Bengaluru-based omnichannel fine jewellery brand GIVA has onboarded National Award-winning actor Kriti Sanon as both its brand ambassador and a strategic investor. The deal marks a deeper commercial integration for the startup as it attempts to consolidate its position among young Indian consumers who are increasingly opting for daily-wear precious metals over traditional bridal wear.
The alliance comes on the heels of GIVA’s latest marketing push, "Style, Sealed in Silver," which featured Sanon. Under the terms of the expanded equity-and-endorsement partnership, Sanon’s involvement will extend past typical commercial appearances. She is slated to actively contribute to brand-building exercises, product collection designs, and targeted consumer engagement initiatives.
Funding the Expansion
This corporate development comes at a critical juncture for GIVA, which recently closed its Series C funding round. The startup secured Rs 530 crore in a round led by private equity firm Creaegis. The capital raise also saw participation from institutional backers including Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and Edelweiss Discovery Fund. The capital influx has been earmarked to accelerate offline retail growth, drive technological infrastructure upgrades, fortify supply chain networks, and expand emerging verticals such as lab-grown diamonds.
Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal and Nikita Prasad, GIVA has scaled its operations to counter the legacy dominance of traditional unorganized jewelers. The company has built a robust distribution footprint, currently operating more than 300 brick-and-mortar stores spread across India and Sri Lanka. By offering a product matrix that spans sterling silver, gold, and lab-grown diamonds, the company has managed to capture a demographic that views jewellery as a routine personal statement.
Gen Z Segment
The premium millennial and Gen Z consumer segments present unique operational hurdles for digital-first brands. Historically, Indian jewellery buying was dictated by wedding cycles and festival seasons, heavily weighted toward high-value gold. Startup players face the steep climb of shifting consumer behavior toward lower-ticket, frequent purchases where design velocity dictates market share. This requires constant capital infusion into inventory and high-decibel marketing to prevent customer churn or cash leaks to rapid copycats.
"Kriti joining GIVA as both ambassador and investor marks a strategic milestone for the brand," stated Ishendra Agarwal, Founder of GIVA. "She strongly resonates with the new generation of consumers — confident, expressive, and deeply individualistic — that GIVA is building for. Her investment reflects a shared belief in our long-term vision and the future of design-led fine jewellery in India. Over the years, GIVA has built a strong emotional connection with consumers, and we are excited to have Kriti partner with us as we enter our next phase of growth."
By bringing an active equity partner from the entertainment industry into the boardroom, GIVA hopes to leverage organic visibility and design sensibilities that align with current lifestyle trends. Celebrity equity investments have increasingly become a preferred route for Indian direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands looking to reduce customer acquisition costs while building instant brand equity in tier-1 and tier-2 markets.
Consumer Stickiness
The consumer choice matrix has evolved rapidly as workforce participation among young women rises, driving the demand for functional, everyday accessories. For startup platforms, maintaining consumer stickiness means offering rapid design turnarounds while keeping a tight check on supply chain bottlenecks. The capital allocation toward lab-grown diamonds is particularly telling, as younger buyers seek pocket-friendly, ethical alternatives to mined stones, testing the mettle of incumbent diamond cartels.
"What drew me to GIVA was never just the jewellery, it was the conviction behind the brand," said Kriti Sanon in an official statement regarding her investment. "From the very beginning, GIVA understood something that many miss: that young India doesn’t want to be dressed, they want to express. And GIVA has built a language for that. By the time we started discussing a partnership, I already believed deeply in the vision. I’ve watched this brand earn real trust, real love, and I wanted to be part of what comes next. As an investor, I’m here to help shape what it becomes, bringing my instincts around fashion, storytelling, and design to a brand I genuinely believe in."
As competition intensifies with digital-first players and corporate giants like Titan’s CaratLane and Aditya Birla Group expanding their affordable luxury footprints, GIVA's move to secure both capital and high-profile institutional backing signals a maturity phase. The brand's forward path will depend heavily on how efficiently it can scale its offline stores without straining its balance sheet, transforming temporary market attention into sustained retail profitability.
