Aadit took to Linkedln to share her happiness, wrote, “What a day! Closing out Navratri 2024 with a grateful heart, seeing the beauty of India’s diversity through our users, sellers, brands, and every Zeptonian, who made it all happen. From essentials to festive picks, thank you for making us part of India’s celebrations across nine incredible days.”
Furthermore, he shared through graphics that the Mumbai-based firm sold over 100,000 dandiya sticks this season. He also mentioned that sales of fasting-friendly chips, Kattu, and Rajgira atta increased a lot compared to last year’s Navratri.
Ayudh Puja, Garba event and many: Zepto celebrates Navratri
Aadit goes further explaining how Zepto’s dark stores celebrated Navratri across the country. In Coimbatore, Kochi, Chennai, and Bengaluru, they celebrated Ayudha Puja, honouring tools and equipment. The Bhawanipore store in Kolkata celebrated Durga Ashtami, and the Gota store in Ahmedabad hosted a lively Garba event.
Established in 2021 by Stanford dropouts Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto is India’s fastest-growing e-grocery company. It’s valued at $900 million after raising $200 million in Series-D funding from top global investors like Y Combinator Continuity, Kaiser Permanente, Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital, and Lachy Groom.
ProV Foods, a rising name in India’s dry fruit sector, is setting its sights on substantial growth as the country’s fragmented dry fruit market shifts towards organized and branded products.
Founded in 2015 by DP Jhawar, ProV Foods has leveraged its understanding of the unorganized sector to build a solid presence in the organized market. “When we started, 90% of the industry was unorganized. We saw the opportunity to bring quality and consistency to a market where consumers were demanding more transparency,” says Jhawar.
With India’s dry fruit market currently valued at INR 60,000 crore and expected to grow to INR 95,000 crore over the next five years, the organized sector’s share is also poised to expand rapidly. Jhawar predicts that branded products will see significant growth, stating, “The branded market, which is around INR 7,000 crore today, will touch INR 20,000 crore in the next 4-5 years.”
From Supply Chain Mastery to Brand Success
ProV’s journey began by addressing the supply chain challenges inherent in the dry fruit market. “The first three years, we focused on understanding the business, building relationships with suppliers, and ensuring consistent quality. It’s this effort that has helped us ensure high standards across seasons, a critical factor in dry fruits,” Jhawar explains.
In 2018, ProV Foods entered the branded space, focusing on offering high-quality, packaged dry fruits across various SKUs. Today, the company offers over 150 SKUs across almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, and mixed products. Almonds and pistachios remain their top-selling items, with ProV capitalizing on a growing consumer preference for healthy snacks. “We’re seeing rapid growth in the healthy snacks segment, particularly with smaller packs like INR 30 options, which are doing very well in general trade and pan stores,” Jhawar shares.
With a revenue of INR 300 crore in the branded space last year, ProV Foods has set an ambitious target of INR 425 crore for the current fiscal year. The company’s growth strategy revolves around increasing its presence in general trade, especially in southern India, where it already has a strong foothold. Jhawar emphasizes, “We’re focusing on going deep in the markets we’re already in, rather than expanding too wide too quickly. However, I’m targeting 30% to 40% growth year on year.”
As e-commerce and modern retail continue to play a vital role in ProV’s success, Jhawar notes that the company is cautious about discounting strategies. “We don’t believe in deep discounting or burning capital. Our approach is to offer consumers quality at the right price,” he asserts.
IPO and Future Prospects
ProV Foods recently marked a milestone by going public, a move that Jhawar believes has significantly boosted the brand’s visibility. “The IPO has helped us gain recognition, and it’s opening up opportunities for us to enter new markets and launch new products,” he remarks. Beyond visibility, the listing has also provided the company with the capital needed for further investment in its business.
Dorje Teas, a Darjeeling-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup, has secured INR 1.8 crore in its Seed funding round. The round was led by Coast Fund VC (venture arm of Blink Digital), with participation from Untitled Ventures, Ice VC, SSK Exports, the Chandigarh Angels Network (CAN), and a consortium of Ashoka University alumni.
Avenue Supermarts Ltd, the operator of DMart, recorded a consolidated net profit of INR 659.58 crore for the July to September quarter, marking a 5.77% rise from INR 623.56 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Just days before foodtech giant Swiggy submitted its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to SEBI, founder Sriharsha Majety and some investors offloaded shares worth INR 670 crore.
Packaged food giant Kellanova India, formerly Kelloggs India, aims to double its household penetration from the current 40-50 million households in the coming years. The͏͏ company͏͏ reported͏͏ robust͏͏ growth͏͏ in͏͏ its͏͏ Kellogg’s͏͏ Muesli͏͏ portfolio͏͏ and͏͏ has͏͏ also͏͏ increased͏͏ its͏͏ market͏͏ share͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ cornflakes͏͏ segment.
Rebel Foods, the world’s largest internet restaurant brand and master franchise holder for Wendy’s in India, has opened its 160th Wendy’s restaurant in BTM Layout, Bengaluru. This͏͏ milestone͏͏ underscores͏͏ Rebel͏͏ Foods’͏͏ consistent͏͏ growth͏͏ in͏͏ India’s͏͏ retail͏͏ and͏͏ hospitality͏͏ sectors.͏͏ The͏͏ opening͏͏ was͏͏ spearheaded͏͏ by͏͏ Dana͏͏ Calvert,͏͏ Wendy’s͏͏ Chief͏͏ International͏͏ Development͏͏ Officer,͏͏ emphasising͏͏ the͏͏ brand’s͏͏ commitment͏͏ to͏͏ further͏͏ expansion͏͏ in͏͏ India.
Amazon‘s B2B marketplace Amazon Business reported a 134% year-on-year growth in its corporate gifting store during the first ten days of the Amazon Great Indian Festival 2024. The͏͏ company͏͏ also͏͏ observed͏͏ a͏͏ 95%͏͏ increase͏͏ in͏͏ total͏͏ orders͏͏ and͏͏ a͏͏ 107%͏͏ rise͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ number͏͏ of͏͏ customers͏͏ making͏͏ purchases͏͏ during͏͏ this͏͏ period,͏͏ as͏͏ stated͏͏ in͏͏ a͏͏ company͏͏ announcement.
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