Ratan Tata-backed cannabis startup Bombay Hemp raises $2 mn

The Vi-John Group is a leading manufacturer and marketer of beauty, skincare, and cosmetic products, and Tekchandaney hopes to utilise Kochars expertise in the mass marketing of consumer goods will come in handy to expand Bohecos reach.He further said the Bakshis will take up a key position in the company and lend advocacy and regulatory support in certain states to work with government officials.

Ratan Tata-backed Bombay Hemp Company (Boheco) has raised USD 2 million (about Rs 15 crore) from the family offices of Achin Kochar of the Vi-John Group, Riteesh Mohan Bakshi and Raghav Mohan Bakshi. The startup supplies premium hemp (cannabis/ marijuana) leaf extract and industrial hemp products.

Bombay Hemp is the country's first startup studying the medical use of hemp. Its seed round investors included Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts and chairman emeritus of Tata Sons and Rajan Anandan, ex-managing director of Google India and currently managing director of Sequoia Capital and Surge.

Boheco chief executive Chirag Tekchandaney told PTI that his company has secured investment commitments for USD 2.5 million, but only USD 2 million has a firm commitment. Before this funding round, Bombay Hemp had concluded a pre-series-A offering of USD 750K, with the participation of the Arphi Electronics, AngelList Trust, a syndicate led by IIM-Kozhikode alumni fund and Prakhar Agarwal of Adept Ventures, and several other HNIs.

In earlier rounds, Boheco had raised USD 2.33 million. The Vi-John Group is a leading manufacturer and marketer of beauty, skincare, and cosmetic products, and Tekchandaney hopes to utilise Kochar's expertise in the mass marketing of consumer goods will come in handy to expand Boheco's reach.

He further said the Bakshis will take up a key position in the company and lend advocacy and regulatory support in certain states to work with government officials. Boheco will use the capital to bolster manufacturing/production, and improve quality control, build omnichannel distribution capabilities, build the brand and customer acquisition. It also plans rapid expansion of Boheco Life, its direct-to-consumer health, wellness, and nutrition brand. The global industrial hemp market is expected to grow annually at around 16 per cent by 2027 to reach USD 15 billion, while the global medical hemp market is expected to touch USD 46 billion by then clipping at annually around 23 per cent, Tekchandaney pointed out, quoting industry data.

Tekchandaney said he wants to make Boheco a leading global player in the health and wellness marketplace. Throughout the world, consumer and regulatory attitudes about the medical use of hemp are shifting and we see that shift daily as consumers purchase our arthritis, stress, and pain management products.

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