Slurrp Farm, a children-focused healthy snacks brand, has raised $2 million (about Rs 14.6 crore) in its Series A round of funding led by venture capital firm Fireside Ventures.
The company plans to deploy the capital for product innovation, marketing and growing its inventory to cater to increasing demand, it said in a statement.
Slurrp Farm, operated by Delhi-based Wholsum Foods Pvt. Ltd, It is also looking to strengthen its team and strengthen its direct-to-consumer distribution channel.
The startup was launched in 2014 by Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayanan. Malik, an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, was earlier working with JP Morgan. Narayanan, a Harvard Business School graduate, was previously associated with McKinsey & Co.
The brand has a portfolio of 25 products which include porridges and cereals, puffed snacks for children, millet pancakes, millet dosa, and cake mixes. It claims it sells around 1,00,000 units to about 40,000 customers a month.
The products are available in over 600 retail stores and online grocery shopping portals across India, the UAE and Singapore. Slurrp Farm plans to enter new cities within India and expand its footprint in the UAE.
Slurrp Farm had raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round in June 2018. Its investors at the time included Sanjeev Bhikchandani of Info Edge (India) Ltd, Yasemin Lamy, COO at CDC Group, and Rohan Haldea of Apax Partners.
The VC firm was founded by Kanwaljit Singh in 2017 and has invested across segments including personal care, processed foods, lifestyle and home products. Its portfolio includes Yoga Bar, Samosa Singh, Bombay Shaving Co., Mamaearth and Vahdam Teas.
Last year, the early-stage investment firm pumped $2 million into Mumbai-based health-tech startup
Gynoveda.
The firm had hit the final close of its debut fund at $52 million in March 2018. It aims to raise $100 million in its second outing, according to a media report.
Fireside recently roped in French cosmetics giant L'Oréal as one of the limited partners for the new fund.
Fireside's investment in Slurrp Farm indicates the growing interest of investors in health-based snack brands. In July, for instance, Mumbai-based healthy snacks maker SnackAmor raised a round of angel funding from Srinivas Chunduru, a former adviser to cab aggregator Ola.
In May, the children-focussed healthy snacks brand Timios raised capital as part of its pre-Series A round. The exercise was led by Rangsons Technologies LLP, which is part of the Mysore-based NR Group.
In December last year, venture capital firm Matrix Partners and a clutch of affluent individuals including Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma invested in healthy snacks startup Open Secret. The month before, Matrix and Sauce.vc provided seed funding to protein bar maker And Nothing Else.
