FreshToHome, a Bangalore-based e-commerce startup that sells fresh fish, chicken, and other kinds of meat, has raised $20 million in a new financing round as it looks to expand its footprint in the nation.
The Series B round for the startup was led by Iron Pillar, with Joe Hirao, the founder of Japan’s ZIGExn also participating in the round. The startup, which closed its $11 million Series A financing round three months ago, has raised $33 million to date.
FreshToHome sells “100 percent” pure and fresh — it adds no preservative or any other chemicals — vegetables and meat in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune — the latter two of which it recently entered. Unlike most other marketplaces, FreshToHome has built its own supply chain network, giving it better control over delivery.
As a result of this, FreshToHome is able to deliver the perishables on the same day and as soon as up to two hours, Shan Kadavil, CEO of FreshToHome, told TechCrunch in an interview. The startup also delivers perishables in the UAE.
The startup has amassed 650,000 customers and recently started to sell milk in Bangalore, another market segment that remains largely unstructured in the nation.
And that growth has helped the startup attract some attention. Several major players in the nation, including Amazon India and Walmart that have recently expanded to include perishable category, has held talks with FreshToHome to acquire a stake in the startup, a person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
The cold-chain market of India is estimated to grow to $37 billion in next five years.
More to follow…
Ecommerce
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Manish Singh, Khareem Sudlow
