Weddingz.in, an online marketplace for wedding vendors and service providers, has today raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Sixth Sense Ventures. This is the second funding for the company in last two months.
The amount of funds raised in this pre-Series A round will be used to expand its team and towards technology enhancement and automation.
Sandeep Lodha, founder and chief executive of Weddingz.in, said,
The wedding industry in India is pegged at $40 billion, with 10 million weddings taking place annually. The market is growing at 25% per year. However, it remains to be extremely fragmented with 100,000 vendors in top 20 cities. Weddingz.in aims to fill an obvious gap in the fragmented weddings and events industry – that of finding the right vendor at the right price.
Founded around an year ago by Sandeep Lodha, Weddingz allows consumers to check availability and shortlist venues by themselves or get assistance from Weddingz.in relationship managers. They can also book services at guaranteed best prices, as well as destination weddings through the platform.
The startup, which claims to be the largest warehouse of wedding service providers, had raised about $1 million in angel funding from a group angel investors in December last year.
The company is also planning to introduce newer categories like decor, honeymoon packages, etc. It is also looking to enhance customers experience by technology development like making virtual tours of venues on the website possible.
It has partnered with more than 150 designer labels, such as Ritu Kumar and Neeta Lulla, as well as with jewellery brands like Gehna Jewellers and Tanishq.
Swati Mehra, partner – Investments at Sixth Sense Ventures, said,
Convenience of a one-stop shop for all wedding related services “at the best rates”, makes Weddingz.in an ideal platform for couples.Further sophistication and transparency to all stakeholders, disrupts the way the industry is structured.
The company is currently operational in 10 cities across the country, and plans to expand across the top 20 cities in India by the end of 2016, and the top 100 by the end of 2017. It also claims to be organizing more than 150 weddings every month.
Weddingz.in will compete against the likes of WeddingPlz; WedMeGood, which recently raised Rs. 2.7 crore in funding round led by Indian Angel Network; and PlanningWale.
