Chennai-based merchandise startup Cover It Up has raised a seed round of funding of Rs 3.5 crore. Founded in 2014, Cover It Up has raised this first round of funding from a group of angel investors. The names include Sanjay Wadhwa of AP International, Manish Mardia, a chartered accountant, Madan Lal Gundecha, a Z partner in Orchid Angel Investors LLP, Vimal Jain, of Levim Capital Investment and Nishank Sakaria an entrepreneur.
Ronak Sarda, its founder said in a statement that it was the brand’s goal to establish monopoly in the area of customisation. From being a single product offering that customised phone covers, the brand now comes with multiple options of customisations ranging from phone covers to unisex T-shirts, hoodies, journals, notebooks and more. In 2014, Ronak Sarda began this venture as just a Facebook page offering customisations, with an investment Rs 21,000.
“The company plans to use this round of funding to strengthen operations by bringing in new and creative talents simultaneously concentrating on R&D, development of IT infrastructure, which will lead to an enhanced product portfolio. Some parts of the funds will also be earmarked towards research and development to enhance the existing product range and also create new ones. We shipped about 120,000 products for the year 2019-2020, while this year we are on the path of a sale projectory of 150,000 units,” he said in a statement.
Over the years, Cover It Up has partnered with some leading global brands like Marvel, DC, Warner Bros, FRIENDS, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Disney and Looney Tunes to sell their merchandise. Cover It Up is also the official merchandise partner for Chennai Super Kings, Kaala, Darbar, Robot 2.0 and now has recently tied up with NASA, thus giving patrons a diverse range of products to own and relate with.