Liberate Foods Pvt. Ltd, which runs plant protein startup Shaka Harry, on Tuesday announced that former former cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has invested an undisclosed amount in the company.
The investment comes on the back of Shaka Harry, in July, raising $2 million in its seed funding round led by Better Bite Ventures, Blue Horizon and Panthera Peak Ventures. Dexler Holdings, celebrity Chef Manu Chandra and a group of domestic family offices and angel investors also participated in the round.
Founded by Anand Nagarajan, Sandeep Devgan, Hemalatha Srinivasan, Ruth Renita and Anoop Haridasan, Shaka Harry is a plant-based meat brand retailing a slew of meal and snack products. The startup says that its products are curated around Indian cuisine and palate.
“We are serving over 30,000 customers across 10 cities monthly and expect to triple this number in the next few months. Shaka Harry will also be available on global shelves by the end of this year,” said Anand Nagarajan, co-founder and chief executive of Liberate Foods.
Shaka Harry retails its products online via Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket, SPAR and Zepto. The startup has also partnered with supermarts such as Metro and Godrej’s Nature's Basket to sell products offline. The products are available in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Gurgaon.
“For a growing population, current protein sources aren’t sustainably as scalable. We now have a choice to shift to smarter protein alternatives without compromising on taste and texture. The plant protein segment is an exciting consumer space,” said Dhoni.
The right investments in talent, R&D, manufacturing and distribution could drive the Indian smart protein sector to a market size of nearly Rs 19,000 crore by 2030, including a sizeable export market, as per GFI research with Deloitte, quoted in the release.
In the recent past, the plant protein segment has seen a lot of backing globally as such diets are claimed to be more sustainable. In January, Enzu.Life Pvt Ltd which operates lifestyle nutrition brand PlantVita, on Monday, said it has raised an undisclosed sum in a seed funding round led by Jito Angel Network.
Also in September 2021, Pune-based Proeon raised Rs 17.5 crore in its seed funding round led by entrepreneur Shaival Desai while GoodDot, one of the first startups in the segment, raised an undisclosed amount from Sixth Sense Ventures.
Increasing adoption of plant-based foods is also seeing meat delivery companies marking their foray into the segment. On Monday, homegrown meat brand Licious launched its direct-to-consumer, plant-based meat brand, UnCrave.
