Hilt Brands raises USD 70K in seed stage

Bangalore-based Hilt Brands has raised USD 70,000 as part of the seed round.

Hilt Brands India is founded by Vikash Kumar and a clutch of investors. He was earlier a director with Springforth Capital Advisors, a boutique investment banking firm.

Hilt Brands’ first range of products is targeted at respiratory segment. The brand name is Bibo and have a complete range of products for cough cold and sore throat.

Hilt Brands is funded by Anand Anupam, who earlier exited Healthizen, a healthcare products marketplace. Anand was also part of leadership team of UMS AS, a Norwegian enterprise tech company which got acquired by Everbridge (USA). The OTC brands segment is changing fast and with use of tech and innovative campaigns we can create a strong brand in a shorter period. And I found Vikash’ vision of building vertical brands well-tuned to the markets and decided to come onboard,” Anand said.

India is very nascent market when it comes to consumer OTC brands. Even though more than 85% people first use OTC brands for common ailments before going to a doctor, they are having only 2 to 3 options in each category. And those options are generally by large pharma companies who have been selling same products/formulations since decades without any innovation.

And then, there are lot many unauthorized OTCs in market which will slowly loose ground as consumers/patients are becoming more aware of taking such medicines without clinical supervision. And government is also coming up with clearer regulations around OTCs.