Foodtech Startup Pluckk Acquires DIY Meal Kit Platform KOOK

Foodtech startup Pluckk has acquired DIY meal kit platform KOOK. The acquisition was valued at $1.3 Mn in a cash and equity combination.

While Pluckk majorly operates in Mumbai and Bengaluru, KOOK has its presence in Delhi and  Mumbai. According to Pluckk, the acquisition marks a significant step towards growth and its entry into the food kit market. Pluckk states that the global meal kits market is projected to grow from $15.21 Bn in 2021 to $31.5 Bn by 2025, representing a 20% CAGR.

Commenting on the acquisition, Nelson D’Souza, CFO, Pluckk said, “In the post-covid world, Ready to Cook Meal Kits have emerged as a sought after cooking trend with customers preferring to control the quality of food consumed while having more dining options which we look to leverage by offering this differentiator to our customer experience.  Further, from a unit economics point-of-view, this is a welcome addition to our portfolio and will help us accelerate our journey towards building a profitable business.”

Adding to this, KOOK’s cofounder Nikhil Thatai said, “We estimate the market size of meal kits to be around 1B USD by 2025 in India and we look forward to leveraging our expertise in meal kit delivery to offer healthy and delicious meal options to cater to this booming market in our country.”

Pluckk claims that its products are ‘farm-to-fork’ and are chemical free. Further, the products are customised following different food trends, suitable for gut and heart health, diabetes, and include organic and exotic produce as well. Pluckk’s offerings are available on its own D2C website along with partner platforms including Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, Dunzo, and Amazon.

Maharashtra-based Pluckk was founded by Pratik Gupta, raised a total of $5 Mn from Exponentia Ventures in one round, since its inception in 2021. 

The Indian foodtech, especially the part of it operating in the ecommerce sector is seeing intense competition presently. While the online grocery delivery service has seen a surge since the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the cross segment competition in a densely populated country like India has been intensifying. The battle isn’t smooth even for players such as Zomato, Swiggy Instamart. 

Recently, the business for Zomato owned Blinkit came to a halt in the NCR, for a brief period due to a protest called by the delivery executives. This caused Blinkit to shut more than 100 of its dark stores. Further, over 1000 delivery executives joined its competitors such as Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and BB Now.

Meanwhile, amid the funding crunch, food delivery app Swiggy, has closed down its gourmet grocery delivery vertical Handpicked. However, users can continue to order groceries via Swiggy’s Instamart and InsanelyGood.

A MarketWatch report states that the growth of the online grocery and vegetables market is driven highly by increasing internet and smartphone penetration, and acceptance of online shopping by the population.