SUMMARY
The D2C brand raised $2 Mn from 9 Unicorns, Dexter Angels, Agility Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Klub, Indifi and actor Rannvijay Singha
TagZ said it would use the fresh funds to accelerate growth, enter new markets, expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen operations and launch new products
TagZ claimed that it registered a 30X increase in volumes in the last 18 months. It sells its products through 5,000 retail stores and in 22 cities through ecommerce platforms
D2C snack brand TagZ Foods on Thursday (May 11) said it has raised $2 Mn in a pre-Series A funding round led by 9 Unicorns, Dexter Angels, Agility Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Klub, Indifi and actor Rannvijay Singha.
TagZ said it would use the fresh funds to accelerate growth, enter new markets, expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen operations and launch new products. In a statement, the company also said that it would use some of the funds for tech development, strengthening logistics and enhancing marketing and brand visibility.
Founded in 2019 by Anish Basu Roy and Sagar Bhalotia, TagZ manufactures and sells popped potato chips, gourmet dips and cookies. It has an omnichannel presence and sells its products on its website, quick-commerce platforms, among others.
In 2020, TagZ raised $1.2 Mn in seed funding from a group of angel investors. The brand also featured in Inc42’s FAST42 D2C edition 2023 in the list of emerging brands.
Commenting on the fundraise, founder and CEO Roy said that the fresh funding will enable the company to pursue its goal of becoming the fastest growing food D2C brand. “We plan to double down on our efforts to grow 4X this year,” he said.
TagZ claimed that it has registered a 30X increase in volumes in the last 18 months. It said it sells its products through 5,000 retail stores and in 22 cities through ecommerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, among others.
The D2C brand said that its products are now also available in international markets including Kuwait, Dubai, Maldives and Australia.
TagZ competes with D2C food brands like Eat Better, Happilo, Nourish You, among others.
The stay-at-home restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic led to the birth of a large number of D2C brands in the country. However, as the restrictions eased and life returned to normal, most of the D2C brands, including TagZ, adopted an omnichannel approach to power the next stage of growth. As a result, these brands are now part of the larger ecommerce ecosystem.
India is expected to have over 500 Mn online shoppers by 2030 and the ecommerce market is expected to become a $400 Bn industry by then. Within it, the food and FMCG sector is expected to grow to $68 Bn by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 25% during 2022-2030, as per Inc42’s ‘State of Indian Ecommerce Report’.
