Mensa Brands acquires home décor label Folkulture
1 min read 06 Dec 2021, 05:33 PM ISTThe company looks to bolster its play in the home furnishing segment
PremiumBENGALURU : Mensa Brands, which acquires stakes in direct-to-consumer brands, on Monday announced the acquisition of Indian decor label Folkulture, as the former looks to bolster its play in the home furnishing segment.
Six-year-old Folkulture largely retails home decor and kitchenware items on Amazon across the US, the UK and Canada. These include kitchen & dining linen, home décor, incense holders, mandala tapestry among others.
Mensa’s latest acquisition comes on the heels of the company raising $135 million at a valuation of around $1.2 billion. With the fundraising, Mensa became the fastest Indian startup to turn unicorn — in just six months since inception.
“Folkulture is an important partnership for us in the burgeoning home décor category, which is one of our focus areas considering its potential in the domestic and overseas markets. We have created a roadmap for Folkulture to grow 10x by 2025. We will also be looking at adding more channels and products for the brand in the months ahead, while also strengthening its presence in key global markets," said Ananth Narayanan, founder and chief operating officer (CEO) of Mensa Brands, in a statement.
Founded this year, Mensa Brands follows a brand aggregation strategy. It acquires and partners with digital brands and accelerates their growth through providing on-ground expertise and tech-led interventions in marketing and operations.
“With Mensa, we are positive that Folkulture will see exponential growth in the next few years, and we are immensely proud to have such an amazing team backing our brand. Together, we aspire to turbocharge growth and become a global household name," said Rinkesh Mehta and Chaiti Jain, co-founders of Folkulture.
Mensa had acquired close to 12 brands by last month and was aiming to scale this to 40 brands over the next 12-18 months, Narayanan had told Mint in an earlier interaction. The average ticket size to acquire a brand is in the $4- 5 million range, he added.
Within six months of starting the business, Mensa has already raised more than $300 million in equity and debt. It has also secured debt financing from Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital, Piramal Capital, Stride Ventures and TradeCred, among others.
