Bengaluru-based NORI, India’s first travel gear brand designed specifically for women, has raised a $350,000 pre-seed round led by Rebalance, with participation from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, VSS Investco, and marquee angel investors across consumer and e-commerce brands.
Founded in 2025 by Meenakshi Vyas and Rashika Nayak, NORI is a women-first travel gear brand where organisation is intuitive, functionality is thoughtful, and design is unapologetically expressive.As India’s travel market scales rapidly, women, especially solo and work travellers, are emerging as one ofthe fastest-growing consumer segments. Yet travel gear continues to be largely designed around generic use cases, often overlooking how women actually pack and travel.
“Women don’t just travel differently, they prepare differently, they carry 4x SKUs, and they prioritise differently. We’re not just resizing or offering new colors within existing products. We’re rethinking them from the ground up, because that’s how we would want it!” says Meenakshi Vyas, co-founder of NORI.
Rashika, 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, with intention, and with room for everything that matters, so travel feels more thoughtful, functional, and effortless.”
NORI’s newest launch, the Carry On Wheelie is built around how women actually pack and travel: better organisation, ergonomics, and a design language that doesn’t apologise for being feminine. The brand’s Organisers range, which anchored its early traction, follows the same product principle.Within months of launch, NORI has served more than 4,000 customers and is tracking toward a ₹2 croreannual run-rate. Internal data points to an NPS above 9 and a 20% repeat purchase rate inside a 60-daywindow, leading indicators Indian D2C brands rarely deliver this early which indicates a clear gap.
“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 with incremental additions over the years, but not fundamentally reimagined. It is still designed around generic use cases, overlooking the specific ways women pack, organise, and navigate travel in real life. We’re proud to partner with such an incredible team.” added Aishwarya Malhi and Vikas Kumar, Co-founders, Rebalance.
The fresh capital will be used to expand NORI’s product portfolio and strengthen its presence acrossdigital and offline channels.Founded by former Myntra, PharmEasy, and Reliance Retail leader Meenakshi Vyas and product designer Rashika Nayak, who has designed over 800 bags through her career, NORI is building a new generation of travel gear where women no longer have to compromise between function and design.
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