Kids Snackmaker Slurrp Farm Raises $7 Mn Funding From ICD, Fireside Ventures

Children-focused healthy snacks brand, Slurrp Farm, has secured $7 Mn in funding from a clutch of institutional investors.

The funding round saw participation from Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and existing investor, Fireside Ventures.

Wholsum Foods, the parent company of Slurrp Farm, will use the fresh capital to ramp up product development and increase spending on marketing. The funding will also be used to expand the startup’s global footprint.

Co-CEOs and cofounders of Wholsum Foods, Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik, said, “We have a deep-rooted conviction to bring millets back to the meals we eat and to make them incredibly delicious! The UN-designated Year of Millets strengthens our commitment to lead the conversation on these supergrains. The funds raised will enable us to build a global Indian FMCG brand.”

Founded in 2016 by Meghana Narayan and Shauravi Malik, Wholsum Foods offers a range of healthy snacks with ‘zero-junk ingredients’ for children..

The startup claims to have grown 10X between June 2020 – December, 2021. “We are growing steadily and currently clocking in over INR 50 crore of revenue run rate, with an aim to reach INR 500 Cr in revenue by 2025. The funds raised will enable us to build a global Indian FMCG brand,” the startup’s cofounders said. 

ICD’s Investment (Growth Equity), Principal, Nader Bekhouche, said, “We are pleased to partner with Wholsum Foods and to support the vision of its founders and the growth of the company. At ICD, we seek to partner with companies like Wholsum Foods that are building innovative digital-first brands that focus on good for consumers and good for the world while also enjoying a large shareholder value creation opportunity. We believe that Wholsum Foods fits this bill perfectly and is poised to achieve significant scale.”

This comes at a time when Wholesome Foods has ramped up efforts to expand its presence across the globe. The demand has been fueled by a growing health-conscious populace looking for healthy snacking alternatives for their children amid COVID-19.

In continuation with this, the startup launched as many as 20 SKUs last year and expanded the brand to newer territories – including the United States and the UK, where it began retailing last year.

Add to this, the startup also commenced operations in the UAE and has made provisions to grow its offline and online presence in the region by 40% in the next 12 months.

The startup also ramped up hiring across a slew of verticals including finance, marketing and business development. 

The announcement comes almost a year after the startup had raised $2 Mn in funding from Fireside Ventures in December of 2020. 

Previously in June 2018 too, the startup had raised $1 Mn in funding from over 20 angel investors including Reckitt Benckiser’s former CEO, Rakesh Kapoor, Info Edge’s Sanjeev Bikchandani, Akasa Air’s Aditya Ghosh, among others.

Meanwhile, the Indian snack food segment is expected to grow to $56.30 Bn in revenue by this year itself, at a CAGR of 9.21%. Add to that, another report by ET pegs the organised Indian packaged snacks market to be around INR 45,000 Cr.

As a result, the snacking space has been witnessing intense competition, of late. Barely days ago, Motilal Oswal Private Equity invested $25 Mn in D2C healthy snacking brand, Happilo. 

This was preceded by natural healthcare company Dabur also launched its range of healthy snacks and dryfruits under the ‘Real Health’ brand.

A slew of media reports have said that savouries and sweets manufacturer, Bikaji Foods, was  planning to file its draft red herring prospectus (DHRP) this week itself. The company aims to raise INR 1,000 Cr in its initial public offer, at a valuation of $1 Bn.

In December last year, South Korean confectionery firm, Orion, also expanded its India portfolio with the launch of a premium cookie brand.

Earlier in August last year, kids marketplace FirstCry had picked up a significant minority stake in kids snacking startup, Timios. 

Slurrp Farm has made great strides so far. But, the fresh capital will give it more teeth to take on its competitors as it looks to capture new markets.