Happytizers Pvt. Ltd, a Bengaluru-based company that sells snacks for children under the Lil' Goodness brand, has raised Rs 5 crore ($661048 at current exchange rates) in its seed round of funding.
The round has been led by Beyond Next Ventures (BNV), a Japanese venture capital fund. Existing angel investors Sajan Pillai, former CEO at UST Global, and Dr. Muthu Krishnan, ex-CEO at Tata Health, also participated in this transaction, LiL’ Goodness said in a statement.
“With this fund infusion, we are looking to further expand our product range and distribution of packaged foods,” said Lil’ Goodness co-founder Harshavardhan S, who is an IIM- Calcutta alumnus.
Lil’ Goodness was launched last year by Harshavardhan and nutrition expert Pariksha Rao. The packaged food brand is currently offering 7 products across 67 stores in Bengaluru and through online delivery app Amazon India.
The company claims that its products are designed to build immunity in kids using vegetables, cereals, and milk and offered in form of crackers, porridges, and shelf-stable yogurts.
The brand also owns and operates sCoolMeal, a fresh meal brand, which partnered with 55 educational institutions in Bangalore serving around 1800 orders per day. In the next academic session, it aims to expand to over 90 institutions in Bengaluru.
Besides educational institutions, sCoolMeal is also offering its meals to kids’ activity centers, and at home through online delivery app Swiggy.
“There is a huge opportunity for growth in this space especially as mothers look for healthy and hygienic solutions in the current context of COVID-19,” a BNV spokesperson said.
The food and beverage segment, particularly related to healthy snacks, has recorded a few transactions in the recent past.
In February this year, Cookie maker Sweetish House Mafia has raised its pre-Series A round of funding from Adar Poonawalla, CEO at vaccine maker Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.
In December, venture capital firm Matrix Partners and a clutch of affluent individuals including Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma invested in healthy snacks startup Open Secret.
In November, Matrix Partners and Sauce.vc provided seed funding to protein bar maker And Nothing Else, a company launched by a former Unilever executive.
In July, early-stage investment firm Ankur Capital invested in healthy snacks maker To Be Healthy Foods Pvt. Ltd.
In January, a unit of Parle Products Pvt. Ltd, which owns the popular biscuit brand Parle-G, invested in healthy snack bar maker WIMWI Foods Pvt. Ltd.
In December 2018, the Mumbai Angels Network provided funding to Nutrisattva Foods Pvt. Ltd, which sells protein-based functional foods under the Proliva brand. Three months before, the network invested in Pune’s Rev Snack Pvt. Ltd, which sells fruit snacks under the brand Frubites.