Beverages Startup Jimmy's Raises INR 6 Cr In Pre-Series Round The new funding will be used for the expansion of the company's retail footprint and enhancing its product portfolio

Gurgaon-based Jimmy's Premium Cocktail has raised INR 6 crore in a pre-series funding round. The bridge round was led by Vinay Agarwal, director, First State Stewart Asia, and Keki Mistry, HDFC Ltd, among others, according to a report.

Existing investors and the founders of the company also participated in the funding round.

The report stated that the new funding will go towards the expansion of the company's retail footprint and enhancing its product portfolio. It also plans to expand to overseas markets shortly.

"This investment from investors who had participated in our previous round is testimony to our vision to be a market leader in the emerging premium beverage segment in India," said Ankur Bhatia, founder, Jimmy's Cocktails.

Launched in September 2019, Jimmy's Cocktails had completed a seed round of INR 2.5 crore just before the lockdown was announced.

"In less than a year, Jimmy's Cocktails has scaled its presence to 1,500 retail outlets across 20 cities and seen a twenty-time growth. However, while we continue to invest behind the brand and scale our operations, our resolve to build an inherently profitable business is strong," shared Nitin Bhardwaj, co-founder, and chief operating officer, Jimmy's Cocktails.

Primarily a retail-focused brand, the company started direct-to-consumer sales from their website to overcome COVID-led challenges.

This response to the changing retail environment proved expedient, with the company having now home-delivered their cocktail mixers to over 400 cities, the report said.

"We discovered the challenges that were holding people back from fixing their favorite cocktails at home. This seeded the idea to develop a product, which allows consumers to recreate their gourmet bar-style drinks at home, minus the stress and fuss. And now in just a year, we have served more than a million cocktails across India," elaborated Mira Baig, co-founder, and chief medical officer, Jimmy's Cocktails.

Indian consumers are fast acquiring a love for cocktails. Cocktails as a category have moved up the curve to contribute up to 30 per cent of revenue among premium bars, it further stated.

"Our Instagram is bustling with enthusiastic users sharing how they're enjoying their favorite tipple with our mixers. Jimmy's is being built for the evening and weekend occasion, and we intend to add several other product categories which are synergistic with both our brand and occasion," concluded Bhatia.