D2C Brand Yu Raises Capital To Expand Food Products Portfolio

Direct to consumer (D2C) food brand Yu has secured INR 20 Cr (around $2.4 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by angel investor Ashish Kacholia and Asian Paints Promoter Group (Manish Choksi and Varun Vakil). 

The startup will use the fresh funding to scale up its manufacturing capacity while entering multiple product categories and segments both domestically and globally. 

Founded by Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, Yu offers breakfast, lunch and dinner meal bowls. It offers more than 25 instant food products, including noodles, pastas, desserts and halwa, among others.

“Since the last fundraise, Yu has grown exponentially having deepened its penetrated in the Indian market and opened up several export markets like South Africa where Yu now has a nationwide presence,” Bhalla and Kapur said in a joint statement.

In the South African market, Yu claims to have 2,000 stores. Additionally, the brand is also present across the Middle East and Australian markets. 

Currently, in the beverage category Yu sells coconut water and this summer, the brand aims to expand its beverage portfolio. 

Yu operates through an omnichannel mode with more than 6,500 stores across India. It aims to set up a nationwide distribution network within the next 12 months. The brand claims to have achieved over 200% Q-o-Q growth on the back of sales of 1.5 Mn units in Q3 FY24. 

Last year, it roped in cricketer Hardik Pandya as an investor and brand ambassador. Back then, it said that it achieved 40% of its sales from online channels, 10% from exports and the remaining 50% is equally divided between offline and online channels.

The startup also counts Sameer Mehta (Founder of Boat), Srikrishna Dwaram (Partner, True North Private Equity), Nikhil Srivastava (PAG Private Equity) and DPIITs Start Up India Seed Fund among its investors.

Yu also featured on Inc42’s Fast 42 2023 list of D2C startups.

Yu’s products compete against the likes of Nestle’s Maggi, Orkla’s MTR Foods and ITC’s Sunfeast among other major players. 

As per Inc42’s analysis, India’s D2C market is poised to grow to $68 Bn by 2030 at a 25% CAGR. 

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