Bangalore, India-based e-commerce seller of fresh fish and meat FreshToHome has raised USD 121 million (EUR 102.4 million) in Series C funding to aid its expansion schemes, the company said in a statement 27 October.
The funding round was led by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) – the principal investment arm of the government of Dubai – as well as private equity companies Investcorp and Ascent Capital. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. government's development finance institution, the Allana Group, and other investors also participated, FreshToHome said.
Iron Pillar, the lead investor from the company’s Series B round, also contributed an additional USD 19 million (EUR 16 million) in the latest fundraising round.
"COVID-19 transformed the fish and meat purchasing behavior of consumers dramatically. Due to safety concerns, consumers made the habit-forming shift to e-commerce and we saw online demand for our products going up many folds this year thanks to safety guarantee of '100 percent fresh and zero percent chemicals,'” FreshToHome co-founder and CEO Shan Kadavil said. “We are just beginning to scratch the surface of a very large market and the current capital raise will help us realize our full potential through rapid expansion in India and the Middle East.”
FreshToHome said it is the world’s leading fully integrated online platform in fresh fish and meat sales, with orders worth USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.3 million) per month and annual sales of USD 85 million (EUR 72 million). The platform that the company operates allow fishermen, farmers, and FreshToHome itself to cut middlemen out of their supply chains, better control the quality of their products, and reduce prices, according to the company.
In August 2019, the start-up announced that it secured USD 20 million (EUR 17 million) in a Series B fundraising round led by Iron Pillar and Joe Hirao, founder of Japan’s ZIGExn, who praised the “Silicon Valley entrepreneurship background” of FreshToHome’s founders their experience participating on management boards of other companies. FreshToHome’s other early backers included Zynga founder Mark Pincus and Google Ventures CEO David Krane.
"DFC's first equity deal with FreshToHome demonstrates the power of our new equity tool to drive development and advance U.S. foreign policy," DFC CEO Adam Boehler said. "This project will support economic growth and strengthen agricultural supply chains in a key U.S. partner."
Photo courtesy of FreshToHome
