May 26, 2023

India’s food and beverage industry is poised to grow to $156.25 Bn by 2026 The last few years have also seen a slew of direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups entering the space and competing with the established players From snacks for kids to alcobev to ready-to-cook food, the D2C startups have made a mark across F&B categories India’s food and beverage (F&B) market has been growing for years, and is poised to reach a size of $156.25 Bn by 2026 . Besides the home-grown players, many foreign brands have also found a big market in India. Over the year, Indian companies have tied up with foreign players to bring new F&B brands to India. Most recently, Reliance Industries’ lifestyle arm Reliance Brands formed a partnership with international coffee chain Pret A Manger to bring the brand in the country. The last few years have also seen a slew of direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups entering the space and competing with the established players. From snacks for kids to alcobev to ready-to-cook food, the startups have made a mark across F&B categories. Let’s take a look at some of the emerging F&B startups that are trying to disrupt the Indian market. The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian F&B startups in alphabetical order. F&B D2C Brands Reshaping Indian Consumer Market Burger Singh Funding Raised To Date: INR 30 Cr + undisclosed Investors:  RB Investments, Rukam Capital, KCT Family Office and V.M. SALGAOCAR family office Headquarters: Gurugram Established in 2014 by Kabir Jeet Singh, Nitin Rana, and Rahul Seth, Burger Singh is a Gurugram-based quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain. In 2019, the company secured an undisclosed amount of funding from RB Investments, based in Singapore. Subsequently, in 2022, Burger Singh successfully raised INR 30 crore in a Series A funding round . The round was led by Negen Capital, accompanied by Lets Ventures, Mumbai Angels, Old World Hospitality, and musician Jasleen Royal. Following the fundraising in 2022, the fast-food chain announced its plan to utilise the funds for opening 120 new food outlets by the end of FY23. As of July 2022, Burger Singh boasted more than 80 exclusive food outlets and 12 franchisees across various locations in India. In the competitive QSR industry, Burger Singh faces competition from well-known brands such as Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Domino’s, and KFC. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $98 Mn Investors: Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, Integrated Capital, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, Sachin Shukla, Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati Headquarters: Delhi F&B brand Chaayos sells multiple types of teas and pre-packaged food products via offline and online marketplaces. The startup uses new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence and IoT. Earlier, it had shared that its online tea deliveries account for 45% of its revenue. It operates 190 retail outlets across six Indian cities. Its cap table includes Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, and  Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, among others. Funding Raised To Date: $3.5 Mn Investors: RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka, Indian Angel Network Headquarters: Mumbai Coolberg is a non-alcoholic beverage brand. It offers non-alcoholic beers in seven flavours – cranberry, peach, ginger, malt, strawberry, mint, and cranberry. Coolberg sells non-alcoholic beers via its website and offline distribution channels. Currently, it has a presence in India, Africa, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. Yashika Keswani, cofounder of Coolberg, had earlier said , “The Indian beverage market is witnessing an interesting transformation with an increased demand for new flavours. All our variants are unique, refreshing and new to the market. Our R&D team is strong and keeps a close eye on consumer needs.” In 2019, Coolberg raised $3.5 Mn in its Series A funding round from RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka from Suashish Diamonds, and Indian Angel Network. Prior to that, it bagged an undisclosed sum from India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s maiden fund. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $1.7 Mn Investors: Fireside Ventures, Brigade Group, GrowthStory, Sidharth Pansari, Nirupa Shankar, Hitesh Oberoi, Kanwaljit Singh, Apurva Salarpuria, Manish Singhal P39 Capital Headquarters: Bengaluru Beverage startup DropKaffe sells ready-to-drink cold coffee, fresh coffee beans, coffee powders, and gourmet foods under the brand SLAY Coffee through its website and cafe chains. According to its LinkedIn page, the startup has a presence in over 160 locations across 19 Indian cities. In 2016, its parent company raised $550K in a funding round led by Fireside Ventures’ Kanwaljit Singh. Srini Anumolu & Meena Ganesh of GrowthStory, Apurva Salarpuria from Salarpuria Group, Sidharth Pansari from Primac, Rahul Gidwani, Hitesh Oberoi from Naukri, Nirupa Shankar from Brigade Group, and Bhupen Shah also participated in the round. The venture claims to serve more than 500K customers across 20 cities across the country. