Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Ltd, which specialises in ethnic sweets and snacks, has infused an undisclosed sum into incubation platform Venture Catalysts with an eye on facilitating more investments in the packaged foods segment.
Venture Catalysts said in a statement that it aims to leverage Haldiram’s expertise to evaluate its investments in the segment and achieve a much stronger foothold in evaluation, industry-relevant mentoring and identifying market opportunities.
Haldiram’s could potentially be a lead investor in startups and engage with their founders, the statement added.
“The expertise gained through this collaboration with Haldiram’s is also expected to benefit our existing portfolio of consumer brands,” said Anuj Golecha, co-founder of Venture Catalysts.
The incubation platform further said that it plans to invest in 10-15 relevant startups in the packaged consumer goods category over the next year or two.
Venture Catalysts
The Mumbai-based incubation platform was set up in December 2015 by Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Anil Jain, Anuj Golecha and Gaurav Jain. It typically invests between $250,000 and $1 million in early-stage startups.
Its recent investments include diaper maker Superbottoms, environmental intelligence startup Ambee, car financing company OTO Capital, bike-sharing app Mobycy, medical-technology startup iNICU, operating system maker PrimeOS and virtual trial room startup Try & Buy.
Haldiram’s
The company was founded in 1937 in Rajasthan by Shivkisan Agrawal. His descendants now run separate units of the business in the northern, eastern and western regions of India.
Delhi-based Haldiram’s Snacks caters to the north, Nagpur-based Haldiram’s Foods International is present in the western and southern markets, while Haldiram Bhujiawala looks after the eastern region.
The company is also present overseas in 50 countries including the UK, US, Australia, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, UAE and Sri Lanka.
The firm offers namkeen, savoury items, and chips, among other items.
It has struck a few acquisitions in the snacks and namkeen segment over the past three years – Delhi-based Lamba Food Products, Dreamcann Foods Pvt. Ltd , and Indore-based Aakash Namkeen.
