The food delivery startup serves 12,000 meals every day through a network of 60 stores across three cities: Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore
It seems India’s foodtech industry is on a path of revival after a lull of over 12 months, as companies have once started seeing investor interest. Just weeks after Bangalore-based InnerChef got US$2.5M in a round led by Masayoshi Son’s (SoftBank) brother Taizo Son, food delivery startup Box8 has secured INR 50 crore (under US$7.5 million) in its Series B funding from IIFL Seed Ventures Fund and Mayfield.
“We are glad that our investor partners share our vision of becoming India’s largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain for Indian food, catering to the taste buds of modern Indians. The funds help us strengthening the supply chain Eco system, building superior technology, enhancing product development and expanding into new geographies,” said Co-founder Amit Raj.
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Started by IIT graduates Raj and Anshul Gupta, Box8 is an online food delivery player that specialises in preparing and delivering delicious Indian food at an affordable price. Its diverse menu consists of over 100 dishes in all-in-one Indian meals, biryanis, wraps, sandwiches and salads.
The startup now serves 12,000 meals every day to its large consumer base through a network of 60 stores across three cities Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.
“Our strategy of establishing ourselves in certain key markets, instead of spreading wide and thin has helped us scale fast and develop a loyal customer base in a capital efficient manner. With the growing working class and their changing lifestyle preferences, there is immense potential to be tapped. This new influx of capital will allow us to capitalise on the opportunity by expanding to three to four more cities using the same micro intensive approach,” Raj added.
Box8 has an operational team of 1,200-plus people.
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Box8 with their comprehensive business model has already made a dent in the estimated INR 50,000 (over US$7.5 billion) foodtech industry and are now positioned to make their hold even stronger.
“Real-time decision making is the key in any operationally intensive business. With an integrated platform that cuts across customers, delivery units, kitchen and vendors, we have a live single window that speeds up decision making not just for our ground crew but also for our central teams. Two key areas we are focusing on going forward are automation and prediction. While technology and data has helped us identify challenges, automation will help address them and prediction will help us understand consumer preferences better,” said Co-founder Gupta.
IFL Seed Ventures Fund is the VC and private equity arm of IIFL Wealth & Asset Management. The venture arm raised a sector agnostic fund last year to invest in both early- and growth-stage companies and Box8 becomes the first food business for them to invest in.
“Since inception, Box8 has taken a full stack approach, where they manage and control all aspects of the chain. From procurement to preparation till last mile delivery, this has helped them tremendously to offer a seamless experience and build brand loyalty. Their ability to control the entire food experience is a strong value proposition and when it is replicated by the passionate team across other major cities, Box8 will emerge as a major force to reckon with in the food industry,” Prashasta Seth, CEO of IIFL.
In the recent past, many foodtech companies in India have either shuttered or significantly scaled back operations — thanks to various reasons, including tough competition, unfavourable market conditions, bleak funding environment, mindless expansion and irrational discounts. Among them are TinyOwl, PepperTap, Dazo, Zomato and Foodpanda. Ola’s food delivery business and Flipkart’s NearBy had also shuttered a few months ago.
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