Venture Catalysts bets on India’s puja samagri market; invests in OM Bhakti

India’s first, largest and pioneering integrated incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts has recently invested in OM Bhakti, a profitable organised brand in the Puja Cotton Wicks market. Venture Catalysts made the investment during OM Bhakti’s seed funding round.

Founded by Management Consulting and Business Strategy veteran Sridhar Joshi and Consumer Product Sales/Distribution expert Prashant Kulkarni, OM Bhakti is first organised brand in India to successfully launch its range of high performing ‘Puja Cotton Wicks’ category products. The company is committed to assimilating this category into mainstream FMCG and has gained significant traction in revenue generation. Available at major online grocery platforms, national supermarket chains as well as nearby Kirana stores, OM Bhakti has a pan India presence across 1000+ stores.

Sharing his insights, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, President and Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “The spiritual market in India is estimated to have a valuation worth USD 30 billion annually. Additionally, the total addressable market is USD 2 billion, which comprises puja samagri items. However, this sector is highly fragmented. OM Bhakti is one of few players that are making conscious efforts to make the market organized. We are confident that the latest round of investment will go a long way in empowering the company to bolster its operations.”

Speaking on the occasion, Sridhar Joshi, Co-Founder, OM Bhakti added, “We are part of a high-potential market that still remains untapped in major parts. We are determined to transform the ‘Puja Needs’ category at Modern Retail and General Trade. The seed funding will give us more firepower to expand into new geographies and strengthen our marketing efforts.”

OM Bhakti works closely with farmers, women self-help groups in rural India to manufacture the high-quality Puja Cotton Wicks. Its business model has been yielding results in all channels with good traction in the FMCG retail industry