Consumer foods brand Yu raises Rs 20 Cr in Series A funding led by Ashish Kacholia
- ByStartupStory | November 15, 2022
An omnichannel consumer food company called Yu has acquired Series A funding in the form of a combination of venture loans and equity. Renowned public market investor Ashish Kacholia headed the round, which also included current investors and the Asian Paints Promoter Group (Manish Choksi and Varun Vakil).
DPIIT’s Start Up India Seed Fund program, which approved Yu under its Rs 945 crore programme to fund tech-enabled startups, also participated in the current funding round. In addition to increasing its current offline and online distribution in India, the startup plans to double its capacity as it keeps growing its global footprint in countries like Africa, the Middle East, and the US.
Yu, a company founded by Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, has created a variety of 15 distinctive products, including noodles, pasta, oats, and halwa, all of which can be made in 4-5 minutes by adding hot water. The founders said, “Over the next 12 months, we will also aggressively increase our footprint in international markets like the US, Africa, and the Middle East.
” In a period of a year, it has infiltrated numerous channels of distribution, including offline stores (3,000+ stores), online (e-Com and Q-Com servicing the entirety of India), over 100 institutional campuses, and exports (South Africa and the US).
With over 200% growth quarter over quarter, the brand claims it is gaining significant traction with consumers and is on track to sell 1 million bowls by Q3-FY23. The business recently entered the non-vegetarian market with its iconic Butter Chicken Pasta and Chilli Chicken Noodles. Over the next 12 months, the brand wants to roll out 10 more distinctive products to round out its current product line.
Ghost Kitchens India, a player in the foodtech industry buys another restaurant chain
On Monday, Ghost Kitchens Pvt. Ltd said that it has exchanged shares for an unknown sum in order to acquire Bengaluru-based food tech company Where’s The Food.
The Mumbai-based Ghost Kitchens hopes to expand its business operations with this acquisition, including, among other things, partner scrutinising on-boarding procedures, inventory information, and financial reconciliations, the firm said in a statement.
Harshendar Reddy, a former Capgemini executive and co-founder of Where’s The Food, will join Ghost Kitchens as its chief technology officer (CTO) in accordance with this acquisition, it was added.
“We have always hoped to put our knowledge to good use and make a substantial impact on the industry as a whole… With the technology Ghost Kitchens aims to develop, we won’t just spread this knowledge to thousands of restaurants; we’ll also give them the resources they need to enhance user experience and have more control over their business operations, said Reddy.
Reddy and Chaitanya Meher founded Where’s The Food in 2019. The platform’s tools assist restaurants in bringing on new patrons, keeping hold of existing patrons, and enhancing overall operations.
In the meanwhile, Ghost Kitchens enables cloud kitchens and restaurants to generate extra income without making any investments. With the help of its platform, aggregator management, marketing to increase food delivery orders, inventory control, and the provision of ready food solutions are all made possible, reducing the need for skilled labour to uphold standards.
“The products are the first on the market and will provide our partners with real value to boost their sales and profits. According to Karan Tanna, founder and CEO of Ghost Kitchens, “We are developing the only product in the restaurant technology sector that addresses operational gaps as well as demand generation for restaurants.”
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