Pune-based raw meat e-tailer EasyMeat.in is acquiring local rival Nonveggies.com in an all-cash deal, according to a report.
The Economic Times, which reported the development, didn't give financial details of the deal. It said the deal will provide EasyMeat, which is confined to the central part of the city, access to the customer base of Nonveggies, which is a dominant player in the western part of Pune.
The report quoted Shiva Saran, the co-founder of EasyMeat, as saying that their warehouse in central Pune was not able to cover the entire city and this acquisition will help that objective.
Email queries to EasyMeat and Nonveggies didnt elicit any immediate response.
Launched in December 2014, Nonveggie claims to have a unique customer base of over 1,500 users, of which 68% are repeat customers.
According to Nonveggies’ website, it receives 1,000 orders a month in western Pune and also has an additional 300-400 unregistered users. It has a tie-up with 12 to 15 vendors for the three meat categories--poultry products, sea food and mutton--it offers.
EasyMeat.in claims most of its sales comes from poultry items. It has tied up with nine suppliers and is targetting the B2B segment through partnerships with restaurants. The startup aims to start operations in Bengaluru in the next three months.
While some gourmet food chains such as Godrej Nature's Basket and others have been trying to make a mark in the field, it remains a highly fragmented business. However, a few other startups are also trying to tap into the opportunity.
Last year, Gurgaon-based DSM Fresh Foods Pvt Ltd, which runs online startup Zappfresh for raw meat and associated ready-to-eat food products, had raised Rs 2 crore ($300,000) in angel funding.
Recently, meat and fish ordering startup Licious, run by Delightful Gourmet Pvt. Ltd, raised its Series A round of funding. Last year, it had raised $1 million in angel funding from a group of angel investors, including former Infosys board member and CFO TV Mohandas Pai and co-founder and former senior managing director of Helion Venture Partners Kanwaljit Singh.
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