betterhood Raises INR 11.5 Cr in Seed Round Led by Sauce

Founded by Vikram Kadam and Neha Zade and launched in October 2024, betterhood is building India’s first brand dedicated to preventive pain care.

Preventive pain care brand betterhood has raised INR 11.5 crore in its Seed round, led by Sauce, with participation from existing investor Kairon Capital. The company will use the funds to deepen its product portfolio, expand distribution and scale its content and physiotherapist community.

Founded by Vikram Kadam and Neha Zade and launched in October 2024, betterhood is building India’s first brand dedicated to preventive pain care. Rather than treating pain only once it turns chronic, the brand is built for the larger group of Indians who feel the early signs of back, neck and joint discomfort and want to stay ahead of it.

Its range spans posture and ergonomic supports, orthotic soft goods such as back, knee, ankle and wrist support, and pain relief and recovery products. These categories represent a market of roughly INR 20,000 crore in India, which is growing in the low to mid-teens. Including adjacent spaces the brand is building toward, such as rehabilitation and fitness tools and personalized nutrition, the preventive pain care opportunity is closer to INR 35,000 crore.

What distinguishes betterhood is that its products sit alongside an education layer the brand owns outright. It runs this through articles, Q&A on open forums and podcasts with experts. For betterhood, products are only one part of the pain-care journey; the right knowledge is equally important.

The company is also building Physio Circle, a nationwide community of physiotherapists driving awareness around posture, pain prevention, movement and recovery. The community is already more than 7,000 physiotherapists strong. The goal is to help India understand and take charge of its musculoskeletal health.

The founding team brings together experience across consumer, healthcare, retail, e-commerce and growth. Vikram Kadam, Neha Zade, Manoranjan Nayak and Subhanandan Palit bring this breadth to research-led product development, education and community-building. The team is further strengthened by Shayamal Vallabhjee, Chief Science Officer and a sports scientist with over two decades of experience across elite sport and chronic health.

The funds raised will support betterhood’s next phase of growth. The capital will go toward deepening the portfolio, expanding distribution across quick commerce and modern retail, scaling the content and physiotherapist community, and strengthening the team across product development and growth.

Yash Dholakia, Partner at Sauce, said, “More than half of Indian adults over 45 live with musculoskeletal pain, and the age of onset keeps moving earlier. With increasing focus on movement and active lifestyle among the millennials, preventive pain management is a crucial enabler, and hence a large opportunity to build a digital first brand.”

“What sets betterhood apart is that it is not selling a single product into that need. It is building around the whole consumer, across posture, support, recovery and education, and it is earning trust by creating awareness,” Dholakia added.

Deepankur Malhotra, Founder & Managing Partner at Kairon Capital, said, “We were the first investors to back betterhood, at a very early stage, when Vikram and Neha were setting out to build a new category around preventive pain care. What stood out to us then was the scale of the problem, the clarity of their consumer insight and, most importantly, the quality of the founding team.”

Vikram Kadam, Co-Founder, betterhood, said, “We started betterhood with a simple belief: pain care should fit into everyday life, rather than be something people figure out only when pain gets in the way. There is a huge opportunity to rethink how India manages pain and recovery, and this investment round gives us the fuel to build that category with ambition.”

Neha Zade, Co-Founder, betterhood, said, “At betterhood, we want to make taking care of your body feel as natural as taking care of everything else. From everyday aches to recovery, we’re building products that people can reach for without overthinking it.”

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