Natural sanitary pad startup Carmesi raises Pre-series A funding led by Samrath Bedi, MD, Forest Essentials

Carmesi, a natural and biodegradable sanitary pad brand, has closed a Pre-Series A funding for $0.5 million from Samrath Bedi, Managing Director, Forest Essentials – a luxury Ayurvedic beauty brand.

The round also saw participation from other investors including Satveer Thakral from the Thakral Group, Mahesh Patel, Rohit Reddy, and Samir Saran. The existing investors who invested in Carmesi’s seed round raised in May 2017, also participated in the new funding round.

Co-founded by Tanvi Johri and Rikshav Borah in November 2017, Carmesi aims to make periods a ‘safe’ time of the month for women. Made of cornstarch and bamboo fibre, the pads provide a completely natural and sustainable alternative to the chemically-laced synthetic pads.

The brand promises to deliver an experience for one’s menstrual cycle through tailored delivery, customisation of sizes, and an extremely elegant packaging. Each Carmesi pad comes with a chic resealable, easy-to-carry, and completely biodegradable disposal bag, for convenient disposal.

Tanvi Johri, Co-founder at Carmesi said, “We are honoured to have Samrath Bedi on board with us, and his immense expertise of successfully running a natural, high-end, retail brand will surely catapult Carmesi’s growth by many folds. It will also help us bring valuable innovation to the brand and product line in order to achieve a better connect with the Indian audience.”

Talking about the brand and its potential to become one of the leading players in the industry, Samrath Bedi, Managing Director- Forest Essentials and the lead investor in the recent Pre-Series A funding raised by the brand shared, “Carmesi as a brand is very relevant today, both socially and environmentally. Given our long association with women's empowerment, it has been a natural fit for me to collaborate on this.”

He added, “There is a gap in the market with respect to addressing female hygiene with a safe yet environmentally-conscientious approach, and I think this space has huge potential going forward. Not only should it be our endeavour to remove the taboo associated with a women's menstrual cycle and health, but to also do it in a manner, which is not detrimental to the planet.”

The brand will be able to utilise the funds to further strengthen its marketing, expanding the product line to introduce more sustainable period-care products, and establish a stronger and well-penetrated distribution strategy.

The product is currently available through its commerce website and other online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, and Purplle.