Smytten, an online product discovery platform — targeting those rich folks with wanting of premium products and services, has nabbed a $200K seed investment led by Rimpal Chawla, ex-MD of Credit Suisse India and Anuj Srivastava, CEO of Livspace.
Founded by ex-Googler Swagata Sarangi and FMCG industry veteran Siddhartha Nangia, Smytten’s model is to provide their target consumer base an opportunity to discover and try premium products along with content thereby providing a more engaging overall experience to them. In it’s first phase, the company will focus on products and services in the premium beauty and grooming; luxury stays; and high-end fitness and wellness services and consumer lifestyle products and services .
Talking about his company’s use-case, co-founder Swagata says,
Despite the huge market for premium products and services, the information available is fragmented, interaction with brands is sub optimal, trial avenues limited, and the sector has massive consumer trust issues due to counterfeit products.
With fresh capital coming in, Smytten is also boosting it’s team and building their core leadership team by hiring people from ISB , IIM and MICA with significant industry experience.
The premium and super premium market has grown exponentially in the last three years in India. Currently, the categories Smytten has a presence in, is pegged at a massive $6 Billion. This market is estimated to touch $20 Billion by 2020.
Smytten also offers assisted shopping and for the more advanced shopper, features such as customized offers and the ability to build their own liking list for regular purchases. As an initial start, Smytten has tied up with more than 50+ premium/super premium brands to offer consumers genuine sampling experiences and the opportunity to purchase them online.
