Bengaluru, May 11: Bengaluru-based NORI, India’s first travel gear brand designed specifically for women, has raised a $350,000 pre-seed funding round led by Rebalance, with participation from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, VSS Investco, and marquee angel investors from the consumer and e-commerce sectors.
Founded in 2025 by Meenakshi Vyas and Rashika Nayak, NORI is building a women-first travel gear brand focused on intuitive organisation, thoughtful functionality, and expressive design tailored to the unique travel needs of women.
As India’s travel market continues to expand, women particularly solo and business travellers are emerging as one of the fastest-growing consumer segments. Despite this shift, most travel gear products continue to be designed around generic use cases, often overlooking the way women actually pack and travel.
“Women don’t just travel differently, they prepare differently, they carry more SKUs, and they prioritise differently. We’re not just resizing or offering new colours within existing products. We’re rethinking them from the ground up, because that’s how we would want it,” said Meenakshi Vyas, Co-founder of NORI.
Rashika Nayak, Co-founder, added, “For me, design was never only about appearance; it was about how it works, how it feels, and how it fits into a life that’s already full. I wanted to create bags that move the way modern women do—with ease, intention, and room for everything that matters.”
NORI’s latest launch, the Carry On Wheelie, has been designed specifically around how women pack and travel, offering enhanced organisation, ergonomic functionality, and a distinctly feminine design language. The brand’s organisers range, which drove its early traction, follows the same product philosophy.
Within months of launch, NORI has served over 4,000 customers and is currently tracking toward a ₹2 crore annual run rate. The company also reported a Net Promoter Score (NPS) above 9 and a 20% repeat purchase rate within a 60-day period, indicating strong customer engagement and retention.
Commenting on the investment, Aishwarya Malhi and Vikas Kumar, Co-founders of Rebalance, said,
“As more women step into independence and mobility, entirely new categories will be defined by those who design specifically for them. NORI is building that future. Despite its scale, luggage remains a legacy category that has seen only incremental additions over the years rather than true innovation.”
The newly raised capital will be used to expand NORI’s product portfolio and strengthen its presence across digital and offline retail channels.
Founded by former Myntra, PharmEasy, and Reliance Retail executive Meenakshi Vyas and product designer Rashika Nayak, who has designed over 800 bags during her career, NORI aims to redefine travel gear by eliminating the compromise between functionality and design for women travellers.
