Cover It Up raises Rs 3.5 crore in seed funding

Chennai-based merchandise start-up Cover It Up has raised seed funding of Rs 3.5 crore to scale up its business. Founded in 2014, the start-up has acquired its first round of funding from angel investors Sanjay Wadhwa, Manish Mardia, Madan Lal Gundecha, Vimal Jain and Nishank Sakaria.

Cover It Up was founded with an intention to tap into the market of smartphone cases with an approach of customisation to make the products stand out.

“The company plans to use this round of funding to strengthen operations by bringing in new and creative talent, simultaneously concentrating on R&D and development of IT infrastructure, which will lead to an enhanced product portfolio … We shipped about 1.2 lakh products for the year 2019-20, while this year we are on the path of a sales target of 1.5 lakh units,” said Ronak Sarda, founder, Cover It Up.

Over the years, the company has partnered with leading global brands like Marvel, DC, Warner Bros, FRIENDS, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Disney and Looney Tunes to sell their merchandise. To establish a global footprint, the team also plans to create engaging content on the website by adding features such as augmented reality.

“Customer experience and relatability to the merchandise play a pivotal role in this niche area that we operate in. Therefore, our business model relies heavily upon constant upgradation of engineering plus design skills. With this amalgamation, the company aims to touch revenue of Rs 25 crore by the next financial year, ” Sarda said.

Cover It Up has grown from being a single product offering to a brand with multiple options of customisation, from phone covers to unisex T-shirts, hoodies, journals and notebooks.