Pitchfork Foods Pvt. Ltd, which sells flour under the brand name Floryo, on Friday announced that it has raised $2 million in pre-series A funding round led by 3one4 Capital. The Bengaluru-based startup has also raised $400,000 in venture debt from Alteria Capital.
The round also saw participation from prominent investors such as Licious co-founders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura, Cred’s founder Kunal Shah, boAt co-founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, Varun Alagh of Mamaearth, and G.O.A.T. Brand Labs founder Rishi Vasudev, among others.
The direct-to-consumer (D2C) company is planning to use the funds to expand its product line, strengthen the brand-building channels and fuel its geographical expansion, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2021, Floryo is pitting against traditional brands such as ITC, Shakti Bhog, Nature Fresh, Fortune, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, and more, in the processed flour space.
Floryo claims that it delivers freshly produced daily household staple products. At present, the company sells more than 40 types of freshly processed flour customized to meet functional nutrition requirements.
Floryo is aiming to change the daily household consumption categories as well as trying to better the age-old supply chain practices followed by current incumbents in the Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space, the company said in its statement.
D2C is expected to be a $60 billion industry by FY27, according to a report by e-commerce enablement platform Shiprocket in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and global management consulting and advisory services firm Praxis Global Alliance.
The report also noted that the category is currently a $12 billion market and is witnessing rapid growth, growing at a compound annual growth rate of about 40 per cent.
In India, most D2C brands are currently focused on consumer electronics, healthy beverages and snacking and beauty product categories.