SUMMARY
The funding round was led by Venturi Partners and Temasek with participation from SWC Global and Trifecta Capital
Country Delight will use the funds to add new categories, deepen the focus on existing categories and expand its footprint across the country
Country Delight follows a subscription-based model where it sources milk from farmers and delivers it to customers’ doorsteps
Dairytech startup Country Delight has raised $108 Mn in a Series D funding round led by Venturi Partners and Temasek, along with participation from SWC Global and Trifecta Capital.
Other existing investors, including IIFL Asset Management, Elevation Capital, Orios Venture Partners and Matrix Partners India, also participated in the funding round.
The startup will use the funds to add new categories, deepen focus on existing categories and expand its footprint across the country.
With the latest funding round, Country Delight has cumulatively raised $147 Mn to date, a statement said, without disclosing the purpose for which the fresh funds will be used. The current round takes the company’s valuation to $615 Mn.
The latest development comes after Country Delight secured $25 Mn in a Series C funding round two years back. The round was led by Elevation Capital.
Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight follows a subscription-based model where it sources milk from farmers and delivers it to customers’ doorsteps. Besides this, it supplies bread, ghee, other dairy products, fruits and vegetables.
Customers can order dairy products through Country Delight’s mobile app. Once the order is placed, the startup takes 24 to 36 hours to deliver products to customers’ doorstep.
The startup claims it has grown 10X in the last three years and has served over 1.5 Mn customers across India. It delivers more than 8 Bn orders every month across 11 states in the country.
Country Delight counts Matrix Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Elevation Capital, and IIFL PE Fund among its investors. The startup competes with the likes of Doodhwala, Milkbasket and DailyNinja in the diary tech segment.
India’s Burgeoning Dairy Sector
According to a report, India accounts for 23% of the world’s milk production. The country’s dairy market is anticipated to grow 14.8% by 2023 and reach a market size of $355 Bn by 2025.
Apart from private players, the Indian government has also been encouraging startups in the sector. Recently, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh said that Kashmir has huge startup potential in the agriculture and dairy sectors, which are largely unexplored.
IDH FarmFit-backed Stellapps; MooFarm, which earlier this year raised $2.4 Mn; and Dairy.com-led Mr Milkman are some of the emerging dairytech players in the country.
