AlphaVector, which operates India’s home grown bicycle brand Frog, has raised undisclosed amount of capital from Avaana Capital and Titan Capital. Apart from these two firms, no other investors reportedly participated in the funding round.
Titan Capital is an investment arm of Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, marking their entry into niche space of retail bicycling.
Frog plans to use the funds for further increasing its product portfolio and launching new electrical cycles into the market. According to reports, the company also plans to use the funds for building state-of-the-art facility to manufacture nearly 1,00,000 cycles per year.
Founded in 2015 by Sachin Chopra, Frog sells modern age bicycles that the company claims are not only stylish and comfortable but are also durable and 100% safe. It sells bicycles in popular segments like men’s bikes, women’s bikes, girl’s bikes, boy’s bikes as well as niche segments like ‘character bikes.’
AlphaVector sells these bikes through its extensive presence across 250 retail stores in the country. The company also sells it bikes through e-commerce route, making omnichannel an important part of its sales strategy.
Sachin Chopra, who is also CEO of AlphaVector, said that the company is immensely serious about launching modern but highly affordable bicycles that can resonate with India’s millennials and younger demographics.
Chopra further stated that AlphaVector is one of the few companies with credible omnichannel presence.
In the wake of Indian government’s push towards electric vehicles, off late bike and bicycle startups are witnessing good interest from the investment community. Some of the startups in this niche like Yulu, Bounce and Vogo have managed to raise good amount of funding from investors. Although these startups offer bikes and bicycles only on rental basis, it still reflects the positive mood of the industry.