Matrix Partners Invests In Open Secret To Expand F&B Portfolio

Mumbai based food and beverage startup Open Secret, on Thursday (December 19), announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, cofounders of Snapdeal Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal and CEO of Godrej Consumer Products, Vivek Gambhir.

Open Secret will utilise the freshly raised capital to scale up the capabilities in technology, strengthen the team and expand omnichannel distribution presence.

Founded by Ahana Gautam and Udit Kejriwal in 2019, Open Secret offers healthier options in food items such as cookies. The startup has launched its first set of nutty cookie products targeting the increasing consumer preferences for healthier snacks, with an emphasis on tiffin consumption.

Sanjot Malhi, VP and consumer sector lead, Matrix India said that Open Secret is targeting children’s snacking segment, with a unique combination of taste and health, something both children and mothers can love.

With the first set of products, the brand is targeting the sweet snacking category which hasn’t innovated much in recent years. As of now, the goal for Open Secret is to become the most preferred snacking brand for families.

Open Secret is currently available in 60 offline stores in Mumbai. The startup is also selling its f&b products on ecommerce platform Amazon, through the launchpad programme, and also on their own website.

Matrix Partners Bullish On F&B Startups

In 2019, Matrix Partners has invested in a host of f&b startups, which are particularly offering healthier alternatives. Protein bar brand ‘And Nothing Else’ (ANE), which claims to be a clean food company, in November, raised an undisclosed amount from Matrix Partner in a seed funding round.

Prior to this, the venture capital company, in March, had invested in an undisclosed amount of follow-on investment in Bengaluru-based f&b startup &Me, which focuses on women’s health and fitness. Other investors who participated in that round was a consumer VC fund, Sauce.vc.

In February this year, Matrix Partners also led an INR 70 Cr ($ 9.8 Mn) equity financing round in Gurugram-based milk delivery startup Country Delight. Existing investor Orios Venture Partners had also participated in that round.

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