WayCool Foods FY23: Loss Up 89% To INR 685 Cr, Revenue Crosses INR 1K Cr Mark

Chennai-based agritech startup WayCool Foods’ operating revenue rose 62% to cross the INR 1,000 Cr mark during the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The startup’s revenue from operations stood at INR 1,251.4 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as against INR 772.3 Cr in the previous year. 

Founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, WayCool sells food products under seven different labels and also offers supply chain solutions. 

In FY23, it earned 98% of its revenue from sale of products, while the remaining came from sale of services. 

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue rose 56.6% to INR 1,216.8 Cr from INR 776.7 Cr in FY22.

Despite the rise in revenue, net loss zoomed 88.7% to INR 685 Cr in FY23 from INR 363 Cr in the previous fiscal year. It must be noted that WayCool incurred a non-cash expenditure of INR 1,906 Cr and INR 827.8 Cr in FY23 and FY22, respectively. These non-cash expenditure items have been removed to calculate the net loss numbers.

Including the non-cash expenses, net loss in FY23 surged 118% to INR 2,591.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,190 Cr in FY22.

Commenting on the non-cash expense, a spokesperson of WayCool said, “This is a non-cash loss booked as per Ind AS (Indian Accounting Standards), whereby if an investor is investing through instruments such as CCPS, the same is seen as a liability. This is not true in Indian GAAP.”

Where Did WayCool Spend?

The startup’s expenses increased 96% year-on-year to INR 3,856.9 Cr in FY23 – almost 3X of its operating revenue. In FY22, total expenses stood at INR 1,967.1 Cr. 

The total expense numbers include the non-cash expenditure items.

Procurement Cost: Being an agri-commerce startup running seven private labels, procurement cost accounted for over 50% of the total expenditure. The startup’s procurement cost rose 58% to INR 1,199 Cr in FY23 from INR 758 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Employee Expenses: Employee benefit expenses grew 65% to INR 243 Cr during the year under review from INR 147.6 Cr in FY22. 

It is pertinent to note that WayCool has laid off over 270 employees in two such exercises in calendar year 2024 so far to reduce its expenses. 

The startup has raised a total funding of around $300 Mn till date. It is backed by investors such as Lightrock, Lightbox, Lightsmith, 57 Stars, and FMO.

WayCool launched its FMCG entity BrandsNext Last year, which houses brands such as Madhuram, KITCHENji, DeziFresh, and Freshey’s. 

It was reported last year that the agritech startup was in talks to raise around $50 Mn-$70 Mn at a valuation of around $900 Mn. However, it failed to close this round due to the ongoing funding winter. Instead, it laid off around 300 employees in 2023. 

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