Country Delight Closes INR 200 Cr Debt Round From Alteria Capital

Dairy tech startup Country Delight has announced the final close of its INR 200 Cr debt funding round from venture debt firm Alteria Capital. Of the total, the startup had raised INR 70 Cr from Alteria Capital itself in August this year. 

The fresh capital will be utilised to scale up the startup’s expansion plans and capacity. A chunk of the funding will also be deployed to fuel the company’s marketing initiatives. 

“… As we scale our operations and prepare for our IPO journey, it is important for us to use various capital sources to improve financial efficiency and also set us up for the next phase of growth,” said Country Delight cofounder and CEO Chakradhar Gade said.

Commenting on the fundraise, Alteria Capital’s cofounder and managing partner Vinod Murali added, “… We are investing  further in Country Delight, since the company is very well placed to capitalise  on its strong operating foundation and access capital markets on a path to eventual listing”.

Founded in 2015 by IIM Indore alumni Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight delivers milk and other daily essentials including desi ghee, paneer, eggs, among others directly from farmers to consumers. 

Operating on a subscription-based model, the startup claims to provide deliveries to 15 Lakh subscribers across 15 cities. Country Delight has so far raised more than $248 Mn in funding to date and is backed by names such as Orios Venture Partners, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India) and Temasek. 

Meanwhile, Alteria Capital is a venture debt company that claims to have more than INR 4,400 Cr in assets under management (AUM) across three funds. The investment firm counts multiple startups in its portfolio including Rebel Foods, Ola Electric, and Zepto. 

The development comes at a time when more and more homegrown startups and unicorns are veering towards debt to fuel their growth ambition as capital taps run dry due to funding winter. As per Inc42 data, debt raised by Indian new-age tech companies more than doubled year-on-year (YoY) to $576 Mn in the first half (H1) of 2024.

Just days ago, B2B ecommerce unicorn Udaan marked the final close of its new debt funding round of INR 300 Cr from Lighthouse Canton, Stride Ventures, InnoVen Capital and Trifecta Capital. In October itself, agritech startup WayCool secured a debt funding of INR 100 Cr from Grand Anicut.