Online marketplace Beyobo, which aims to simplify sales around the distribution of consumer products in India for overseas brands, has raised Rs 5.5 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. SAN Angels, Indian Angel Network and Hyderabad Angels along with several other individual angels also participated in the round. The investment was initiated by CENSIE Capital Partners, who acted as the investment bank for the transaction.
The company said it is looking to deploy 25 per cent of the funds into technology enhancement, 35 per cent towards supply enhancement, and the remaining 45 per cent towards demand generation.
Beyobo works on solving challenges associated with product discovery and sourcing in the offline retail industry by offering solutions for identifying imported products. The startup focuses on beauty & personal care, consumer electronics, and fashion accessories sectors; and serves more than 35,000 retailers. The company said it achieved approximately Rs 95 crore in revenue in FY23.
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It is looking to diversify into additional product categories and implement predictive analysis and personalized cataloguing features to boost customer experience.
“As CEO of BEYOBO, I’ve seen B2C businesses dominate the last decade, but now we focus on digitalizing B2B operations. Cross-border transactions pose challenges, so we’ve developed three engines for non-linear growth,” said Anil Agarwal, Co-founder & CEO, Beyobo.
The company operates at Rs 11 crore monthly recurring revenue with a positive contribution margin. Its product features patent-applied technology for small import automation, a supplier panel for convenient catalogue uploads, and a retailer mobile app. Operating on a 10 per cent margin currently, the startup follows a zero-inventory model and generates revenue through subscriptions and services.
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“The market for international brands has seen a sharp rise due to deeper penetration of social media which has removed proverbial boundaries between large metros and tier 2 and 3 cities. The consumers are on the lookout for premium and genuine international brands and Beyobo is helping such brands making inroads and opening new markets for them,” said Vikram Ramasubramanian, Partner, Inflection Point Ventures.