India's FreshToHome raises $121m Series C

The round was led by Ascent, Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), Investcorp, US-based Development Finance Corporation, and Allana Group, a major local food exporter. Iron Pillar, which led a $20 million Series B last year, has contributed $19 million to the latest round. It is being called the largest ever Series C in a local consumer tech start-up.

FreshToHome claims to be the largest fully integrated online brand in fresh fish and meat e-commerce globally, with 1.5 million B2C orders per month and $85 million in annualized sales. The company was founded by former executives of US videogame developer Zynga and counted Zynga founder Mark Pincus as an early investor.

Previous backers also include David Krane, CEO of Google Ventures, and Rajan Anandan, a managing director at Sequoia Capital. There has also been a strong history of Middle Eastern support, including Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair, chairman of Mashreq Bank, and CE-Ventures, the corporate VC platform of Crescent Enterprises.

The United Arab Emirates has consequently emerged as a major expansion focus, and FreshToHome is now among the top five e-grocers in the country. The fresh capital will be used for an expansion across India and the Middle East.

“FreshToHome is a leader in leveraging AI-based technology and business innovation to bring a superior value proposition to customers and suppliers in a large and important market. At ICD, we seek to partner with companies like FreshToHome that are able to break new ground for the greater good while also enjoying a large shareholder value creation opportunity,” Khalifa Al Daboos, deputy CEO of ICD, said in a statement.

FreshToHome says it creates social and economic impact by enabling sellers to directly source from fishermen and farmers through its cold chain technology. The service is also said to appeal to rising safety concerns and a shift toward e-commerce in light of COVID-19.

The company noted that it saw online demand increase significantly this year in part because it offers a safety guarantee branded as “100% fresh and 0% chemicals.” Anand Prasanna, a managing partner at Iron Pillar, told AVCJ in June that FreshToHome grew its revenue 6.5x during the preceding 13 months and that half of that growth occurred during the pandemic.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Support services
• Expansion
• India
• MENA
• Ascent Capital India
• Investcorp
• Food
• TMT
• Logistics