Madison Capital Leads Pre-Series A Funding In Healthy Snacks Brand Hungry Foal

Gurugram-based FMCG startup Hungry Foal has raised an undisclosed amount of Pre-Series A funding led by Singapore-based Madison Capital. Innerchef cofounder Rajesh Sawhney, Startupbuddy’s CEO Amit Singhal and senior corporate executives also participated in the round.

The company plans to use the funds for product development, scaling the distribution and building the brand. Prior to this round, the company has raised funds from State Bank of India (under Standup India Scheme) and funding from angel investors and GAIL (India) Limited.

Founded in 2016 by Japna Rishi Kaushik and Vivek Kaushik, Hungry Foal offers affordable and healthy snacks. The company claims that its proprietary and scalable recipes coupled with the latest food technology has helped it achieve high quality at an affordable cost.

Hungry Foal products include energy bars, muffins, nut mixes etc. It claims to offer similar nutrition profile at almost half of the price in its class and category. The company sells its products across tier 2 and tier 3 cities and works with clients such as VITA – Haryana, CHRD Society for Applied Studies.

Healthy Food Brands Take Big Bite

According to a report by business consultancy firm RNCOS titled “Indian Snacks Market Forecast to 2023,” healthy snacks segment holds a very small share in the total snacks market, however, this is set to change rapidly. Along the same lines, ‘Beverages: Indian Scenario’ report, says that the health beverages market currently stands at $300 Mn and is the fastest-growing market among beverages.

As the urban millennial workforce gets increasingly health conscious, the demand for gluten-free, fat-free, carb-free and organic products has rapidly grown. Data shows that more than half of the urban population today suffers from lifestyle diseases of some kind.

Some of the common diseases encountered because of occupational lifestyle are Alzheimer’s disease, arteriosclerosis, cancer, chronic liver disease/cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, nephritis/CRF, and stroke.

The market of healthy products is wide and includes large chains like Healthie.in, Cure.Fit’s Eat.Fit which offers meals with a detailed analysis of calories and nutritional content. On the other end of the spectrum are beverage products such as Raw Pressery, Again, &Me, SapFresh etc which offer healthy and organic drinks.

According to a TechSci Research report “India Organic Food Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2020”, the organic foods market in India is projected to grow at a  CAGR of over 25% between 2015-20. Growing health consciousness is the key factor surging the demand for organic food products in India.