[Funding Alert] IIT grads founded Open Secret raises Series A investment led by Sixth Sense Ventures

Mumbai-based healthy snack brand Open Secret has raised Series A investment led by led by Sixth Sense Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investor Matrix Partners India. 

The freshly infused capital will be used to launch more products, build capacity, strengthen the team, scale up the capabilities in tech and expand omnichannel distribution presence.

Founded in 2019 by Ahana Gautam and Udit Kejriwal, Open Secret has seen a 10X growth over the past year driven by strong consumer demand across their expanding portfolio of products: cookies, chips, spreads, nuts and shake mix. “Mother” is the chief product officer at Open Secret and this strategic expansion of products is a result of solving her problems around various snacking moments. 

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Ahana explains that growing up in a small city and being raised by a working mother, she always struggled with unhealthy snacking habits as a child.

Sanjot Malhi, Director, Matrix India, commented “We have been fortunate to be early partners with Ahana and Udit on this journey of un-junking the Indian snack space. The growth and customer love achieved over the last 12 months is a reflection of the success of Open Secret’s mission to be a leading health-foods player in India. We welcome Sixth Sense to the partnership and look forward to the next phase of growth!” 

During her MBA at Harvard Business School, Ahana realised how people around her were conscious about what they were snacking and the variety of healthy, tasty, and convenient options they had. "It made me wonder why Indian families had limited snacking options and were mostly junk," says Ahana. Along with Udit, Ahana started Open Secret with a mission to become a household snacking brand in India which stands for both taste and health.

"We are on the path to becoming a leading snacking brand by un-junking snacks in India, which is a $10B+ category. We are excited to partner with Sixth Sense on this next phase of growth and leverage their expertise in the consumer sector, and to continue to build upon our partnership with Matrix. Today, as we mark this milestone, we pledge to continue what we started on Day 1 - make every Indian family snack better," says Ahana.

The startup has a strong operating team of strategists and marketers from Harvard Business School, IIM, and IIT with over 40+ years of collective FMCG experience and backed by mentors like - Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, Rohit Bansal, and Vivek Gambhir.

Nikhil Vora, Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures, said “Open Secret is perfectly aligned with our investment philosophy of betting on first generation founders, building new age products for the “consumer of tomorrow”, in large markets ($10B+ Indian snacking market). With a strategic focus on the kids’ segment and the core value proposition around “un-junking”, we believe Open Secret has the ability to create a strong niche for itself. Founded by a pedigreed team, they have created a sound pipeline of indulgent yet healthier products. From here on, our sense is that strong execution can drive immense scale making Open Secret a household brand. We hope to accelerate this journey for the team.”