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date:  $725K Investors: Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital, Plan B Capital, Harpreet Grover, Arjun Vaidya, Bhavik Vasa, Radhika Ghai, Vishesh Khurana, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Ishank Joshi, Venus Dhuria, and Divij Bajaj Headquarters: Jaipur Organic food startup Eat Better sells healthy snacks such as coffee and almond laddoos, hazelnut chocolate laddoos, and vanilla, and cacao laddoos, among others, through its website and other ecommerce platforms. The startup has a manufacturing facility in Jaipur and manages a base of over 50 female employees. In March 2022, it secured INR 5.5 Cr seed funding to strengthen its team, expand offerings and develop marketing and distribution channels. A slew of investors, including Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital and Plan B Capital, participated in the funding round. Earlier, it claimed to have reported over 10x growth in revenues between October 2020 and March 2022. _______________________________________________________________________ Investors: Motilal Oswal Private Equity, A91 Partners Headquarters: Bengaluru Happilo is a healthy snack brand that offers nuts, dried fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks. It has a manufacturing unit at Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru. It follows an omnichannel approach to sell its products across the country. Happilo’s products are non-GMO verified, gluten-free, vegan and fat-free. The startup offers EMI options to customers if they cannot pay for products at once. In February, Happilo raised $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity to expand its business and offerings, and acquire other firms. Prior to this, it secured $13 Mn from A91 Partners. It has grown over 4X in the last 24 months and is aiming to clock revenue of INR 2,000 Cr in the next four years. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $104 Mn Investors: NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital, Helion Ventures, Azim Premji Headquarters: Bengaluru iD Fresh Food sells ready-to-make food such as dosa and idli batter, rice rava idli batter, among others, in domestic and international markets. It has a presence in over 45 cities across the globe including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others. Recently, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup announced its seventh round of ESOP s worth INR 46 Cr for 27 employees. “In the coming months, we are excited to augment our 2,000+ workforce as we explore new markets and continue to create new opportunities for a diverse set of professionals, while actively creating a more inclusive workplace,” Musthafa said while announcing the ESOPs. In January, the startup secured $68 Mn in its Series D funding round from NewQuest Capital Partner and Premji Invest. It has raised $104 Mn so far from individual and institutional investors. ______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $1.25 Mn Investors: Mumbai Angels Network, Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, AngelList India Headquarters: Delhi Jade Forest offers a slew of non-alcoholic beverages to customers via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and last-mile delivery platforms. Its products are priced between INR 80 and INR 85. In 2021, it secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels Network. Prior to this, it secured $250,000 in its seed funding round from angel investors such as Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, and AngelList India. Its products are certified by the US FDA. In the last two years, it has expanded to 23 Indian cities. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $2.4 Mn Investors: Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana, Varun Alagh, Keki Mistry, Vidur Talwar, Anirudh Somani, Vinay Agarwal, Ankur Bhatia, Mirza Baig, Ekcle Ventures, Angad Bhatia Headquarters: Gurugram Jimmy’s Cocktails offers a slew of cocktail mixers including gin cherry sour, bloody mary, lime margarita, and mango chili mojito, among others. In April, Jimmy’s Cocktails secured $1.8 Mn in its pre-Series A funding round from investors such as Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana from Ship Rocket, Varun Alagh from Mama Earth, Keki Mistry from HDFC, among others. The startup had then said that it sold over 6 Mn cocktails in the first three months of 2022. In the financial year 2021-22, it posted a 3X revenue growth. About 40% of its revenue came from Tier 2, 3 cities. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $360 Mn Investors: Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath, Aman Gupta, Haresh Chawla, Temasek, Brunei Investment Agency, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures Headquarters: Bengaluru Licious offers a host of meat and seafood including prawns, kebabs and mutton, among others. Besides, it also offers an end-to-end supply chain of products that it sells to customers, right from their procurement to processing to delivery. In March, the foodtech unicorn secured $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, boAt’s Aman Gupta and Haresh Chawla from True North. Prior to this, it raised $52 Mn in October 2021 . In the financial year 2020-21, it had an annual revenue rate of INR 1,000 Cr and operations in 14 Indian cities. Its customer base stood at over 2 Mn in the fiscal year 2020-21. _______________________________________________________________________ Investors: Aman Gupta Headquarters: Jammu Headquartered in Jammu, Namhya Foods specialises in snacks and beverages made from Indian herbs and natural ingredients. The startup was established in 2019 by Ridhima Arora. In order to secure funding, she participated in Shark Tank India’s inaugural season and successfully secured INR 50 Lakh against a 10% equity. Additionally, she obtained an additional INR 50 Lakh in debt funding from Aman Gupta, the co-founder of boAt. Namhya Foods positions itself as a provider