Tue. Mar 19th, 2024

Bengaluru-based online-to-offline grocery startup Avenue11 has raised ₹26 crores ($3.6 million) from Brand Capital, a strategic investment arm of The Times Group.

The freshly infused funds will be used for geographical expansion of the business and to increase its brand presence.

Planet11 eCommerce Solutions, the company that operates Avenue11, previously known as Kirana11, was founded by Korean expat Nakkyun Chong in 2016. The startup provides a platform to deliver fresh produce and vegetables, snacks, personal care products, and home essentials.

The startup also supplies fruits and vegetables to other merchants and institutions, through its B2B arm. Currently, Avenue11 is only operational in Bengaluru, serving around 35,000 customers across the south and east regions of the city.

Talking about the investment, Nakkyun Chong, Founder, Avenue11, said, “I started this company with a vision to redefine the way Indians do their grocery shopping. The partnership with the Times Group is a step forward in that direction. Investment from such a noteworthy institution is a sign of trust and belief in our business format.”

Avenue11 claims to clock ₹90 lakhs in monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) and expects to touch ₹17 crores in 2018, owing to the new partnership.

Other players dominating the online Indian grocery segment include BigBasket and Grofers, with an established market share.

Recently, it was reported that Amazon in partnership with Samara Capital has acquired Aditya Birla Group’s food and grocery retail chain More, to expand its grocery business in India.

Earlier in August, Flipkart entered the Indian grocery segment by launching online grocery store “Flipkart Supermart”, with plans to invest around ₹1,812 crores in the next three years.

Indian grocery segment is set to be more competitive with the entry of the two e-commerce giants, looking to leverage the opportunity in the grocery domain.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, the online food and grocery segment is set to become the fastest growing segments in India by 2020, contributing $15 billion or 12.5% of overall online retail sales.

By Varun

Startups | Books | Ideas

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *