Healthy snacks startup Open Secret has secured an undisclosed amount in seed capital led by Matrix Partners. The round has also seen participation from Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, and Godrej Consumer Products’ CEO Vivek Gambhir.
Operated by Immaculate Bites Pvt Ltd, the startup will use the fresh capital to hire talent outside of the top management team, and build its technological capabilities for sourcing and a distribution network.
Launched by Ahana Gautam and Udit Kejriwal in January this year, Open Secret offers cookies mainly for kids that contain nuts and chocolates as primary ingredients. The food and beverage startup is looking to take a swing at the healthy snacks market in India. The company’s first set of products target sweet snacks that are meant to be packed along with school tiffins.
Ahana Gautam said, “We are committed to addressing a mother’s guilt by providing better options and enabling her to make winning choices for the family.”
Building omni-channel distribution
Open Secret is targeting at building an omni-channel distribution where its products are available through e-commerce players like Amazon, Flipkart as well as a range of large format offline retailers.
Sanjot Majhi, Vice President at Matrix India, stated, “Open Secret is targeting the children’s snacking white-space, with a unique combination of taste and health, something both children and mothers can love.”
Other fundraise in the healthy snacks segment
In the recent past, the healthy snacks segment has recorded a few transactions.
In October 2019, protein bar maker And Nothing Else, a company launched by a former Unilever executive earlier this year, raised seed funding from Matrix Partners and Sauce.vc.
In July 2019, To Be Healthy Foods Pvt Ltd, the healthy snacks maker, received funding from early-stage investment firm Ankur Capital.
A unit of Parle Products Pvt Ltd, which owns the popular biscuit brand Parle-G, backed healthy snack bar maker WIMWI Foods Pvt Ltd in January 2019.
In December last year, Nutrisattva Foods Pvt Ltd, which provides protein-based functional foods under the Proliva brand, had raised funding from the Mumbai Angels Network.
In June 2018, Naturell India Pvt. Ltd, which makes nutrition bars under the Rite Bite brand, got investment from homegrown private equity firm Rabo Equity Advisors Pvt Ltd. In the same month, an early-stage investment firm Sprout Venture Partners and a few high-net-worth individuals invested in Wholesome Habits Pvt Ltd, which sells healthy snack bars under the brand name Eat Anytime.
चाय स्टार्टअप हाज़री ने निवेश फर्म अर्थ वेंचर फंड से 1.25 करोड़ रुपये की धनराशि जुटाई है। हाज़री एक त्वरित सेवा रेस्तरां स्टार्टअप है, जो उच्च कॉर्पोरेट यातायात वाले क्षेत्रों में चाय, फ़िल्टर कॉफी और स्नैक्स परोसता है।
वर्तमान में केवल मुंबई में परिचालन करते हुए, फर्म राज्य भर में 20 नए स्थानों में आउटलेट शुरू करने के लिए धन का उपयोग करेगी। 2016 में शुरू हुई, कंपनी की स्थापना करण शिंगहल, ध्रुव अग्रवाल और अर्जुन मिंडा ने की थी।
वर्तमान में, शहर में चाय स्टार्टअप के 4 आउटलेट हैं, जो 50 कार्यालयों को सेवा प्रदान करता है।
हाजरी अपने फंड के कुछ हिस्से का उपयोग व्यापार विकास, विपणन और संचालन कार्यों के लिए वरिष्ठ प्रतिभा को लेने के लिए करेगा।
हाज़री के सह-संस्थापक ध्रुव अग्रवाल ने कहा, "हाज़री के साथ हमारा दृष्टिकोण भारत में सड़क खाद्य संस्कृति का मानक उपर उठाना है। पिछले छह महीनों में, अर्थ ने हमें अपने ब्रांड को, कार्यालय के 10 मिनट के ब्रेक के लिए एक-स्टॉप समाधान में बदलने के लिए प्रेरित किया है। हम अनिरुद्ध दमानी के हमारे एक सलाहकार से काफी रोमांचित हैं। हम मानते हैं कि हाजरी के विकास की इस यात्रा में अर्थ भागीदार से कुछ कम नहीं है।"
अर्थ वेंचर फंड के प्रबंध भागीदार, अनिरुद्ध दमानी ने कहा, "स्वच्छता और मानकीकरण सहस्राब्दी के लिए अनिवार्य हो गया है। वे चाहते हैं कि प्रत्येक उत्पाद इन गुणों के साथ, एक किफायती मूल्य पर पेश करे। हाज़री उनकी कम कैपेक्स सेटअप लागत उन्हें तेजी से बढ़ने के लिए अनुमति देगी। इसलिए, वे एक फ्रैंचाइजी मॉडल के रूप में काम करने के लिए एक आदर्श उम्मीदवार हैं।"
Tea Startup Haazri has raised Rs 1.25 crore seed funding from investment firm Artha Venture Fund. Haazri is a quick service restaurant startup that serves tea, filter coffee and snacks in areas with high corporate traffic.
