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Online fish and meat e-commerce marketplace FreshtoHome has just received the first tranche of Ascent Capital’s proposed $16 Mn or INR 112 cr funding. The Bengaluru based company had placed a private placement offer in July to raise nearly INR 112 cr from Ascent Capital by allotting total 3,16,712 non-cumulative optionally convertible redeemable preference shares (OCRPS).
In the first tranche, Ascent Capital has pumped nearly 52 Cr and has been allotted 1,47, 799 OCRPS for its contribution. The Bengaluru based VC firm is likely to pump the remaining amount (nearly INR 60 Cr) through second tranche in the coming months.
Techpluto has contacted FreshToHome’s CEO and CO-founder Shan Kadavil to know how the company plans to use the latest capital infusion for its growth. We’re still awaiting Mr.Kadavil’s response and will update this story as and when we get the response.
News portal INC42 was the first to report about Ascent Capital’s 16 Mn fund infusion in FreshtoHome.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru headquartered startup is separately in talks to raise more than $100 Mn from new as well as existing investors.
In another important development, the Bengaluru based company had also recently filed a market valuation report. In this report, the company has sought an enterprise valuation of nearly 1830 Cr. The report further adds that the company estimates its fair value per equity share at Rs 952 per share.
Investor’s growing appetite in FTH clearly validates that the company has emerged as one of the sought after players in online fish and meat space. The company claims that all its important metrics are sturdily improving; clocking 12 lakh registered users, 10,000 tons of produce sold per year, 95% qualified cohort retention & doubling.
The startup has also won accolades for using disruptive mobile technology that helps in offering fair prices to farmers and fishermen. The company claims that all its products are chemical free and anti-biotic residue free.
Techpluto had exclusively spoken to FreshToHome’s CEO and CO-founder Shan Kadavil in September last year following its $20 Mn series B funding. Following are the excerpts of the interview…..
Q) The task of providing 100% fresh food with 0% chemicals is indeed a challenging task. How does FreshtoHome goes about to ensure that it succeeds in this immensely challenging mission?
We started FreshToHome with the intention of selling fresh, chemical free food. We didn’t want to jeopardise the livelihood of fishermen which led to collaborating with fishermen across coasts, who work with country boats. This would allow us to grow together.
We developed a tech-based solution called the ‘Commodities Exchange Platform’. This patent pending app allows fishermen from various coasts to bid with FreshToHome by tapping pictures on their mobile phones. This unique technology has given us the opportunity to buy products from Fishermen for a fair price, the benefit that we then pass on to consumers, leading to eventual growth. Additionally, we use IoT based technology for our cold chain preservation along with artificial intelligence and machine learning for predicting patterns of growth.
Q) How does FreshtoHome plans to utilize the latest capital infusion of $20 MN raised in Series B round and when does the company plans to raise the next funding round?
FreshToHome will utilize the funding to expand into other tier 2 cities in India and the UAE. The company will also use the funds to further diversify their product offerings in various other fresh and chemical-free food categories, such as fruits and vegetables, cold pressed oils, organic cow & buffalo milk, dairy products, organic staples and other healthy food products. These products will eventually be distributed across e-commerce platforms, retail outlets and other channels across multiple geographies.
Q) Can you please shed some light on FreshtoHome’s current revenue numbers?
We are one amongst the fastest growing e-grocery companies in India with over 25% month on month growth. We crossed USD 30M (INR 200 crores) in annualized sales, recently.
