he State Plate, a platform focused on Indian regional foods, said it has raised an undisclosed sum in a pre-seed funding round from Antler India.
Since its launch, the company has delivered 35,000+ orders to customers across India from their inventory of 500+ products across 9 Indian states. The platform is growing over 45% month-on-month, with 50% of total customers returning for repeat purchases.
“We are not a traditional marketplace where vendors are free to list and sell on the platform - we are a curated platform wherein we research, sample, and handpick every product we put in front of our consumers,” Muskaan Sancheti, co-founder, The State Plate, said.
“We will double down on our private label strategy over the next few months, and see it as a large part of our platform play in the long-term,” Sancheti added.
The startup said it has recently launched its private label, which currently spans 14 new products native to different parts of the country. The team plans to expand The State Plate white-label offering to 500+ unique products by the end of 2022.
The State Plate said it is aiming to solve pan-India accessibility of regional cuisine by building a platform of regional specialities from across the country.
The State Plate was founded in August 2020 by Sancheti and Raghav Jhawar, recent graduates from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). The idea for The State Plate came up when Sancheti realised that her native authentic Rajasthani papad was unavailable for purchase across Bangalore.
The company is aiming to pursue the unbranded regional foods market and will use the investment to grow their private label and build a range of high-quality and affordable products liked by the masses in the country.
The startup will also use the funds to expand its team across design, marketing, and procurement.
“With rising inter-state migration, and consumers wanting to explore beyond the standard packaged food options, the demand for niche Indian foods is increasing. The F&B market is getting crowded with players in the healthy snacking, meals, and gourmet food space, yet there aren’t many focusing on regional food, which is still dominated by traditional, unorganised businesses,” Rajiv Srivatsa, partner at Antler India, said.
“Beyond India, we also see a huge opportunity in this space globally. The State Plate is disrupting the market by organizing it and creating a one-stop solution for Indian regional foods; focusing on convenience, quality, comprehensive curation of variants, and updated packaging formats to appeal to the modern Indian consumer,” he added.