Mensa Brands raises $50 million funding to scale digital-first brands

Bengaluru: Mensa Brands, a startup by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan, on Monday said it has raised nearly $50 million in Series A round led by Accel Partners, Falcon Edge Capital and Norwest Venture Partners.

Over the next three years, Mensa will acquire over 50 brands across categories including home, garden, apparel, personal care and beauty, the company said in a statement.

The funding round also saw participation from angel investors such as Kunal Shah, Mukesh Bansal, Rahul Mehta of DST Global and Scott Shleifer of Tiger Global.

Additionally, debt financing facilities from Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital are also secured, said the company.

"Scaling digital brands from India is a large opportunity. Incredibly excited and passionate about partnering with terrific founders and helping scale their brands globally. Having seen this first hand at Myntra and Medlife, we know the effort it takes to scale a brand digitally," said Narayanan.

Narayanan previously served as CEO of Myntra, Co-Founder and CEO at Medlife and also as a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company.

Under his leadership, Myntra witnessed 6 times growth in a span of 3.5 years, while improving profitability. He also bought Jabong, a competitor, and integrated it into Myntra.

"We're excited to partner with Ananth and the team at Mensa. Not only are they truly strategic and high caliber, but also have chosen a problem of brand aggregation that we believe has the right tailwinds," said Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel Partners.