NEW DELHI: A combination of a fast-developing economy, modernising infrastructure and increasingly aspirational consumers means that there is a hunger for new brands in India.

Fireside Ventures, an investment business focused on early-stage consumer brands, has just raised Rs 340 crore as it aims to create 25 iconic brands in the next 15 years, according to YourStory.

“This is an exciting time to build new-age brands,” said founder Kanwaljit Singh, these being aimed at cash-rich, time-poor millennials prepared to pay a premium for products that fit their lifestyle.

“Apart from the larger macro-trends, we also see micro-trends like low innovation by large players,” he added. “We see great opportunity for disruption.”

He described an “enabling ecosystem” which has seen the growth of online commerce and the associated distribution channels alongside the development of modern retail which is open to putting new brands on shelves.

The latter area is one that is of particular interest to Ashni Biyani of Future Consumer, which describes itself as “India’s first sourcing-to-supermarket food company” and a company “born” on the modern retail platform.

“We understand the modern retail customers best and we believe that a new range of brands needs to be created for the modern retail customers,” Biyani told the Economic Times.

Her ambitions are not limited to the food category which she described as “a very underpenetrated market from a branded perspective”; new brand launches are planned across the home and personal care portfolio.

New brands are also preparing to enter the crowded auto market, with SAIC-owned MG set to introduce its first model next year, following major investment in manufacturing capacity.

“Being here is not a 20-20 match, it is a test match and therefore critical to have a strong foundation,” said Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director of MG Motor India

“We will look to build the momentum slowly so that we peak at the time of launch,” he told the Business Standard. “We do not believe in high-ups and high-downs with no engagement periods in between.”

Sourced from YourStory, Economic Times, Business Standard; additional content by WARC staff