Presently operating only in Mumbai, the firm will use the funds to start outlets in 20 new locations across the state. Incorporated in 2016, the company was founded by Karan Shinghal, Dhruv Agarwal and Arjun Minda.
The tea startup currently has 4 outlets in the city, which caters to 50 offices.
Haazri will deploy part of the funds to hire senior talent for business development, marketing and operations functions.
Dhruv Agarwal, Co-founder of Haazri, said, "Our vision with Haazri is to raise the standard of the street food culture in India. Over the past six months, Artha has pushed us to shape our brand into a one-stop solution for the coveted 10-minute break from the office. We are thrilled to have Anirudh Damani on board as a mentor. We consider Artha nothing less than a partner in this journey to grow Haazri."
Anirudh Damani, Managing Partner of Artha Venture Fund, said, "Hygiene and standardization have become imperative for millennials. They want every product to offer these qualities at an affordable price. Haazri checks off all these boxes and their low capex setup cost will allow them to scale rapidly. Therefore, they are an ideal candidate to operate as a franchise model."
Bengaluru-based personalisation technology firm, Dishq which is aimed to serve the food and beverage industry, has secured $400,000 (Rs 2.7 crore) pre-seed fund from from Techstars’ food and agriculture technology accelerator Farm to Fork and Arts Alliance.
The Syndicate Fund and angel investor Sven Hensen, founder and managing partner of business analytics firm mayato. Existing investors Zeroth, a startup accelerator, and Artesian Venture Partners also participated in this funding round.
According to the company the raised amount will be used to expand its engineering team and to accelerate its sales and marketing activities.
The artificial intelligence startup takes food science and machine learning into help to predict people’s tastes. Dishq claims to have developed what it calls a ‘food brain’ that can predict both an individual’s food preferences as well as broader industry trends.
The startup was launched in December 2015 by Kishan Vasani (chief executive) and Sai Sreenivas Kodur (technology head), who both previously worked at online food ordering ventures Just Eat and Zomato, respectively.
The tech service provider is currently powering more than 30 million recommendations each month. It claims to have its users across six markets for its first product, a business-to-business (B2B) personalisation engine.
“Our technology essentially brings greater alignment between producers and consumers, and we’re truly honoured and excited to have the backing of such fantastic investors for our vision,” Vasani said.
In what furthers the wave of consumer brands increasingly finding favour with India's venture capital ecosystem, Kishlay Foods which manufactures snacks, chips and biscuits has raised $15 million (Rs 100 crore) in its latest round of funding. The investment round was led by growth equity investment firm Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and D.K. Surana, promoter of Intensive Softshare Services (Intensive).
The investment which also features a prominent secondary share sale component, will be used to primarily buyout the existing business partners, as also to expand distribution in North and East India markets, launch additional product lines, and enhance the management team.
“Kishlay foods is well positioned to penetrate deeper in its home markets and expand further in new geographies and products. Kishlay is excited to partner with NVP and Intensive and will benefit greatly from the support of external investors as it looks ahead on to its next phase of growth,” said Sandeep Bajaj, CEO of Kishlay Foods.
Founded in 2003, the Guwahati based firm is a significant regional player focused on the snacks market and currently has a dominant presence in North East India selling products under the brand names of “Non-Stop”, “Kishlay” and “Mamooz”. The product basket comprises extruded snacks, potato chips, biscuits and cookies.
