Brands
BankBazaar.com raises Rs 375 crore led by Amazon
MUMBAI: BankBazaar.com has raised Rs 375 crore ($60 Million) in its Series C round of funding led by Amazon with participation from Fidelity Growth Partners and Mousse Partners. Existing investors Sequoia Capital and Walden International also participated in the Series C funding round.
The funds will be primarily deployed towards technology integration, hiring and strengthening partner relationships and to creating a truly phenomenal end-to-end customer experience in order to grow in the online financial services category as a market leader. The company will also invest to upscale its marketing and branding effort to reach out to a larger number of consumers and create a house-hold financial services brand in India.
BankBazaar is also investing heavily on its mobile app. The BankBazaar app, available on both the Android & iOS platforms, will not only help consumers get financial products with ease, but also educate them and help them manage their finances better.
The company plans to also launch other personal finance products to help consumers clinch the best deals. The company is rapidly increasing the depth of its portfolio offerings and has signed on more than 23 bank partners to give the widest range of options to the consumer, available online and via its Android & iOS apps.
With this round of investment, BankBazaar is well positioned to aggressively grow the pie of consumers looking for financial products online and be a thought leader in making it simple for consumers seeking financial products in India.
“With the rapidly evolving online consumer segment across categories, we have seen great demand for this platform. We are currently looking to expand the category as we reinvest all earnings in growing the business intelligently,” said BankBazaar.com CEO Adhil Shetty.
“This investment from Amazon, Fidelity Growth Partners and Mousse Partners reposes faith in our vision and gives us strength to achieve the next phase of growth for the company. It will reinforce our leadership in the country’s online financial market place, as we aim to simplify the sourcing of best financial services – be it loans, credit cards and other personal finance products – for consumers,” he added.
“We are delighted to welcome Amazon to the BankBazaar partnership. The company has made great strides in the last two years and become the premier consumer destination for financial products. With this fund raise, BankBazaar plans to innovate even more to provide the best and fastest experience for consumers,” informed Sequoia Capital managing director Gautam Mago.
Since the last round of funding, BankBazaar’s business model has evolved. The number of transactions on the platform has grown five times since then. The company is actively expanding its product portfolio and depth of its partnerships in each product line. The company is also focusing on made-for-mobile web service and mobile platforms in order to enable larger connect with the audience. Presently, 40 per cent of the users connect to BankBazaar through smartphones. Additionally, online loan applications across home, personal and auto loans are growing by 90 per cent, compared to 15 per cent growth in offline.
Brands
ITC Sunfeast Farmlite launches Sugar Free Cookies range
New variants offer guilt-free indulgence for health-conscious snackers.
MUMBAI: ITC Sunfeast Farmlite is sweetening the deal for biscuit lovers who want to have their cookie and eat it too without the sugar. The better-for-you biscuits range from ITC Foods has expanded its portfolio with the launch of an all-new Sugar Free Cookies line, aligning with the company’s vision of ‘Help India Eat Better’. The range is designed for consumers who are rethinking sugar in their daily snacking but refuse to compromise on taste and indulgence.
The collection debuts with two tempting variants: Choco Nut Cookies and Hazelnut & Oats Cookies. Both are a source of protein and contain no trans-fat, while the Hazelnut & Oats variant is also lactose-free.
ITC Ltd. vice president (marketing), biscuits, foods division, Suraj Kathuria said, “At Sunfeast Farmlite, we believe mindful snacking should never come at the cost of indulgence. With this launch, we are catering to the growing need for guilt-free snacking while delivering a rich, satisfying cookie experience.”
ITC Ltd. vice president & head of food sciences for foods division Dr Shantanu Das added, “We have applied robust food science to develop cookies that are sugar-free while preserving the taste and texture consumers love.”
Each cookie comes in convenient single-serve packs to maintain texture and freshness. Both variants are available in 100g packs priced at ₹100 and can be found on quick-commerce platforms including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto.
In a market increasingly leaning towards healthier choices, ITC Sunfeast Farmlite’s new Sugar Free Cookies prove that cutting sugar doesn’t mean cutting joy. For the health-conscious yet indulgent snacker, this could be the perfect bite-sized solution.
