Brand Capital Invests $3.59 Mn In O2O Grocery Company Avenue11

Bengaluru-based O2O grocery company Avenue11 has raised $3.59 Mn (INR 26 Cr) from Brand Capital, the strategic investment arm of the Times Group.

The company will use the funding for geographical expansion of the business and to increase its brand presence.

Founded by Korean expat Nakkyun Chong, Avenue11 (previously known as Kirana11) currently serves south and east Bengaluru, with a customer base of 35,000 people. It claims to have a monthly GMV of $124.38K (INR 90 Lakh).

With the fresh capital infusion, Avenue11 expects to achieve a GMV of $2.34 Mn (INR 17 Cr) in 2018.

Nakkyun Chong said, “I started this company with a vision to redefine the way Indians do their grocery shopping. The partnership with the Times Group is a step forward in that direction. Investment from such a noteworthy institution is a sign of trust and belief in our business format.”

Currently, Avenue11 sells high-quality fresh produce and grocery to online customers, while the B2B arm of the company supplies fruits and vegetables to merchants and institutions.

Till date the e-grocery platform has raised a total funding of $8 Mn from various investors across South-East Asia.

With a vision to take the Indian F&G industry to the next level, Chong has driven a 54% increase in B2C Gross Merchandise Volume (month-over-month in 2018) and a 45% growth in revenue.

Planet11 eCommerce Solutions, the parent company of Avenue11 was founded by Nakkyun Chong in 2016 with a vision to redefine the online grocery market in India.

Going forward Avenue11’s strategy is to soon establish a unique O2O (Online-to-offline) model –where online orders are serviced by offline partner stores, thereby halving the cost of logistics.

Online Grocery Delivery In India

According to a Goldman Sachs report, the Indian online grocery market is estimated to reach $40 Mn (INR 270 Cr) by FY19, growing at a CAGR of 62% from 2016 to 2022.

Here are some quick updates on the online grocery industry:

• Flipkart Supermart, Walmart-Flipkart’s online grocery arm, is currently operational in all major pin codes of Bengaluru with plans to expand to five to six major cities by the end of 2018
• Amazon Pantry, Amazon Prime Now, and the Google-backed Dunzo are some of the other big players making their way into the online grocery segment in India
• Micro-delivery players such as Milkbasket, Daily Ninja, ZopNow, Satvacart, and Godrej Nature’s Basket are bagging a significant share of online grocery shoppers
• With plans to touch a $1 Bn gross sales run rate by the end of FY19, BigBasket is aiming at slashing its burn rate
• Grofers is chasing big targets and plans to roll out of more than 500 SKUs for FY 2019

According to a Morgan Stanley report, the online food and grocery segment is set to become the fastest-growing segments in India, expanding at a CAGR of 141% by 2020 and contributing $15 Bn or 12.5% of overall online retail sales.

The sector is expected to almost quadruple over the next three years to touch $1.38 Bn (INR 100 Bn) in terms of revenues.