The financing is expected to fuel growth towards establishing a stronger brand platform and capturing an increased share of the organized snack market in India. Mumbai based Intensive is also the sole syndicator and advisor to the deal.
“As part of Norwest’s investment focus on food tech, packaged food and food services, we have been tracking Kishlay Foods for a long time, and have been extremely impressed with the quality of the team, the company’s rapid growth and strategic execution,” said Sumer Juneja, Director at NVP India. “The large organized snacks market in India is estimated to be $8 billion and is growing at 20% CAGR. With its unique products and growing distribution network, Kishlay is well positioned to capture this opportunity,” Juneja added.
Wholesome Habits Pvt. Ltd, which sells healthy snack bars under the brand name Eat Anytime, has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.43 crore) in seed funding from early-stage investment firm Sprout Venture Partners and a few high-net-worth individuals.
“The funding would be primarily used for marketing, branding, increasing the distribution network and launching new products in the healthy snacks category,” said Rishit Sanghvi, founder of Wholesome Habits.
“Eat Anytime has seen ‘good traction’ with its health bars and has lined up ‘innovative products’ for the future. This is one of the fastest growing categories in the organised snacking market,” Sahil Gupta, partner at Sprout Venture, said.
Incorporated in 2016, the Mumbai-based company was founded by Sanghvi and Rohit Garodia. It houses a team of food technologists, chefs and dieticians for product curation. Its products include sweet and savoury snack bars in various flavours.
It has the presence in more than 500 stores in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. It also sells through online marketplaces, its own website and various institutional channels.
The company plans to launch its products in other cities such as Delhi and Ahmedabad in near future.
MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. has debuted in investment arena by investing from its Rs 50 crore seed fund in early stage start-up FirmRoots Pvt. Ltd., mainly for the latter's children-packaged food brand Timios.
Orkla Group, the parent company of MTR Foods, had set up the Rs 50 crore venture fund, christened MTR Seed Fund, last year to invest mainly in food tech-related startups in India over 2017 and 2018. The company had said it takes a stake ranging between 26% and 49% in the start-ups. It will also give the portfolio startups access to MTR Foods research and discussion team, as well as to the company's in-house group of chefs or common services such as branding, legal assistance, treasury, and accounting services.
FirmRoots was started as a solution towards age-appropriate nutrition and has a product range called Timios exclusively for children in the age group of 6 months to 12 years.
Along with the investment, MTR Foods will also mentor the brand on various aspects of the business including marketing, sales and distribution strategy, food safety standards, management of resources among others.
"As the first investment from the seed fund - FirmRoots is a great start, as the company has brought forth a range of snacking products that are apt for the nutritional needs of children – a space that is hitherto untapped. We are pleased to be their partner in their journey," Sanjay Sharma, CEO, MTR Foods, said in a statement.
"Along with the investment from the MTR Seed Fund, we will also value the mentorship and strategic advice given by them. In a short period of time, Timios has managed to become a brand known in the market for its honest, healthy products that are great for the snacking needs of children. The funding would be primarily used for development of our range within the Timios brand and for expansion into other geographies. This investment will surely provide us with the strategic support required to grow further," Aswani Chaitanya, founder, Timios said in a statement.
Foom, a Bangalore-based startup for drinks, has raised Rs 30 lakh in seed funding from a Delhi-based investor, a company statement said.
The company would be investing Rs 20 lakh from the funds raised for its subscription-based app Foom App, the statement added.
Launched in 2017 and operated by Mangsa Technologies Pvt Ltd, Foom follows a subscription-based model, wherein one can enjoy one free drink every day for 30 days in different participating resto-bars/pubs. The service is currently available in more than 40 resto-bars and pubs in Bengaluru.
Lokesh Bevara, Founder & CEO, Foom, said, "We are planning to raise the next round of funds in the next six months and utilise it to expand our operation to all major cities by the end of 2019."
The company competes with the likes of Mumbai-based counterparts Raw Pressery, Juicifix and JusDivine, and Delhi-based Antidote.
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