of nourishing food products designed to assist individuals with various health conditions such as diabetes, heart issues, blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid problems, as well as cold and chest congestion. The company offers a diverse range of products. In addition to its presence in India, Namhya Foods operates in the United States and has plans to expand into the UAE, Australia, and Canada. ______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn Investors: Y Janardhana Rao, Rohit Chennamaneni, Nikhil Kamath, Abhijeet Pai, Abhinay Bollineni Headquarters: Hyderabad Nourish You sells nutrient-rich breakfast food products and snacks to consumers via its website and ecommerce marketplaces, including Flipkart, BigBasket, and Amazon, among others. Besides selling products directly to the consumers, the startup exports food items to countries like Singapore, Nepal, Kenya, Dubai, Mongolia and Maldives. Some of its products are quinoa flour, chocolate & banana muesli, and cranberry walnut mix. Earlier, the startup shared that it had 5,000 acres of quinoa and chia farms in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. In January 2023, it secured $2 Mn in seed funding for research and development activities, brand marketing and fortifying its distribution and market presence. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: INR 458 Cr Investors: Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group, GIC, Advent International, Trifecta Capital, Sofina SA, A91 Partners, Catamaran, Footprint Ventures Headquarters: Gurugram Paper Boat sells a slew of fruit-based drinks in Indian flavours including aam panna (raw mango), rose tamarind (tamarind juice), chili guava (guava juice), jaljeera (spicy, tangy lemonade), among others. During that time frame, it used to have a presence in metro, Tier-2 cities and beyond. In the fiscal year 2021-22, it posted revenue at INR 243 Cr, whilst its losses stood at INR 64 Cr. Meanwhile, in the fiscal year ending March 2020, it clocked revenue at INR 231 Cr and losses at INR 100 Cr, according to Tofler . _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $2.7 Mn Investors: Fireside Ventures, AL Trust, AET Fund, She Capital, Equanimity Investments, ANME Headquarters: Bengaluru Food snack brand Samosa Singh sells Indian food snacks such as aaloo samosa, kachori, pani puri, and matar kulcha, among others, to its customers via cloud kitchens and kiosks. It had earlier shared that its manufacturing unit holds the capacity to produce 25K food items on a daily basis. As of March 2020, it had a presence in over 25 locations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It claims to have set up 100 cloud kitchens in prime cities of South India. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn Investors: Anushka Sharma, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Fireside Ventures Headquarters: Delhi Slurrp Farm is a children-focussed healthy snack brand. It offers a variety of cereals, milk mixes and snacks such as ready-to-mix pancakes, cakes, dosas, noodles and pastas, among others. For first-time users, it offers these products in trial packs. Slurrp Farm’s parent, Wholsum Foods, sells the products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. Currently, it has a presence in India, the UAE, the US, and the UK. In the financial year 2021-22, it reported over INR 50 Cr annual revenue rate (ARR) and witnessed a 10X growth between June 2020 and December 2021. It further aims to achieve a revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025. In April, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma backed Slurrp Farm. Prior to this deal, the D2C brand raised $7 Mn from Investment Corporation of Dubai and Fireside Ventures and also bagged $2 Mn in Series A round from Fireside Ventures. ______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $1.5 Mn Investors: 9Unicorns, Umang Bedi, Venture Catalysts, Dexter Angels, Agility Ventures, Arjun Vaidya, Dharamveer Chouhan, Ashneer Grover, Namitha Thapar Headquarters: Bengaluru TagZ manufactures and sells chips, chocolates, dips and chees dribblin, among others. It recently also pitched investors on television show Shark Tank India. It also raised money via a consumer stock option plan (CSOP), where it offered equity to customers for investing a minimum of INR 5,000. The CSOP was oversubscribed by 250%. Prior to this, it raised an undisclosed amount of investment in its pre-Series A funding round from Venture Catalysts, Zostel’s Dharamveer Chouhan, The Pant Project’s Dhruv Toshniwal, and Loy Halder from Goldman Sachs, among others. In the financial year 2021-22, its revenue stood at INR 15 Cr. The startup claims to have served over 30 Mn consumers and sold over 50 Mn chips packets since its inception. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn Investors: Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover, Shashvat Nakrani Headquarters: Mumbai The Whole Truth sells dark chocolate, muesli, protein bars, nut butters and energy bars via its website and other ecommerce marketplaces. In July, the D2C snack brand secured $6 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Flipkart’s Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Udaan’s Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani. The startup had then claimed that it had grown 12x in the last 18 months. Besides, The Whole Truth said it receives 50% of its sales via its website and the rest from ecommerce marketplaces. As of now, it is aiming to clock an ARR of INR 90 Cr to INR 100 Cr by 2023. _______________________________________________________________________ Investors: OAKS Asset Management Headquarters: Hyderabad Troo Good offers a slew of millet, peanut, chocolate, and dry fruits snack bars and mixtures. In the year of its inception, it clocked a revenue of INR 12 Cr, while in 2019, it posted a revenue of INR 24 Cr. The startup claims that it is currently profitable before tax. In November 2021, Troo Good secured a funding of $7.4 Mn from OAKS Asset Management to expand its business in the domestic market. Furthermore, the startup claims that it is on path to cross INR 100 Cr revenue mark in the next 18 months. