Women-Led Innerwear Brand BBF Eyes International Expansion With $500K Funding

Bold & Bae Fashion, a Mumbai-based direct-to-consumer brand, is preparing to take its premium innerwear business international. The company, founded by Joyce Motirale and co-founded by Smita Thorat, has announced plans to expand into the United Arab Emirates and the United States while simultaneously raising $500,000 in seed funding to accelerate growth across both domestic and overseas markets.

The brand sells lingerie, loungewear, athleisure, coordinated sets, and beachwear through its own website and a network of major Indian marketplaces including Myntra, Ajio, Amazon, Flipkart, and ONDC. Its customer base spans women aged 16 to 44 across Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities. Motirale founded the company after identifying a gap in the Indian market: women wanted quality innerwear at prices that didn't require choosing between comfort and affordability. The Indian innerwear market itself is projected to reach $20.5 billion by 2030, suggesting substantial runway for growth.

Motirale, who was recently recognized as Best Fashion Entrepreneur of 2025 by Diva Planet Magazine, describes the brand's approach as one rooted in understanding what women actually need. "Comfort and quality matter a great deal, especially in the innerwear market," she said in a statement. The company emphasizes direct engagement with customers, cutting out intermediaries to control the experience from design through delivery. Each product is developed with attention to fabric quality, design innovation, and the balance between functionality and style.

The $500,000 seed round, currently in advanced discussions with investors, will fund operational strengthening, product innovation, and the scaling effort required to establish the brand in new geographies. But the company is also pursuing an unconventional growth strategy: recruiting a celebrity influencer to join as co-founder. The arrangement grants equity stake without requiring capital investment from the influencer. In exchange, the selected individual gains a seat on the advisory board, input on strategic and creative decisions ranging from product development to promotion, and significant brand visibility and media coverage.

This hybrid approach—combining traditional venture funding with celebrity partnership—reflects how consumer brands are increasingly blending capital and cultural influence. The co-founder role is positioned as collaborative rather than transactional, suggesting BBF sees the partnership as foundational to its identity rather than a marketing add-on.

Beyond business growth, the brand has committed to social responsibility through a program called "Keep a Girl in School." In partnership with Nanhi Pari, BBF recently distributed sanitary pads to more than 1,000 girls and conducted awareness sessions on menstrual hygiene. The initiative signals an attempt to embed purpose into the brand's identity from the start, rather than treating it as an afterthought.

With pan-India distribution already operational and international expansion on the horizon, BBF is entering what Motirale describes as an exciting new phase. The company's success will depend on whether it can maintain the quality and customer intimacy that defined its early growth while scaling across new markets and managing the complexities of international operations. The next 12 to 18 months will be telling.