The firm marked its first close at Rs 90 crore, raising capital from the likes of listed fast-moving consumer goods company Emami and a clutch of direct-to-consumer brand founders such as Saurabh Jain of Livspace, Rohit Chawla of Innovist and Yogesh Kabra of XYXX, he told ET.
“This is a very intentional LP (limited partner) base,” said Malhotra, who was previously associated with mid-market private equity firm Olympus Capital. “These are people who have built, scaled or enabled consumer businesses firsthand, alongside family offices and strategic institutional and corporate capital that understand brands, distribution and scale.”
Kairon Capital aims to invest in around 14-15 startups, investing across seed to early series A, with cheque sizes ranging from Rs 2-14 crore.
“The segment we’re focused on sits between early experimentation and scaled institutional capital,” Malhotra said. “There are many consumer businesses that have figured out what works but are still underserved when it comes to thoughtful, founder-aligned capital at the right stage.”
Besides larger, multi-category venture firms such as Peak XV Partners, Z47 and Elevation Capital that back consumer brands, there are several investors which are focused purely on the consumer segment. These include Fireside Ventures, which closed a Rs 2,265-crore fund in December to focus on Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumption patterns; DSG Consumer Partners, which has backed the likes of Supertails, Bombay Sweet Shop and Go Zero; and Sauce VC, a micro venture capital firm that has backed startups including Hocco, Mokobara and The Whole Truth.
“The objective is to surface opportunities early, often before companies formally enter fundraising mode,” Malhotra said. “Some of the most compelling consumer businesses are being built quietly, with strong fundamentals and capital efficiency.”
With the first close completed, Kairon Capital has started active deployment and is currently evaluating multiple opportunities across consumer categories, he said. It expects to announce its initial investments in the coming months.
