Pune-based quick service restaurant (QSR) chain focussed on selling seafood and fish products, has raised first round of funding of $5 million (Rs 25 crore)from Correa Hospitality to expand its business. The transaction has been advised by Callidus Capital Advisors, a boutique Investment Bank focussed on the India consumer story.
Fishtro was launched in 2010 by Rohit Adalti and Rahul Chhabra. Correa Hospitality has taken a significant minority stake in the company with this transaction. Fishtro will look at a series-B funding at a later stage, after it sets up 50 outlets.
At present it has seven outlets – five in Pune and one each in Hyderabad and Mumbai. With this funding, the company plans to increase its presence to 100 outlets, including 30 outlets each in Mumbai and Delhi and 40 spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and other locations.
Fishtro will receive Rs 20 crore for expansion of outlets and rest Rs 5 crore will be used for building up of cold chain logistics. Fishtro has a contract farming facility in Andhra Pradesh and hence the cold chain logistics hub will be in the southern state, with centres in Mumbai, Delhi and southern parts of the country.
“Fishtro will create a new QSR category, an area which has traditionally been challenging, given lack of infrastructural support and consumer perceptual issues,” Abhijeet Dhar, Managing Director of Callidus, said.
Fishtro, which has developed in-house technologies like frozen-to-cook (FTC) in seafood, has grown from a three-member team to an 80-member team.
This is also the largest investment for Correa Hospitality, which has a chain of 20 Chinese casual dining restaurants in Mumbai. Correa, which runs the restaurants under the brand name ‘Martins- The Chinese Nook’, is looking to diversify its portfolio into fish based brands, yoghurt, chicken-based and other product lines.
“Fishtro is an example how successful companies standardise the backend. We aim to grow this platform pan India,” said Martin Correa, Chairman, Correa Hospitality Group.
(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)