FMCG Brand “Rage Coffee” raises funding from Refex Capital, Keiretsu Forum & clutch of prominent investors

Rage Coffee, a digitally native FMCG brand building breakthrough products in emerging coffee categories, announced today that it has closed a round of funding led by Refex Capital, a SEBI registered early stage venture capital firm with participation from members of angel network - Keirutsu Forum Chennai & a clutch of other prominent investors to ramp up production & increase distribution to meet high consumer demand.

The round also saw participation from Mr. Harminder Sahni, Founder and MD, Wazir Advisors, Mr. T.D Mohan, former Jt MD of CavinKare, Dr Rajan Srikanth, Co-President, Keiretsu Forum Chennai & Singapore, Mr. Prakash Katama, former CEO of TVS Electronics, Mr. Uday Sodhi, former Business Head at SonyLIV, Mr. Ajay Sarupria, a seasoned PE investor, TV Actor Rannvijay Singh Singha, Mr. A. Kumar, Founder of Gemini Paints and Mr. Sawan Gupta, MD at Spero Group of Companies

Commenting on the fundraise, Bharat Sethi, Founder & CEO, Rage Coffee said “It is my absolute privilege to have such distinguished entrepreneurs join us as investors in this journey. I’ve been a big believer and propagator of the power of digital first brands and I believe the next decade will see a wave of disruptive consumer brands from India taking pole positions at the global level with many of them crossing Rs. 1000 Cr in top line. We are targeting to be one of those companies from India. We’ve captured a high degree of mindshare very quickly and our approach to supply chain, sourcing, consumer segmentation, product R&D, our D2C data driven DNA combined with a hybrid distribution model and, most importantly, our close relationship with our customers place us in a great spot to build a brand that truly stands the test of time.“

Rannvijay Singh Singha, who invested in the company in July last year and joined the current fundraise as well, mentioned that he’s been a believer in the team & product since day one. He said. “It goes without saying that Rage Coffee is a brand that has quickly captured the imagination of its target audience through a breakthrough product combined with innovative marketing strategies.” The company had roped in Former National Sales Head at Coke Beverages, Arijit Mitra in June last year as Director of Sales. Between 2012-2017, Arijit scaled the Georgia Coffee brand building a network of 150 distributors and grossing over Rs. 100 Cr in sales.

The company, which was founded in 2018, was born out of consumer feedback while Bharat, a serial entrepreneur with close to a decade of experience in building brands online, was working on solving the distribution challenge for new-age FMCG brands. Rage Coffee products are retailed through their own website, all leading online platforms and over 400 touch points offline. The company plans to quadruple sales, reach over 2000 outlets by the end of this year and also clock a significant chunk of their sales from institutional & HoReCa business.

Sridhar Parthasarathi, Managing Partner at Refex Capital has joined the Company’s Board, representing the VC firm. He said that “Coffee culture among young indians is growing exponentially and Rage, as a vibrant and youthful brand, has positioned itself aptly. Rage, is providing its consumers unique coffee experiences with enriched flavours, a clear differentiation, offering great convenience to the coffee lovers by their distinctive single shot coffee on-the-go packages. Besides the large market opportunity, our bet is on the management team led by Bharat.”

Mr. Harminder Sahni, an active angel investor who leads India’s prominent retail consultancy firm - Wazir Advisors, has joined Rage Coffee’s Board of Advisors in this fundraise. On his investment, he said that “Coffee drinking is moving to the next orbit in India where in millennials are seeking easy to prepare and consume, excellent quality, affordably priced and conveniently available cup of coffee. Rage is capturing this trend and building a huge following. I strongly believe that with its unique approach towards blends and flavours, innovative packaging, multichannel distribution, Rage will be disrupting the conventional coffee market quite like CCD did over the last decade.”

Dr Rajan Srikanth added that “At Keiretsu Forum Chennai, we take pride in working with entrepreneurs who seek to change the world, and wont take no for an answer. In all my interactions with Bharat, I have been impressed by his perseverance and deep commitment. It is very exciting for me personally, to be part of one of India's first digitally native consumer goods company. Of course, I look for a product that has potential, but even more, I look for entrepreneurs who are capable of making things happen.”

Bharat added that “The freshly infused capital will be used to launch innovative new products, scale-up production, strengthen the team and expand omni-channel distribution presence. We’ll be at the forefront of innovation - be it the ingredients, formulations, manufacturing techniques, packaging, distribution or use of data to be agile. Developing great products is just a small part of the huge puzzle, in my opinion. Building a brand however, requires time, astute targeting, out of the box marketing, sharp distribution efforts and a lot of “x” factors that the people behind the scenes drive.”

About Rage Coffee

Swmabhan Commerce Private Limited, parent company of Rage Coffee, is an FMCG company that manufactures, markets & distributes innovative coffee products. The first product in the market is a proprietary small batch crystallised coffee that is infused with 6 plant based vitamins which synergistically work with caffeine bringing in a "distinctive kick" that feels & tastes like freshly grounded coffee. The company has created craft coffee that is instantly consumable, affordable - ready to mix - and is convenient to carry in PET recyclable tube shots. Rage Coffee products are also US FDA, FSSAI, ISO registered and manufactured at a GMP compliant facility. For more information, please visit www.ragecoffee.com