A kinetic sand furniture maker; D2C brands from Tamil Nadu

Hello,

It’s Manu Bhaker’s world, and we are living in it. 

The 22-year-old markswoman made history on Tuesday as the first Indian athlete in the post-Independence era to win two Olympic medals in a single edition of the Summer Games.

After winning a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event on Sunday, Bhaker partnered with Sarabjot Singh to clinch the bronze at the 10m air pistol mixed team event. 

Meanwhile, the women’s individual sabre competition had three contenders this time! 

In a beautiful turn of events, Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed that she fought the competition while seven months pregnant.

ICYMI: The perfect surf shot! It cannot get any better!

Back in the world of startups, BCCI has hinted at the possibility of a settlement with BYJU’S as the national cricket board sought a day’s adjournment at NCLAT. 

And, Flipkart introduced a consolidated fintech platform, Flipkart Pay, to optimise efficiency ahead of the festive season. Flipkart Pay includes gift cards, Flipkart Axis Bank co-branded credit card, Flipkart Pay Later, Flipkart UPI, insurance products, and recharges and bill categories.

Lastly, welcome to the ‘brat’ era—the ‘off-putting’ colour shading everything from chart-topping songs to Kamala Harris’ US Presidential campaign!

Psst… TechSparks Bengaluru is back with its 15th edition to be held on September 26-28. Grab your first mover’s pass now!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A kinetic sand furniture maker
• Brands emerging from Tamil Nadu
• Saloni Wagh steering Supriya Lifescience

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is the oldest surviving structure in New York City?

Startup 

Inside kinetic sand furniture maker LUNOoOM

Sagar Agawane, robotics and electronics expert Vinay Sharma, and software engineer Angad Patil share a passion for blending traditional artistry with cutting-edge technology. 

Inspired by rangoli, the trio decided to feature it in a contemporary form and founded a lifestyle furniture startup LUNOoOM—an amalgamation of 'Luno' meaning moon and the resonant Indian sound 'Om'.

Art:

• The Pune-based startup’s flagship product is an artistically designed table featuring kinetic sand—a play sand coated with silicone oil that holds its shape when squeezed or pressed. 
• LUNOoOM, founded in 2023, features two main collections, the Signature Collection and the Earth Collection, with six SKUs and prices ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. 
• The bootstrapped startup is seeking strategic investment and plans to expand its product line by introducing flooring tiles, bar tops, office tables and dining tables.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Meragi 

Amount: $9.1M

Round: Series A

Startup: ElectricPe 

Amount: $3M

Round: Pre-Series A

D2C

Brands emerging from Tamil Nadu

Nalini Parthiban, Co-founder and CEO of D2C brand Sweet Karam Coffee, believes building in India will be extremely exciting in the next 20 years. 

Parthiban said that while brands such as Haldiram’s and Bikaji in the north have grown, the south has no large brand in the FMCG space. She was speaking at the third edition of Tamil Nadu Story 2024 in Chennai.

Sweet deal:

• Kiru Maikkapillai, Founder, The Divine Foods, said D2C brands can operate from anywhere in the country. The Divine Foods offers a range of superfoods and health products such as turmeric, moringa, millet, honey, and skincare.
• Pritesh Asher, Co-founder and CEO of Juicy Chemistry, a beauty and personal care brand, believes adopting an omnichannel strategy is the way to go for D2C brands.
• According to Maikkapillai, finding farmers with organic certification was a challenge because the cost of certification is almost like the cost of one-acre land.

Women entrepreneurs

Saloni Wagh steering Supriya Lifescience

Despite being a second-generation entrant in the family-run Supriya Lifescience, Saloni Wagh did not enjoy any special favours. A decade ago, she started out as a marketing assistant at a salary of Rs 10,000, reporting to the head of marketing. 

In 2019, she was promoted to director and now she oversees operations at the firm.

Key takeaways:

• Supriya Lifescience is well-established in API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) manufacturing with products such as antihistamines, anti-allergens, vitamins, anaesthetics, and anti-asthmatics. 
• Currently, Wagh oversees the operations of technical teams, marketing, business development, finance, and investor engagement.
• Some big wins along her professional journey include implementing systems in day-to-day operations, automation, bringing in newer infrastructure, and focusing on employee health and safety. 

News & updates

• Give up: Air New Zealand dropped its 2030 climate goal, citing delivery delays of fuel-efficient aircraft and the affordability of alternative jet fuels. It is the first major airline to water down its near-term climate aspirations, reflecting the scale of the industry’s challenge to meet its decarbonisation goals.
• Chatter: Meta is rolling out its AI studio to all creators in the US to let them create personalised AI-powered chatbots. The company started testing it with select creators in June 2024. Meta is making the tool available to all creators, who can use their own prompts or suggested templates to build a chatbot.
• Legalise: Russia is considering legalising the use of cryptocurrency for international payments as the country faces ongoing financial pressure from Western sanctions. The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, will consider a law that permits making international payments via cryptocurrencies.

Which is the oldest surviving structure in New York City?

Answer: The Wyckoff House. Located in Brooklyn, it was built in 1652 and resembles many early Dutch-American farms of the time.

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