Exclusive: HungerBox Raises INR 11.97 Cr Funding From One97, Existing Investors

HungerBox, the Bengaluru-based B2B foodtech company, has raised INR 11.67 Cr in funding from existing investors including Paytm parent company One97 Communications Limited, Sabre Partners Trust, Pratithi Investment Trust and Singapore-based individual investor Srihari Kumar.

As per ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the company has received the aggregate share subscription amount of of INR 11,67,09,092.22 from the investors towards subscription of their respective Series D1 preference shares (CCPS) with face value of INR 100/- and a premium of Rs. 7,541.03/-per share. The amount has been raised by HungerBox at an enterprise value of INR 148.4 Cr and a equity value of INR 123.44 Cr as per the attached valuation report. The investors have accepted to subscribe to the offer of the Series D1 CCPS in the following manner:

• One97 Communications Limited will receive 10,693 shares at INR 8,17,05,533.79
• Sabre Partners Trust will acquire 1,963 shares for INR 1,49,99,341.89
• Pratithi Investment Trust will acquire 1,309 Rs. 1,00,02,108.27
• Srihari Kumar will acquire 1,309 Rs. 1,00,02,108.27

With this, the company has raised over $18 Mn in funding till date. Previously, the company had raised $12 Mn from Paytm and other investors including NPTK, Sabre Partners and Neoplux in December last year.  In November 2019, HungerBox cofounder Sandipan Mitra said the company was planning to raise $25 Mn in a Series D round of funding over the next six to eight months. He added that the company is looking to get publicly listed as well. “It is my personal ambition that HungerBox goes on to become India’s first food tech company to go public,” he told Inc42 at the time.

Mitra said the company had plans to expand into new geographies in Southeast Asia and to hospitals, educational institutes and multiplexes, however, the Covid-19 pandemic has made it rethink its plans for the future.

Founded in 2016 by Sandipan Mitra and Uttam Kumar, HungerBox aims to revolutionise the corporate cafeterias and food courts. The company’s technology includes pre-ordering, live order tracking, digital payments, feedback management, and cafeteria density tracking. Employees can view the menus provided by enlisted food vendors at their workplace cafeterias or canteens, place orders and track delivery, and also provide ratings and feedback. Its clients include Qualcomm, Microsoft, Accenture, and McKinsey and the company claims to have processed over 50 Mn transactions since inception.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, HungerBox turned its focus to delivering food to the needy. It partnered with BigBasket promoter and Portea Medical founder Ganesh Krishnan and others to launch FeedMyCity and use its kitchens to prepare meals while other employees helped with delivery and supply chain. The startup has consulted with a dietician to develop low-cost high calorific meals at just INR 22 per serving. HungerBox claimed to have supplied food to around 120 centres from its FSSAI-approved kitchen.