Timios, a Bengaluru-based packaged healthy snack brand for children, has raised Pre Series A funding led by Rangsons Technologies LLP, part of NR Group.
The round also saw participation from Paipal Ventures LLP. The funds will be used towards product development, strengthening the existing distribution network and enhancing the technology platform.
The brand had earlier raised funding from MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd in 2018. It was founded by brother-sister duo Aswani Chaitanya and Hima Bindu in 2016. The idea came about when Aswani moved to India from the UK in 2014 after spending about 15 years at top-tier investment banks. Once he returned with his family, as parents, Aswani and his wife were in search of healthy age appropriate snacks for their two young boys.
Unlike in the developed markets, there were no options for healthy yet tasty snacks designed for children. He realised the gap in the market and teamed up with his sister Hima Bindu. She holds a masters degree in nutrition and has worked as a research associate at an agriculture university and as part of the research and development team of a leading FMCG company. The duo founded the brand to create healthy yet flavourful and age appropriate food products for children.
Aswani Chaitanya, CEO and co-founder, Timios, said, “A lot of millennial parents today are extremely conscious about what their children consume as part of their healthy diet. This increasing awareness and shift towards healthy, natural and organic food choices for children have been the key reasons behind the success of our products. The response we have received so far has been overwhelming.”
“With new investment, we will continue to develop more innovative products and expand our footprint. We are very pleased to bring on board Rangsons Technologies LLP and Paipal Ventures LLP to be a part of our next phase of growth. In addition to the investment, we value the tremendous experience and strategic vision they bring to the table,” he added.
Pavan G Ranga, CEO, Rangsons Technologies LLP, said, “We are very excited to onboard this journey. We believe this to be a unique category and the team has developed a very relevant product line to address the current need in the market. Timios has demonstrated impressive growth within a very short period of time.”
“We truly believe that Timios is addressing a large unmet need in the category of healthy packaged snacks for children. With an experience-rich team and new innovative products, Timios has the potential to capture a significant share in this category,” he added.
Ajith R Pai, partner, Paipal Ventures LLP, said, “Aswani and his team bring in passion and energy in everything they do. Their effort over the last few years has laid the foundation for the brand and the company to be well positioned to grow in this under-served market for healthy and nutritious food for children. I am confident that with this new investment Timios can scale up significantly to be the defining brand in the category it operates.”
The brand has a range of healthy food products designed for children. The brand's products are age appropriate covering age ranges starting from 6 months to 12 years. (Babies, toddlers and schoolers).
Each product is made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and contains zero preservatives. With seven categories of products, the brand offers finger food, munchies, energy bars, breakfast cereal, biscuits, probiotic bites and much more.
Each of these products are designed in suitable portions to provide the necessary nutrition. The brand will soon be introducing weaning food and other snacks for toddlers and schoolers.
Products are available on their website and online platforms like Amazon, BigBasket, Firstcry and Flipkart. With 250 plus orders every day, the company also sells its products in over 350 offline stores (organic stores and kids/baby stores).