FMCG Brand Rage Coffee Raises $5 Mn Series A Funding From Sixth Sense Ventures The company will utilize the fresh capital for marketing and distribution purposes

Rage Coffee, an FMCG company that manufactures, markets, and distributes innovative coffee products globally has raised ~ $5 million of growth capital as part of its Series A funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures.

The ~INR 7000 crore Indian packaged coffee segment is dominated by incumbents with two players - Nestle and HUL (Nescafe and Bru) - controlling over 65 per cent market share of the industry. Given the lack of innovation in the space, Rage is well-positioned to be the brand of choice for the next generation of coffee consumers. Rage is disrupting the core instant coffee segment by launching flavored instant coffee (Mocha mint, Irish hazelnut, Dark chocolate, etc ) along with products such as roast coffee, and cold brew coffee bags, the company shared.

"We are excited to work with Sixth Sense Ventures - veteran FMCG investors, through this round of funding. Therefore, we plan to double down on our efforts across all the channels. We are successfully building a truly omnichannel FMCG brand, with distribution strategies being implemented for the first time, given our digital DNA. In fact, our D2C channel has grown tenfold during the pandemic. With this round of funding, we have our sights set on fulfilling our global demand as well with distributor partners in the US, Europe and GCC markets already working with us. We see ourselves continuously developing innovative new products in the years to come," said Bharat Sethi, founder and chief executive officer, Rage Coffee.

Rage a digitally native FMCG brand is now expanding rapidly using an omni-channel approach. The vitamins-enriched coffee brand was founded in 2018 by Bharat Sethi. Rage Coffee products are retailed through their own website, all leading online platforms, and over 1000 offline touchpoints through a network of distributors. The company was recently accepted into Amazon's Global Selling Accelerator Program, which plans to take Indian brands to global markets through the Amazon network.

"We are thrilled to partner with Rage Coffee in their journey! The company's vision is perfectly aligned with our philosophy here at Sixth Sense – a disruptive product (flavored instant coffee), developed by a maverick founder, with a vision to disrupt a large category (over INR 7000 crore segment in India). With increasing adoption of the café culture and changing consumer preferences within hot beverages (in favor of coffee), our sense is that the segment will witness a strong increase in penetration. We believe Rage Coffee is extremely well positioned to resonate with these new age consumers and create a strong brand affinity for its products. We are excited to partner with Bharat and team in their journey to establish Rage as a marquee Indian brand in the caffeine segment," added Nikhil Vora, chief executive officer and founder, Sixth Sense Ventures.

The brand is planning to expand its online presence and offline footprint pan-India and will utilize the fresh capital for marketing and distribution purposes. Rage Coffee will also use the funds to scale production, launch innovative new products and add senior management talent.