CHUPPS, a direct-to-consumer sustainable footwear brand, on Wednesday closed an investment from Green Frontier Capital, India’s first-ever Green tech venture fund and appointed Prof. Soumitra Dutta, one of its Founding Advisors, as an Advisor on its own Board. This investment will bring its total raise to US$1.5 million in pre-Series A round which also saw participation from other lead investors such as Gunavanth Vaid from 4G Capital, Kaushal Vora from Genesis Packaging, Gaurav Mathrawala from Mathsons Re-insurance Brokers and Swanand Kelkar from Breakout Capital Advisors.
Prof. Dutta is the Dean-Elect of Said Business School at Oxford University, UK and former Founding Dean of the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Additionally, he serves on the boards of listed global corporations, has founded several successful start-ups, co-chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Innovation Ecosystems and created major global technology and innovation policies.
Commenting on Prof. Dutta’s appointment to CHUPPS’ board, Yashesh Mukhi, one of its co-founders said “Prof. Dutta’s rich experience and strong understanding of global businesses will lend invaluable insights and learnings to our business, which we are confident will help make our product offering even stronger and further our efforts to make CHUPPS one of the most-loved footwear brands for young Indians.” He further added “A large proportion of the funds will be utilized towards increasing penetration, expanding to new markets and developing high-quality, fashionable and sustainable products.”
Sandiip Bhammer, Managing Partner of Green Frontier Capital, said of his fund’s investment in CHUPPS, “We believe that CHUPPS is evolving into more than just a fashion/lifestyle brand for its customers. With sustainable companies likely to lead the pack of companies which will have a multi-generational impact on our communities, CHUPPS is clearly building a made-in-India brand with a global potential which its consumers will not only feel good about using today – because of their styling, comfort or performance – but one which even future generations would relate to and appreciate.”
Prof. Dutta also spoke of his appointment as a Board Advisor to CHUPPS, “I am both pleased and honoured to be given the opportunity to serve on CHUPPS’s Board of Advisors. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the globe today. Carbon footprint is determined by what we consume, which raw materials are used and how much pollution we cause as a result of those choices. What we decide to buy, therefore, impacts the magnitude of our ecological footprint. Sustainable living is a philosophy to reduce personal and societal environmental impact and CHUPPS being a highly responsible and eco-friendly lifestyle brand is positioned perfectly in that regard, especially, as Indian footwear makers are set for explosive growth in the post pandemic world.”
Both the founders, Gaurav and Yashesh, have over 25 years of experience in marketing, retailing and wholesaling iconic youth brands such as, Nike, Reebok, Skechers, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. This has enabled them to imbibe all the attributes into the CHUPPS product and make CHUPPS into one of the most iconic youth brands in the country. One simple example is that CHUPPS offers the widest and most unique color assortment of any open footwear brand in the country. With unique colors such as Dahlia Purple, Prowl Burgundy and Blue Opal, CHUPPS has managed to capture the imagination of its customers, especially the Millenials and Gen Zs.
CHUPPS is launching a sustainable sneaker in September this year with 16 vibrant colours. Other competitive, sustainable products, while also being made of sustainable materials, are not as comfortable or stylish. CHUPPS has developed a unique technology of blending in natural tree fibers, along with recycled materials, to create an upcycled sneaker, which is lightweight, super comfortable as well as stylish. What is especially unique to the CHUPPS sneaker, is the Reinvented Memory Foam with a blend of sustainable materials and natural fibers, to eliminate the harmful effect that traditional memory foam has on the knees. This is especially appealing to the young-minded, for all-day wear.
Additionally, CHUPPS will be launching outdoor wear for both women & men with products made from unique sustainable materials while still offering high comfort and fashion.
Gaurav Agarwal, co-founder of CHUPPS mentioned, “CHUPPS has really understood the pulse of the millennials and youth in the country and has been able to systematically launch new products to cater to this large, growing segment. With its wide distribution network, in both, online and offline channels, and huge surge in export orders, CHUPPS is well positioned to take a market leader position. GFC’s core values of sustainability, is an ideal fit for us. The new funding from GFC, will open-up many additional investment avenues in future, since many funds are looking to invest in sustainable ventures such as ours.”