Ready To Cook Foodtech Startup Fingerlix Raises $7 Mn From Accel Partners, Zephyr Peacock

Ready-to-cook foodtech startup Fingerlix has reportedly raised $7 Mn (INR 45 Cr) from venture capital firm, Accel Partners. Existing backer Zephyr Peacock also participated in the startup’s third institutional funding round.

According to sources, the newly-secured financing will allow Fingerlix to expand its geographical reach beyond Mumbai, Pune and NCR. The investment will be used to enter the markets in 10 Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. The funding will also be spent on bolstering the company’s presence in Delhi/NCR.

Commenting on the fundraise, Prayank Swaroop, Principal at Accel Partners stated, “Consumers are juggling today with less time available for cooking, lack of healthy options, tasteless frozen foods – the joy of cooking is dying! Fingerlix is trying to solve this big growing need for healthy and tasty cooking at home with ease, a vision we believe in and with a team that we think can solve it better than anyone else.”

Pankaj Raina, Vice President of Zephyr Peacock, added, “The past few years have witnessed a rise in demand for convenience foods led by rapid changes in consumers’ lifestyle and food preferences. However, the market for ready-to-cook fresh food remains largely untapped. Given the exciting response that Fingerlix has received in Mumbai and Pune, we believe it is well-positioned to become the market leader in this emerging segment across the country.”

Fingerlix: Unlocking The Power Of Foodtech To Clock $1.8 Mn Annual Revenue

Founded in October 2015, Fingerlix is the brainchild of Shripad Nadkarni. He teamed up with Shree Bharambe, Abhijit Berde and Varun Khanna to get the venture off the ground.

Fingerlix serves freshly cooked and chilled food prepared in hygienic kitchens. The food startup aims to popularise its products through its web, mobile interfaces and call centre services. It provides fresh ‘almost-ready’ food solutions like batters, mixes, curries, dals, parathas and ‘fully-ready’ accompaniments to go with them.

Till date, the Mumbai-headquartered foodtech startup has raised $9.7 Mn (INR 63 Cr) from a bevy of investors. In July 2016, Fingerlix secured an initial investment of $1.3 Mn from Maverix Platforms, Santosh Desai and few other angel investors.

Later in April 2017, the foodtech startup raised another $3 Mn Series A funding from Zephyr Peacock. Speaking about the current funding round, Fingerlix CEO Shree Bharambe said, “At Fingerlix, our aim is to offer fresh, tasty food with zero added preservatives. With this latest round of funding, we aim to introduce more offerings and foray into newer cities to introduce Fingerlix to a larger customer base. We are delighted to partner with Accel and further strengthen our association with Zephyr Peacock. We look forward to working closely with them in the areas of analytics, widening of our distribution channels and expanding our presence across high-demand geographies.”

The latest funding, according to Bharambe, is in line with the company’s long-term goal of tapping into the international market.

At present, Flingerlix has a total of 15 stock keeping units (SKUs) consisting mainly of ready-to-cook foods such as curries, batter and mixes. As claimed by Bharambe, the company boasts daily sales of 6,000 units, which translates to over $1.8 Mn (INR 12 Cr) in annual revenue.

Currently, fresh batter accounts for nearly 50% of the foodtech startup’s total revenue. As per reports, a portion of the newly-raised funding from Accel Partners and Zephyr Peacock will go into creating new products such as recipe-based offerings and snacks in a number of different categories.

To help meet the increasing demand for fresh food, the team at Fingerlix is also looking to develop AI-enabled solutions for streaming its supply chain and minimising wastage.

As per an IBEF report, the Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth largest, with retail contributing to 70% of the sales. The Indian food retail market is expected to reach $915 Bn by 2020. Other players in this segment include Mother’s Recipe, Blue Apron and MTR, among others.

The newest financing from Accel Partners and Zephyr Peacock will allow foodtech startup Fingerlix to leverage its dominance in the ready-to-cook market to extend its geographical presence across the country and globally.

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