In his role, Shaikh is driving efforts to expand the company’s presence across key retail, institutional, and export channels, while building long-term partnerships with distributors and global stakeholders. His mandate centres on strengthening distribution, enhancing brand visibility, and delivering sustainable revenue growth.

At the core of this strategy is Dobra, an Oxbow Brands venture founded in 2022. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Dobra is a new-age food and beverage brand reimagining traditional Indian favourites such as goli soda, cotton candy, and tapioca crisps with a modern, premium twist. Backed by the legacy of the 75-year-old Johars Group, the brand has quickly carved a niche with its playful, nostalgic, and experiential product portfolio.

Dobra’s offerings include Pop Goli Soda (marble soda), artisanal cotton candy, Nata de Coco beverages, and tapioca crisps—blending familiar flavours with global influences. In August 2025, the brand raised ₹1.5 crore in a seed funding round led by D2C Insider Super Angels Fund to accelerate its expansion across D2C, quick commerce, and retail channels.

Over the next two years, the focus is to position Dobra as a trusted and widely recognised brand within its category. Growth will be driven by expanding into alternative key account channels such as corporate sales, vending, airports, railways, and HORECA, alongside strengthening its export footprint.

Enhancing brand visibility remains a key priority. Through strategic collaborations, impactful marketing initiatives, and a stronger in-store presence, the company aims to deepen consumer engagement and reinforce brand recall.

In parallel, Oxbow Brands is focused on optimising its distribution network to ensure seamless product availability and improved operational efficiency across geographies. With a structured approach to scaling, the company is well-positioned to unlock growth across multiple consumption channels.

With a clear roadmap in place, the broader objective is to significantly expand market reach, drive revenue growth, and build long-term brand equity—while continuing to deliver on the pillars of quality, reliability, and innovation.

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What makes this funding round stand out is the participation of the D2C Insider Super Angels Fund, a network of celebrated founders and operators from India’s leading consumer brands.

“D2C Super Angels bring more than just capital” said Rahul Johar, Co-founder, Oxbow Brands, which launched DOBRA. “They bring the kind of battle-tested insight you only get from building category-defining consumer brands in India. For us, this isn’t just funding, it’s an endorsement from people who truly understand what it takes to scale consumer brands in India.”

DOBRA’s current product line features reinvented Pop Goli Soda, Artisanal Cotton Candy, and Tapioca Crisps, crafted to transpose consumers back to childhood memories while delivering a premium, contemporary taste.

Abhishek Shah, Partner at D2C Insider, said: “DOBRA’s ability to blend authentic Indian flavours with a modern, premium format, and execute across multiple channels, by being present where the consumer prefers to shop, is exactly what Indian consumers are looking for today. Combine that with a seasoned founding team, and you have a rare opportunity to back a high-potential brand in FMCG space.”

With this fresh capital, DOBRA aims to strengthen its operations, expand its product line-up, and deepen consumer trial, preparing for the next stage of growth across India and laying the groundwork for future international expansion

The transaction was supported by BizLegal, Allied Law Practices, SVJS and other advisors from the startup ecosystem.

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