Zappfresh, an online meat store, is reportedly in talks to raise around ₹32 crore ($5 million) funding round. For this funding round, the company is said to have approached Dabur India’s vice-chairman, Amit Burman, among others.
Amit Burman has said that “we are evaluating it but there is no decision yet on the investment.”
Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal built Zappfresh — an online portal where people can order different kinds of meat, packaged aesthetically, and delivered to their doorsteps.
The company partners with poultry farms directly and by-passes local mandis, wholesalers and butcher shops to provide an end-to-end cold chain supply directly to the consumers. On its platform, the startup sells chicken, mutton and pork. It also sells pre-cooked items like cold cut ham, sausages and salami.
Earlier, in August 2016, the company had raised an undisclosed amount from two angel investors. Prior to that, in 2015, the company raised ₹2 crore from angel investors.
Zappfresh says that it is all about fresh high-quality meat. The company periodically conducts quality checks and regular inspections to maintain a high quality of meat.
The company competes with few other meat startups in India, which have managed to raise funding. One of the biggest competitors is Licious – a gourmet meat start-up which recently raised Series B round of funding from Mayfield India and 3one4 Capital.
According to the research material gathered by Zappfresh, the meat market is estimated at ₹110,000 crores, with a CAGR of 18 percent over the last three years. The average spend on meat by a three member family is approximately ₹2,500 every month.
The company believes that this is a huge untapped market, and there is also a place for other players trying to get a chunk of it.