e-commerce
BedBathMore.com plans $20 mn investment in 18 months; to raise $10 mn
MUMBAI: Social commerce platform BedBathmore.com will be investing close to $20 million as part of its expansion plans over the next 18 months. The company is already in talks with investors from the retail trade sector as well as VCs to raise an initial round of about $7-10 million over the next couple of months.
BedBathMore.com, currently funded internally and via Blume Ventures, is likely to close the first round of investment over the next 90 days.
The company, which recently re-aligned its business from a pure-play commerce model to a content-community-commerce model, will invest the funds to build its product offering as well as technology. The company will also be doubling its team size, increasing from the current 100-member team to over 250 by the end of the current fiscal.
Over the next 18 months, the company will focus on extending the current value-propositions it offers to its users. Key amongst these will be increasing the community of architects and designers on its platform from the current 3500 to 10,000 by December this year. BedbathMore will also begin development of several industry first features to its platform that will appeal to users looking to style their homes.
BedBathMore founder and CEO Amit Dalmia said, “BedBathMore.com will be a platform to combine content, community and commerce, in a simple yet intelligent manner. We don’t want to be viewed just as a commerce company but as a discovery based company. BedBathMore.com will be a disruptive and an integral part of bridging the gaps, currently not being looked at in the market. As a part of this journey, we are looking for partners who can associate with us to realize this vision.”
Over the past few months, BedBathMore has made key acquisitions of Homado.com, an online community of architects and CrudeArea, an art based start-up focused on the discovery of graphic art.
e-commerce
Instamart and Duolingo launch street spell check campaign for Instaprint
Duo the owl fixes signboard typos across cities to showcase instant printing.
MUMBAI: If spelling mistakes had a sworn enemy, it might just be a bright green owl with a printer. Instamart has teamed up with language learning platform Duolingo for a quirky nationwide campaign that turns everyday spelling errors into a public spectacle while promoting its instant printing service, InstaPrint. The playful activation takes aim at the many misspelled shop boards and public signs scattered across Indian streets. From “saloons” that promise haircuts rather than drinks to menus and posters peppered with punctuation mishaps, the campaign sends Duolingo’s mascot Duo on a mission to restore linguistic order.
Armed with Instamart’s instant printing feature, Duo prints corrected versions of the mistakes on the spot and pastes them over the originals. The result is a series of humorous street interventions that have quickly begun circulating on social media.
Photos and videos of the grammar correcting owl have been widely shared online, with amused users reacting to the unexpected spell check patrol. One user joked, “Ab ayega na maza bhidu,” capturing the internet’s delight at the unusual campaign.
Behind the humour lies a practical message. The activation is designed to showcase the capabilities of Instaprint, Instamart’s printing service that allows users to print documents and posters almost instantly.
The company says the feature is meant for everyday needs such as printing resumes, visa documents or last minute posters without the usual scramble to locate a print shop.
Instamart introduced Instaprint in 2025 across select metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The service allows users to order printed materials directly through the platform, extending the quick commerce model beyond groceries and household essentials.
By combining Duolingo’s famously persistent owl with India’s street level spelling quirks, the campaign taps into the internet’s long running fascination with grammar mistakes while demonstrating a real world use case for instant printing.
After all, in a world full of typos, sometimes what you really need is a quick printer and a very determined language teacher.
