Among the consumer companies in India, beauty startups continue to be an interesting theme for all investors, Archana Jahagirdar, managing partner of Rukam Capital, told FE in an interaction. The early-stage venture capital firm has a Rs 150 crore fund for consumer startups and has recently launched a Rs 100 crore tech-focused fund.

Besides beauty, Jahagirdar is bullish on consumer companies which are solving for gut health and pain management in India. “Medicine has only a certain answer to it, which are the long-term problems people are dealing with. There are a lot of solutions, some of which are quasi-medical, some are anecdotal. Consumers should have the ability to choose the solution they are looking for,” she said.

The fund has so far invested in companies such as Pilgrim, Sweepy Owl Coffee, Burger Singh, and Curefoods that operates brands such as EatFit, Yumlane, and Aligarh House Biryani. Last year in October, the fund exited direct-to-consumer brand Pilgrim, when it had raised a $20 million Series B round.

As for startups solving for sustainable packaging and products, Jahagirdar believes consumer adoption is yet to pick up. “We’ve looked at sustainable brands and products, but that velocity hasn’t come in. Consumer adoption is not commensurate with the amount that it is spoken about,” he added.

Not just consumer companies, the overall funding environment is looking up this year, Jahagirdar said, adding that their portfolio companies are seeing inbound interest from later stage venture capital firms as exit options have become clearer for investors.

While last year had seen a significant slump in the valuations of several companies, Jahagirdar believes that the correction is largely over. Startup valuations have found their levels this year, although slight froth still remains in the generative AI space, she said.