India’s largest digital platform Paytm, is leading worth $15 million (around Rs 100 crore) funding round in the B2B foodtech startup HungerBox, cited by Economic Times.
Singapore-based Lionrock Capital and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, too participated in the round.
In July 2017, HungerBox raised $4.5 million in a Series-A round led by Neoplux and India-focused PE fund Sabre Partners.
The Bengaluru-based company’s existing investors will also participate in the fund-raising plan, sources said.
The move marks Paytm’s entry into the organised food technology for-institutions category, and will help it tap into the high-frequency B2B food-ordering business.
Paytm’s strategy involves launching PoS and invoicing for merchants. Similarly, the HungerBox investment is an entry into the food and beverage management solutions business from the merchant’s side, the report suggested.
The company will soon start the process of integrating HungerBox with Paytm.
The organised corporate catering market is a high-frequency business, making it an attractive investment as it involves repeat orders.
Last year, Zomato acquired TongueStun Food, a Bengaluru-based startup that aggregates caterers and restaurants for office canteens for an estimated $18 million in a cash-and-stock deal.
Swiggy, too, started a pilot with its business-to-business food-aggregation offering called Swiggy Food Court to digitise corporate cafeterias, but shelved the project soon after.
HungerBox was founded by Sandipan Mitra and Uttam Kumar, who ran the operations of Just Eat India, in 2016.
The company claims it has processed over 50 million transactions since inception.
Its technology includes pre-ordering, live order tracking, digital payments, feedback management, and cafeteria density tracking.
Using the HungerBox app, employees can view the F&B menu provided by all enlisted food vendors at their workplace cafés, place orders and track delivery, and also provide ratings and feedback.