.
The funding round was led by Stellaris Venture Partners and witnessed participation from Sharrp Ventures, JJ Family Office, Deutsche Bank India CEO Dilip Khandelwal, Manoj Meena of Atomberg and Vineeta Singh, Kaushik Mukherjee of Sugar Cosmetics, the statement said.
Founded by IIM Ahmedabad batchmates and husband-wife duo Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar, Zouk operates in the bags, wallets and footwear categories.
The brand has grown 10 times from the last funding round in mid-2021 and today has over 400,000 customers across India, as per the company.
According to the statement, Zouk brings to the fore a combination of Indian handicraft designs and cruelty-free materials.
In 2022, it expanded into the footwear category, which also became PeTA-approved vegan.
"With this new influx of capital, Zouk plans to expand its product portfolio and increase its distribution channels by launching five exclusive brand outlets this year," the statement said, adding, "Zouk envisages capturing a significant share of the bags and accessories market of India that is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12 percent to reach $10.6 billion by 2024." Zouk's latest funding round builds on its previous capital raise of $1.5 million.
Zouk founder Disha Singh said, "The next 18 months are going to see some exciting things from our side. We are rapidly expanding our collection on the bags and footwear side to offer a wider collection of proudly Indian products." On the distribution front, Zouk is now available in over 50 offline retail touchpoints.
"We will further see our first set of brand outlets," Singh said.
Zouk co-founder Pradeep Krishnakumar said, "We have always focussed on building a capital-efficient business. That DNA enabled us to raise this round at a time when fundraising is difficult…This fundraise now enables us to massively scale up further and build a large consumer brand in the lifestyle space."
