Celebrity Collaborations in the Indian Start-up Ecosystem. Celebrities are backing start-ups that fit their personalities & lifestyle.

The start-up ecosystem in India has grown significantly in recent years, with a proliferation of innovative and ambitious companies across a wide range of sectors. The country has a large and talented pool of entrepreneurs, supported by a robust infrastructure and a favorable regulatory environment.

With the government, playing a role in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation through initiatives such as ‘Startup India’ and the Atal Innovation Mission, there are also a number of emerging sectors that are attracting a lot of attention from entrepreneurs and investors, such as e-commerce, fintech, and health tech. This has caught the eyes of many Bollywood celebrities who are backing start-ups that fit their personalities and lifestyle.

Here are the most notable celebrity and brand partnerships that arose in 2022.

1.     Tiger Shroff & BUILD.

Known for his action-packed roles, prowess in martial arts, and awe-inspiring shredded body, Tiger Shroff is perhaps one of the most popular icons when it comes to fitness and dedication. Tiger, with his brand PROWL, has entered into a strategic collaboration with BUILD., a sports nutrition brand. BUILD. and PROWL (Tiger Shroff) over the next five years plans to launch multiple products in the sports nutrition and general wellness category. Tiger and BUILD. share the philosophy that there is a gap in the Indian sports nutrition market for high-quality protein-based supplements, and together they aim to bridge that gap by providing world-class, great tasting products.

2.     Alia Bhatt & Phool.co

Actress and entrepreneur Alia Bhatt is an investor in Phool.co, a startup that collects floral waste from temples and mosques and then handcrafts the waste into patented organic fertilizer, charcoal-free luxury incense and other wellness products via flower cycling.

3.     Anushka Sharma & Blue Tribe

In February 2022, Anushka, along with her cricketer husband Virat Kohli, made an undisclosed investment in plant-based meat startup Blue Tribe. Blue Tribe offers meat alternatives like frozen minced chicken, chicken nuggets, keema, sausages, and momos made from sustainable plant-based sources. These meat-like products are made of plants, but they still taste, feel, look, and cook like meat.

4.     Suniel Shetty & Aquatein

In February, 2022, Aquatein, a protein water brand, announced that Suniel Shetty is the brand ambassador and investor for the brand. Aquatein is Keto friendly, Gluten free, lactose free and 100% vegetarian.

5.     Shilpa Shetty Kundra & Fast&Up

In July 2022, Shilpa Shetty made an undisclosed investment in the D2C nutritional supplement brands Fast&Up and Chicnutrix. Fullife Healthcare, the parent company of Fast&Up and Chicnutrix, was founded by Vijayaraghavan Venugopal and Varun Khanna in 2015 and is present in 21 international markets, including the USA, UK, and Europe.