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Bengaluru-based foodtech startup Mr. Hot foods has raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round led by IvyCamp Ventures. Pawan Raj Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Lucknow has also invested and will mentor the startup.
Pawan is an active investor and mentor for various startups. An entrepreneur himself, he also runs a diversified organisation that provides various products and services in food and food service industry. He recently founded Supa Star Foods with its flagship brand Supa Corn that is available through offline and online retail in more than 25 cities of India.
As stated by him, “Mr. Hot foods is solving a very big problem that is faced by many young Indians when they study and work away from home. They are looking for options of homely food. At the same time, they are focussed on addressing the needs of the small kitchens that make good simple food but lack the bandwidth to reach out to these customers. I truly believe that with India’s huge young and migratory population, Mr. Hot foods has touched the right chord in the business of food service and delivery.”
Mr. Hot foods was founded in 2014, by IIT Kharagpur alum Pankaj Sharma. It aggregates local bhojanalayas (local eating houses), thali houses and tiffin centres to provide homely food to users in a restaurant style of ordering and standardised packaging.
Along with increased sales and online reach, their vendors also get training from professional chefs.
“The addition of Pawan as a mentor to our team has helped us to understand the dynamics of F&B industry on a larger scale. His ideas and regular inputs help us in strategic decision making,” said Pankaj.
Founded in 2011 by Vikram Gupta, Norbert Fernandes, and Vishal Gauri, IvyCap Ventures is focussed on early- and growth-stage startups founded by the alumni of premier institutions like IITs and IIMs.
IvyCap’s areas of investing comprise healthcare, education, food-based businesses, technology, ecommerce, and mcommerce domains. The venture firm generally invests ($4 Mn-$5 Mn) (INR 25 Cr – INR 30 Cr) picking up 25%-35% stake in each of its portfolio companies. Recent investments of IvyCamp include likes of FT cash, GrabOnRent, Bluestone and more.
In November 2016, IvyCamp, the unified technology-based platform of IvyCap Ventures for innovation and entrepreneurship, entered into a partnership with Airbus BizLab to announce Season #2 of its accelerator programme in Bengaluru.
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