Elefant, a toy subscription service, was recently created and now has raised 6 crores from Venture Catalysts and Malpani Ventures. This funding is the first step in helping the toy store grow across India.
A visionary, Sourabh Jain has created a flagship toy store called EleFant for kids to rent high-quality toys so that parents do not feel the need to buy new toys every month. Elefant has pioneered the Discover-Play-Return model – a unique solution aimed at helping kids get the most out of their toys without the toy clutter in the house.
The premise of the model is simple, parents can opt for a subscription model and get a mix of toys and books from the top 70 brands in the country for children aged 0-12 years. The platform focuses on reusability, making sure that toys do not end up in landfills, and access to all children at affordable prices is the priority. It has changed the way children play through a concept that is in tune with the environment.
Within less than a year of starting, TheEleFant has expanded to 16+ cities in India and boasts a user base of 13k and 1k consumer base. It also echoes the evolving needs in the market. Launched with a mission to create a chain of toy libraries across India EleFant has had a huge response from tier two and three cities as well, proving that the need for sustainable toys is not just restricted to metros and prominent cities.
The seed round attracted investment from leading venture capital funds, Seraph Ventures, Dr. Aniruddha Malpani’s Malpani Ventures, and Dr. Sudhakar Pai of Kurlon Industries, among others. The company’s earning practice strengthens and it is ready to capture a booming toy market in India that is going to grow at an 8% CAGR in a decade and become a $3.3 billion market by 2027.
Commenting on the relevance of EleFant’s approach, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder and MD, of Venture Catalysts, said, “EleFant have got innovations and their toy subscription model resonates well with new-age family dynamics which are rapidly evolving in India. Through toy renting, sure some money can be saved, but you are also not wasting the resources for the product you will outgrow.”
At the helm of Elefant is a group of professionals starting with its founder and CEO Sourabh Jain, a group of veterans who are well-versed with process technology, operations, and supply chain and bring value to its customers through year-on-year growing initiatives.
The Elephant is all set to help and empower women entrepreneurs through its innovative Librarian Model which has already spread to more than 52 centers in India. Here, our female entrepreneurs manage local toy inventories, facilitate toy exchanges amongst local communities, and become champions of sustainable play. As a result, these efforts contribute to job creation, a more tightly woven community and optimal utilization of resources by not every unit procuring everything.
To further continuously optimize its supply chain tools with the help of fresh funds, enhance data analytics capabilities, and increase its penetration in more cities across India. The focus of the company’s operation is to sell sustainable, educational, and locally sourced toys.
To close, the successful completion of Elefant’s funding round is a significant milestone on its journey to remake the toy industry for India’s children. It is an exciting time for Elefant as it not only expands and leads the early childhood education growing industry but lays a solid foundation for sustainable practices.