D2C lifestyle startup Zouk has received $3 million funding led by its existing investor Stellaris Venture Partners, according to a statement. Other investors who participated in the round include Sharrp Ventures, JJ Family Office, Deutsche India CEO Dilip Khandelwal, Manoj Meena of Atomberg and Vineeta Singh, Kaushik Mukherjee of Sugar Cosmetics.

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Zouk has outlined plans to expand product portfolio and increase distribution channels by launching five exclusive brand outlets this year, the company said.

Founded by IIM Ahmedabad batchmates and husband-wife duo Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar, Zouk operates in the bags, wallets and footwear category. The brand has grown 10 times from the last funding round in mid 2021 and today has over 400,000 customers across India, as per the company. Zouk brings to the fore a combination of Indian handicraft designs and cruelty-free materials.

In 2022, it expanded into the footwear category, which also became PETA approved vegan. On the distribution front, Zouk is now available in over 50 offline retail touchpoints.

"With this new influx of capital, Zouk plans to expand its product portfolio and increase its distribution channels by launching 5 exclusive brand outlets this year," the statement said, adding, "Zouk envisages capturing a significant share of the bags and accessories market of India that is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent to reach USD 10.6 billion by 2024."

Zouk's latest funding round builds on its previous capital raise of $1.5 million. 

"The next 18 months is going to see some exciting things from our side. We are rapidly expanding our collection on the bags and footwear side to offer a wider collection of proudly Indian products," said Disha Singh, founder of Zouk. 

"We will further see our first set of brand outlets," she said.

Commenting on the fundraising, Zouk co-founder Pradeep Krishnakumar, said, "We have always focused on building a capital efficient business. That DNA enabled us to raise this round at a time when fundraising is difficult...This fundraise now enables us to massively scale up further and build a large consumer brand in the lifestyle space."

With PTI inputs