E-commerce firm FreshToHome bags $104 mn amid long funding dry spell

In a departure from the ongoing funding winter, fresh fish and meat e-commerce firm FreshToHome has closed $104-million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round. The investment comes at a time when technology and start-up industry valuations are under stress and companies are laying off employees.

Existing investors in Bengaluru-based FreshToHome, including Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai) and Ascent Capital, also participated in this round. New investors include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka. JP Morgan was the placement agent to FreshToHome for the fundraise. The firm declined to reveal the valuation of the company after this funding round.

“We are a ‘proficorn’ with operational profitability across the company. Amazon is a great investor and their investment is the validation of the amount of due diligence that they have done,” said Shan Kadavil, chief executive officer and co-founder, FreshToHome, in an interview.

“Our focus is on profitability and sustainable value creation. If you look at global macroeconomics, funding has been harder. This is (one of) the largest funding rounds in 6-12 months. Investors are really valuing and prioritising the bottom line as well as topline,” he said, adding that the company had an annual revenue run rate of Rs 1,100 crore.

Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in over 160 cities in India and the UAE. It offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products. The funding would help the firm to further grow in these cities. A large portion of this capital will get used for international expansion in the Middle East, which includes Saudi Arabia. The funding will also strengthen FreshToHome’s mission to make 100 per cent preservative- and antibiotic-residue-free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to customers. The firm competes with players such as Licious, Zappfresh, BigBasket and Swiggy.

“FreshToHome has done some quality work in creating a robust technology-enabled supply chain and scalable backward integrated capabilities to serve both customers as well as farmers and fishers,” said an Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund spokesperson. 

FreshToHome did not reveal the current valuation. In 2020, when it raised $121 million in Series C round, led by Dubai’s Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital and the US Government’s development finance institution – DFC, the valuation was about $400 million, according to sources.