MAM
Single.id turns up the volume with Cinebels deal
MUMBAI: Talk about striking the right chord. Single.id has stepped firmly into the premium home audio space through an exclusive partnership with Cinebels, India’s leading luxury home audio brand.
The collaboration gives tech enthusiasts and music lovers a new reason to shop at Cinebels, bringing the retailer into Single.id’s instant, card linked rewards ecosystem, which already spans more than 100 retail partners and 150,000 touchpoints across the country.
Customers using Single.id partner apps, including Dhoni, NDTV Big Bonus, Shoppers Stop First Citizen Club Rewards and Sarvatra Rewards, can now earn and redeem rewards on purchases made at Cinebels stores nationwide. The partnership also opens the door to Single.id’s expanding lifestyle and tech focused network, making every high end audio purchase more rewarding.
Enigmatic Smile India country head Chandra Bhushan said, the tie up brings Single.id’s unified rewards technology to a new premium category and bridges the brand’s digital platform with real world luxury retail. He added that seamless, card linked rewards offer shoppers an elevated experience without the usual app downloads, scans or logins.
Single.id’s platform hinges on simplicity: no app, no OTP, no scan and no login. A single payment connects customers to a wide network of partners using its proprietary rewards currency, vINR.
Cinebels CEO Arjun Agarwal said, the brand has always focused on high design audio experiences and the partnership allows customers to enjoy both premium products and instant, secure rewards. He added that access to Single.id’s extensive partner ecosystem would add meaningful value for Cinebels’ clientele.
Enigmatic Smile, the company behind Single.id, is a UK based rewards technology provider integrated with more than 30 financial services organisations in over 14 countries, reaching more than 700 million users. Its entry into India aims to create the country’s most efficient rewards economy through a unified, card linked platform already active across 150,000 touchpoints and 100 retail partners.
With its latest move into luxury home audio, Single.id is tuning its rewards network to appeal to a new class of discerning, tech forward consumers.
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
