India's Veeba Foods raises $6m from Saama Capital

Veeba was created in 2013 after its founder, Viraj Bahl, spun the company out from family enterprise Fun Foods following its acquisition by German group Oetker. The company manufactures sauces and dressings for global fast food chains including KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell and Starbucks.

Prior to this investment, Veeba raised $1.3 million in Series B funding led by DSG in 2014. DSG also provided the company's Series A round in 2012.

The latest injection of capital will be used to support Veeba's entry into the retail market. According to Livemint, the company plans to triple its manufacturing capacity and build a portfolio of packaged foods it can sell directly to consumers.

Veeba already has launched a premium range of 14 sauces and salad dressings - including Thousand Island, Honey Mustard and Ranch - under its own brand. It is also opening a new plant in Neemrana in Rajasthan to serve its institutional clients.

A number of private equity firms are tapping into the rapid growth of quick service restaurants in India, either by investing in restaurants directly - such as Everstone Capital's local joint venture with Burger King - or by backing third-party suppliers and service providers like Veeba. 

According to market research firm Crisil, India's QSR segment is worth around INR60 billion ($960 million) and it expected to grow 26% each year to reach INR117 billion by 2017.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Venture
• India
• Consumer
• Saama Capital
• Venture