Women-run food brand Naario raises pre-seed funding from a group of angel investors

In its bid to build scale and a diverse pan-India presence, women-led and run organic food brand Naario has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding from a group of angel investors led by women entrepreneurs.

Started by Anamika Pandey, 24, Naario is India’s first women-led and run food product brand that offers organic cereals, condiments, and beverages.

An engineering graduate from NIT Warangal and Booth School of Business and BigBasket Alum, Anamika started Naario in January 2021 out of her hometown, Gorakhpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, over a cup of tea with her mom.

“Naario is a brand built for women whose passion for cooking goes unrecognized. It was built with the mission to touch the lives of millions of women who have talent but no resources to realize their dreams,” shared Pandey.

Some of the notable members of the group of Angel Investors included Sairee Chahal of Sheroes, Harshita Singh of Times Prime, Ankit Mehrotra of Dineout, amongst others.

The pre-seed funding will help Naario invest in brand building, develop tech-based solutions to scale operations and expand distribution channels as it chases growth in a highly fragmented D2C market.

“Our strategic investment in Naario is in line with our endeavour to create a wide and diverse ecosystem of women entrepreneurs, who are working towards supporting women’s and their aspirations. In a short period, Anamika and her team have built something truly commendable,” added Chahal.

Within a few months of launch, Naario has expanded its product range from four to seven and its reach from Gorakhpur, a small city in Eastern UP, to more than 10 states across the country.