New Delhi, July 7 -- Early-stage venture capital firm 100Unicorns has logged an exit from a nutrition brand after holding the investment for about five years and delivering a double-digit annualised return on its bet.

The Mumbai-headquartered venture capital firm, which was earlier known as 9Unicorns, said Tuesday it has sold its entire stake in TruNativ F&B Pvt Ltd. It generated an approximately 11x multiple on invested capital (MOIC) by exiting TruNativ, which it backed when the company was still an early-stage startup.

100Unicorns was among the investors that participated in TruNativ's Rs 1.02-crore seed funding round in 2021, according to VCCEdge. The VC firm is likely to have invested around Rs 70 lakh in TruNativ. An 11x exit would imply proceeds of about Rs 7.7 crore, although the VC firm did not disclosed the financial terms of its investment or exit.

The exit translates into an estimated gross internal rate of return (IRR) of about 62% over a five-year holding period. To be sure, venture capital firms in India typically target net IRRs of 20-25% in rupee terms over their lifecycle, with a handful of outsized exits accounting for a significant share of overall fund returns.

The exit comes after TruNativ raised $30 million from private equity firm OrbiMed in a funding round that combined fresh capital for the company with secondary share sales by early investors.

Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and managing director of 100Unicorns, said the firm's investment in TruNativ was driven by its conviction that demand for clean-label, science-backed nutrition products would continue to grow in India as consumers turn health-conscious. The company subsequently attracted investors including Nikhil Kamath-backed Rainmatter and FMCG major Emami, validating the fund's early bet on the business.

"The company has executed exceptionally well, building a trusted brand in a rapidly growing category," said Sharma.

TruNativ, founded by Pranav Mehrotra, has built a portfolio of nutrition products across categories and expanded through online and offline distribution channels. The company operates in the health and wellness market, which is benefitting from rising consumer awareness around preventive healthcare, increasing disposable incomes and demand for science-backed nutrition products.

"100Unicorns backed us when we were just an idea with conviction. Their early support and guidance were foundational to everything TruNativ has become," said Mehrotra, who is also TruNativ's CEO.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.