Exclusive: Raw meat e-tailer Zappfresh raises angel funding

Gurgaon-based DSM Fresh Foods Pvt Ltd, which runs an online startup Zappfresh for raw meat and associated ready-to-eat food products, has raised Rs 2 crore ($300,000) in angel round of funding from a couple of unnamed investors, sources said.

The company plans to use the money for upgrading technological infrastructure and expansion to new cities.

The firm offers nearly 40 different items, including whole chicken, mutton, and pork. It also sells pre-cooked items like cold cuts like ham, sausages and salami etc. It is also planning to introduce seafood category soon.

Zappfresh procures meat from the farms and claims that it ensures the product reaches the end customer in 90 minutes once the order is placed on its portal.

The firm is currently operational in Gurgaon and south Delhi, though it charges for small ticket delivery outside Gurgaon.

Zappfresh was launched four months ago by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal. While Manchanda had served MobiKwik before co-founding this startup, Shruti, an engineering graduate from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, was involved in ethnic clothes business but also had a stint at MobiKwik. The duo declined to comment on the funding transaction as the process is still on.

While some gourmet food chains such as Godrej Nature's Basket and others have been trying to make a mark in the field, it remains a highly fragmented business. However, few other startups are also trying to tap on to the opportunity.

Last month, former Infosys board member and CFO TV Mohandas Pai, co-founder and former senior managing director of Helion Venture Partners Kanwaljit Singh and a few others made a seed investment of about $1 million (Rs 6.4 crore) in three-month-old online meat ordering startup Licious run by Bangalore-based Delightful Gourmet Pvt Ltd.

Moreover, a bunch of meat suppliers themselves have raised venture funding. VenturEast backed VKS Farms Pvt Ltd and Omnivore Partners invested in Guwahati-based pork meat distributor Arohan Foods Pvt Ltd.