Jumbotail Bags INR 75 Cr Debt Funding, Eyes Operational Profitability In 12 Months

Bengaluru-based B2B food and ecommerce marketplace Jumbotail on Tuesday (March 14) said it has raised a debt funding of INR 75 Cr from Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital.

The startup said it would invest the fresh funds in building deep sourcing capabilities and AI-driven technologies to drive higher customer wallet share to grow its net revenue by 100% and achieve operational profitability in the next 12 months.

Jumbotail is aiming to expand its retailer base to about 4 Lakh and reach over 80% penetration in the addressable market in the next 12 months. Currently, Jumbotail has over 2.5 Lakh retailers across more than 50 cities. 

The startup said It would also accelerate hiring in teams including deep sourcing, category management, product management, AI/ML, and marketing.

Founded in 2015 by S Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, Jumbotail claims to offer a complete suite of go-to-market services for brands looking to reach the kirana market to shape both retailer and consumer demand. It runs an online B2B marketplace for groceries and food, which primarily caters to wholesale buyers. 

Jumbotail also has an omnichannel retail brand J24, which integrates offline kirana stores and helps them sell both online and offline. J24 also has partnerships with hyperlocal delivery startups like Dunzo.

“We have witnessed Jumbotail execute sustainable growth at scale, with a strong focus on profitability and capital efficiency. We are more than confident that Jumbotail will emerge as the clear market leader in the $500 Bn kirana B2B food and grocery market,” said Ankit Agrawal, managing partner at Alteria Capital.

Currently, Jumbotail claims to have about 60% penetration in the addressable market of kirana stores in which it operates. 

The startup competes with the likes of Udaan and BigBasket, among others. It has so far raised a total funding of around $139 Mn in equity and debt from investors including Kalaari Capital, Invus, Heron Rock, VII Ventures, Nexus Ventures, Arkam Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Innoven Capital.

In December 2021, Jumbotail raised $85 Mn in its Series C funding round led by Artal Asia. Prior to that, it completed its $25 Mn Series B funding round in January that year. 

In FY21, Jumbotail’s net loss narrowed by over 32% to INR 43.9 Cr from INR 64.8 Cr in FY20. Total consolidated revenue grew 8% year-on-year to INR 127.5 Cr despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

As per a RedSeer report, India’s B2B ecommerce market, which is led by players like Udaan and Jiomart, is expected to reach $90-$100 Bn in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2030.