Indian mom-made toy brand Shumee raises an undisclosed amount from Fluid Ventures 

Shumee, a Karnataka-based toy brand that makes sustainable and development-friendly wooden toys and games for ages 0 to 7 using natural materials and non-toxic colours, announces an undisclosed investment from D2C focused fund Fluid Ventures on 24 December 2021.

About Fluid Ventures: Fluid Ventures is a SEBI registered (AIF CAT -1 VC) early-stage, Direct-to-Consumer focused venture capital fund that invests in visionary entrepreneurs that are creating digital-first, innovative and world-class consumer brands and driving positive change in consumer behaviour.

The Objectives behind the funding: The company plans to deploy the current proceeds towards expanding its product line while building a global premium wooden toys brand.

About Shumee:

Founded in 2014 by Meeta Sharma Gupta, an alumna of IIT Delhi and Harvard, Shumee is an online platform that offers sustainable and development-friendly toys and games for children between the age of 0 and 7.  The startup’s toys are handcrafted by local artisans using natural materials and non-toxic colours, enabling parents to buy development-friendly, child-safe, and sustainable toys. The company claims to have sold over 200,000 toys in six countries, including India, US, Canada, Dubai, UK, Singapore, through its own website and Amazon. Shumee is a 3-times winner of the KidsStopPress Awards for Best Made In India Toys & Games (2016), Best Toy Brand for Kids (2017) and Best Infant Toy Brand (2018).

What the Founder has to say:

“Children learn through play; learning should not be forced on them. We have over 100 toys and games at Shumee, and none of them is ‘educational’ in the typical sense. They encourage open-ended play led by the child’s own imagination and will.” said Meeta Sharma Gupta. “As the child plays, they hone age-appropriate skills, including fine and gross motor and sensory skills in early months, and problem-solving, creativity, and communication later.”

What the Investor has to say:

“Due to the lockdown and an increase in import duty on toys, domestic toys market has seen a tremendous surge of more than 25 per cent in the demand of the toys and Shumee team has been on the frontline to cater to that demand with product innovation and robust automation”, says Amit Singal, General Partner, Fluid Ventures.

The Indian toy manufacturing industry is projected to be worth USD 1.5 Billion, making up just 0.5% of the global market. Toy manufacturers in the country are primarily located in the NCR, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and some central Indian states. Ninety per cent of the market is unorganised, and 4,000 industry units operate in the MSME sector.

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