Polka Pop, India's flavored sparkling water, has secured pre-seed funding from a group of angel investors, including Atishe Chordia, founder of Doodleblue Innovations, Parasar Sarma, a former growth leader at Wakefit, Senthil Natarajan, Managing Partner at Kovai Pazhamudir, and Shikha Gupta, Managing Director of Life Fitness India, Premnath K (Founder & Director, Blue Band Sports Ltd), among others.
 
The company plans to use the funds to target a monthly sale volume of over one lac bottles a month. The company aims to replace unhealthy “diet” sodas and tonic waters.

Launched in early 2021 by Gaurav Khemka, the start-up is currently selling more than 40,000 bottles a month. It is also present across quick commerce platforms such as Swiggy, Zepto & BlinkIt.
 
Addressing the development, Parasar Sarma, ex-Wakefit, Growth Leader, added “The rapid growth and widespread acceptance of Polka Pop in the market is impressive. As a homegrown category pioneer in the competitive D2C beverage segment, offering a clean and healthy fizzy drink, Polka Pop has a unique and promising position that is sure to lead to further expansion. I am delighted to take part in this round of funding and to support the company's mission”.

Commenting on the fundraising, Gaurav Khemka, Founder and CEO, of Polka Pop, said,  - “The shift towards leading a healthier & better life is constant! We have seen some of the largest brands in the world built on this. However, the current Indian beverage shelf, including ’diet’ drinks, comes with long-term health concerns. At Polka Pop, we are working on building a clean beverage brand where taste & health go hand-in-hand. I would like to thank the angels for believing in our mission right from the start.''

Over the next six months, Polka Pop is focused on targeting hotel chains, bars, restaurants and office spaces and scaling in that segment. They are also in talks with a few funds regarding the follow-on seed round that will be utilised to build out existing channels and also establish a retail footprint across all major metro cities. The company also received the TANSEED grant from the Tamil Nadu (TN) Government in early 2022.