Kalaari Capital And BeeNext Lead $7 Mn Funding In Micro Delivery Startup Milkbasket

Gurugram-based micro delivery startup Milkbasket has raised $7 Mn in Series A funding led by Kalaari Capital with participation from the Singapore-based BeeNext. It plans to utilise the funds to bring efficiencies in its supply chain, last-mile logistics, and to expand into other geographies.

Anant Goel, CEO of Milkbasket said, “This funding will help us to continue investing in the 3Ts — talent, technology and territory, and in achieving our vision to create the most convenient grocery fulfilment model for today’s busy households.”

In January this year, Milkbasket had raised $3 Mn funding in a Pre-Series A round led by Unilever Ventures. Previously, it raised a total of $1 Mn in seed and angel investment from a clutch of Chinese VCs and domestic angel investors. The startup maintains to have utilised the fund in expanding the company’s operations in Gurugram and to acquire new talent.

Founded by INSEAD alumnus Anant Goel along with his co-founders Ashish Goel, Anurag Jain, and Yatish Talvadia in early 2015, Milkbasket started its service in a micro-delivery model akin to the prevalent newspaper and milk supply chain models in India. The startup today has a reach of over 40K households in more than 180 communities in Gurugram.

Vani Kola, MD of Kalaari Capital said, “A strong founding team, focus towards data-based decision-making, operational rigour, and incessant focus on customer delight, backed by a large market opportunity in the grocery space culminated into us leading a $7M Series A round into Milkbasket.”

Bengaluru-based online lending marketplace Kalaari Capital has also invested in stealth startup ElasticRun, clinical imaging solution provider Advenio Technosys, rental marketplace Guarented, and jewellery startup Bluestone, among others.

BeeNext is another investor in Milkbasket. BeeNext founder Teruhide Sato, said, “Our investment in Milkbasket provides us with meaningful participation in one of the fastest growing e-grocery markets globally. We are excited to partner with one of India’s best grocery delivery platforms and believe that this investment will accelerate their ability to build scale in India.”

BeeNext Ventures has previously invested in expense management startup Fyle, digital therapeutics healthtech startup Wellthy Therapeutics, online B2B marketplace Bharat Bazaar, and consumer technology company CREO, among others.

In the most recent development in the micro delivery space, Doodhwala raised $2.2 Mn in a round of Seed funding from VC firm Omnivore Partners. In June 2017, Noida-based daily-needs micro delivery startup MrNeeds raised $500K in Pre-Series A funding from a clutch of undisclosed investors. Prior to that, subscription-based micro delivery startup Supr Daily raised about $1.5 Mn from Y Combinator Partners Paul Buchheit and Jared Friedman.

According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the Indian online grocery market stood at $1 Bn in 2017. Further, Morgan Stanley expects the online food and grocery segment to contribute $15 Bn or 12.5% of overall online retail sales by 2020, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 141%.

Even Flipkart has decided to reinvigorate its online grocery category. With the online war heating up and with many in the fray, how Milkbasket will scale up its business with its latest funding from Kalaari and BeeNext is something to keep an eye on.