Yu Foods, a Delhi NCR-based instant packaged food startup, has raised INR 55 crore ($6.5 million) in its Series B funding round, led by top investor Ashish Kacholia and the Asian Paints Promoter Group.
Yu Foods early investors exit with 4X returns
According to Inc42, some early investors exited during this round, earning up to 4X returns, said Bharat Bhalla, cofounder of Yu Foods. The startup will use the new funds to boost its distribution network and expand its product range.
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This new investment round comes almost eight months after Yu Foods raised $2.4 million in Series A funding from Kacholia and the Choski’s family office.
Established in 2021 by Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, Yu offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal bowls. They provide over 25 instant food products, including noodles, pastas, desserts, and halwa. Initially, they launched instant cup noodles and pastas, then moved into ready-to-cook noodles and pastas, and now beverages.
Yu Foods available in 7500 retail stores along with online platforms
Furthermore, Yu Foods has a strong omnichannel presence. Their products are not only on quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto but also in 7,500 retail stores. Besides India, their products are available in Africa. Recently, they launched 100% fresh fruit juice.
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With the latest funding, the startup’s total funding reaches around INR 100 crore across multiple rounds. In the previous year, they also brought on cricketer Hardik Pandya as their brand ambassador. The startup’s investors include Sameer Mehta (Founder of Boat), Srikrishna Dwaram (Partner, True North Private Equity), Nikhil Srivastava (PAG Private Equity), and the DPIITs Start Up India Seed Fund.
Interestingly, the startup competes with FMCG giants like Nestle, Orkla (formerly MTR Foods), Nissin, and ITC. In the D2C domain, it competes with brands like Master Chow.