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn Investors: Marico, Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund Headquarters: Bengaluru True Elements offers millets, grains, and seeds-based breakfast and snack foods. It follows an omnichannel marketing strategy, selling products via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and brick-and-mortar stores. In May, consumer company Marico acquired a 53.98% stake in True Elements’ parent HW Wellness Solutions for an undisclosed sum. Prior to this, True Elements secured INR 10 Cr from Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund last year. In the financial year 2021-22, it recorded sales of over INR 54.3 Cr as compared to INR 36.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Currently, it sells over 70 products and more than 200 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across 12,000 retail outlets in India. It claims to earn over 75% of its revenue from online distribution channels. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $800K Investors: Tracxn Labs, Hyderabad Angels, Kunal Shah, Aditya Verma, Gaurav Bhalotia, Amit Gupta, Sahil Barua, Mukul Singhal Headquarters: Gurugram Twigly provides freshly cooked food at consumers’ doorstep via its website and mobile app. It currently delivers orders in Delhi NCR. Some of its products are burgers, pasta, grill platters, desserts, and various types of beverages. According to its founders, the startup is modelled on San Francisco-based food delivery startup Sprig, which used to offer freshly cooked meals to its consumers. The startup closed down its operations in 2017. In September 2018, Twigly was acquired by its competitor for an undisclosed amount. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $62.3 Mn Investors: Sixth Sense Ventures, IIFL, Mankind Group Family Office, SAR Group Family Office, Kris Gopalakrishnan, IIFL Asset Management, White Whale Ventures, Urmin Group Headquarters: New Delhi Vahdam offers an assorted range of teas, including herbal, white, oolong and iced teas, among others in India and across the world. Its other offerings include teaware and instant lattes. In September 2021, the startup secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D Round led by IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund. Post the fundraising, it was valued at INR 700 Cr. Presently, the startup claims that it has a presence in more than 100 countries and also turned profitable in the fiscal year 2021 after clocking a net revenue of INR 160 Cr+. _______________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $10.7 Mn Investors: Rakulpreet Singh, Mira Kapoor, Fireside Ventures, HUL, etc. Headquarters: Mumbai Founded in 2019, Wellbeing Nutrition is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutraceutical company based in Mumbai. Cofounded by Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the startup specialises in offering healthy food products with a primary focus on women’s health. The company’s product portfolio includes Melts, which are vitamin-based thin strips, Korean Marine for collagen, and Daily Fiber for plant-based prebiotic fiber, among others. In December 2022, Wellbeing Nutrition secured $10 Mn (INR 85 crore) in its Series B funding round led by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures. HUL currently holds a 19.8% stake in the startup. The company’s list of investors includes Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh, Mira Kapoor; Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from RENEE Cosmetics, Nikhil Gandhi from MX Player, as well as Harsh Vardhan Bhandari and Jeenendra Bhandari, among others. Wellbeing Nutrition operates in the D2C segment and faces competition from brands such as Power Gummies and Fast&Up. _____________________________________________________________________ Funding Raised To Date: $1.34 Mn Investors: Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani, Priyank Shah, Ravi Shroff, Ravi Nigam, Ashwini Deshpande, Jorge Fernandez Vidal, AkshayGurnani, Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini, Gaurav Ahuja, Amit Chaudhary, Aman Gupta, Sameer Mehta, Harsh Vakharia, Jorge Fernandez Vidal Headquarters: Mumbai WickedGud sells pasta, noodles, malted beverages and other snacks via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. According to its website, its products are wholly vegan and contain plant-based protein. In April, WickedGud secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from Renee Cosmetics, Ravi Shroff from Excel Industries, Ravi Nigam from Tasty Bite, Ashwini Deshpande from Elephant Design, among others. Prior to this, it had secured $340K in its pre-seed funding round from Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini from Point One Capital, Gaurav Ahuja from Chrys Capital, Amit Chaudhary from Lenskart, among others. The startup targets customers in the 26-42 years age group and claims to have an average order value of INR 450. This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list. _______________________________________________________________________