D2C Meat Brand Fipola Ceases Operations Amid Funding Winter

Chennai-based meat delivery D2C startup Fipola has reportedly shut its operations and is looking for ways to liquidate assets to pay off operational dues.

On Monday (February 20), founder and MD Sushil Kanugolu told MediaNews4u.com that Fipola was shutting down its operations. According to Kanugolu, the startup was forced to shut operations as it was unable to raise funds, owing to unfavourable market conditions.

Founded in 2016, Fipola delivered various non-vegetarian food items within two hours via its app and website. It also operated Fipola Exclusive Cafe and Grill House by Fipola. However, the restaurants have now stopped delivering via food delivery apps.

Fipola had 65 stores across multiple cities in South India and had plans to expand to 250 stores by the end of 2023.

The startup last raised a Series A round worth $3 Mn in March 2022 from CK Ranganathan’s Cavinkare. Back then, the startup was aiming to raise another $40 Mn from investors and push for a pan-India presence by 2023-end.

Fipola onboarded actor Nayanthara as its brand ambassador in August 2022.

Fipola has been shutting down its stores since the beginning of this year, and its website couldn’t be reached. While Fipola’s app is still live on Google Play Store, users have been unable to log in since November 2022, according to several recent user reviews.

Although the Inc42 team was able to download the app, the OTP-based login was unsuccessful and the chat support was also non-responsive.

Confirming the development, the startup’s founder said, “We are not able to raise the required funds due to the bad market. We have moved to liquidate the assets of the company. As already informed, we are an asset-rich company and not a tech startup. We have informed everyone and our channel partners, vendors etc. that the liquidation process has begun and that everyone shall be settled by April,” he said.

Inc42 tried reaching out to Fipola via email but could not get through. The story will be updated once we get a response from Fipola or Kanugolu.

Meanwhile, the company has found itself in some trouble, as some of its operational creditors have served it a legal notice over the nonpayment of dues. Further, media reports also pointed out that the company’s employees have not received salaries for nearly two months.

Fipola had more than 850 employees in February 2022. Fipola has been forced to shut down its operations at a time when a severe funding winter has hit India’s startup ecosystem. 

Last year, as many as eight VC-funded startups ceased to exist due to the shrinking funding across the board.