Zappfresh Marks Second Acquisition With Mumbai’s Online Meat & Seafood Delivery Brand Bonsaro

Delhi NCR-based meat delivery startup Zappfresh has acquired Mumbai-based online meat and seafood delivery brand Bonsaro in an all-cash deal. 

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

As part of the transaction, Zappfresh has taken over Bonsaro’s entire operations and business, including all the assets, to expand its presence in the western pocket. 

With this acquisition, the combined entity is aiming for a revenue of 160 Cr in the financial year 24-25 (FY25), besides a significant jump in their profit after tax (PAT), according to a statement. 

The acquisition also comes on the back of Zappfresh’s expansion plan, as it aims to cater to a larger customer base and establish itself as a leading player in the D2C meat market in western India.

“Our acquisition of Bonsaro is a pivotal moment for Zappfresh. By integrating Bonsaro into our portfolio, we are poised to build a pan-India brand that operates in key markets. Mumbai, being a critical market, will contribute significantly to our footprint in the West. Our expansion strategy remains disciplined—we expand one city at a time, ensuring profitability without compromising our bottom line. We only venture into new markets once we achieve break-even,” said Zappfresh’s founder Deepanshu Manchanda. 

This also marks Zappfresh’s second acquisition to date, after it bought Sukos Foods operated brand Dr Meat last year to expand across the south Indian market. 

For the uninitiated, the D2C meat delivery startup is eyeing listing on the stock exchanges through an IPO. As a result, it converted itself into a public company earlier this year. 

Once listed, ZappFresh will be the first D2C startup to get listed in the meat delivery segment. 

It competes against the likes of Licious, Fresh2Home, and TenderCuts in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat delivery space and with Swiggy Instamart, Big Basket and Blinkit in the quick commerce and grocery segments.

On the funding front, the Delhi NCR-based startup last begged INR 30 Cr ($4.3Mn) in an undisclosed funding round from Ah! Ventures, HT Media, Unity SFB and Heifer Impact in November. Then, the startup committed the fresh proceeds towards its acquisitions, expansion and infrastructure upgrades across northern and southern pockets.

Founded in 2015 by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal, Zappfresh procures meat from farms and claims to deliver it to the end customer in 90 minutes once the order is placed. Zappfresh is currently operational in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. It counts SIDBI VC, Dabur Family Office, LetsVenture and Keiretsu Forum, among others, as its investors. 

While Zappfresh is yet to disclose its overall revenue for FY24, it earlier conveyed about aiming for INR 300 Cr consolidated revenue by the end of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), with a revenue target of INR 70 Cr from Bengaluru alone.

This comes at the heart of the D2C fresh meat market undergoing a slowdown which forced these companies to diversify their offerings.

Zappfresh’s competitor, Licious, revealed plans to open five physical stores in Bengaluru by June and expand to 35-40 stores across two to three cities by FY25.

In contrast, other competitors like Chennai-based Fipola have ceased operations, and TenderCuts was acquired by Delhi-based Good To Go.

Despite these industry challenges, Zappfresh has emerged as one of the few profitable startups in the online D2C meat segment. Underscoring its financial resilience, the startup reported a profit of INR 3.5 Cr and revenue of INR 70 Cr for FY23.