PR86302

BANGALORE, India and SINGAPORE, October 27, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Led by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), Investcorp, Ascent Capital, The

United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Allana

with significant follow-on investment from Series B lead investor Iron Pillar

- Capital to support fast-paced expansion of the brand in India and the Middle

East - targeting $200M Sales in 2021 while maintaining current EBITDA

profitability in mature cities through deeper supply chain integration on the platform

    FreshToHome [https://www.freshtohome.com/], the world's largest fully

integrated online brand in fresh fish and meat e-commerce raised $121M in

Series C funding led by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) - the principal

investment arm of the Government of Dubai, Investcorp - a leading global

manager of alternative investments, Ascent Capital - a leading India-focused

growth capital provider, U.S. Government's development finance institution -

DFC, the Allana Group and other investors. Iron Pillar, the lead investor from

Series B participated in this round with a significant investment of $19M.

Barclays was an advisor for the transaction.

    "COVID-19 transformed the fish and meat purchasing behaviour of consumers

dramatically. Due to safety concerns, consumers made the habit-forming shift to

e-commerce and we saw online demand for our products going up many folds this

year thanks to safety guarantee of '100% Fresh and 0% Chemicals'

[https://www.freshtohome.com/story-of-a-fish ]. FreshToHome stands by the

brand's assurance and creates enormous social and economic impact by enabling

sellers to directly source from the fishermen and farmers with its patent-pending

AI-powered supply chain technology and aided by a state-of-the-art cold chain.

We are just beginning to scratch the surface of a very large market and the current

capital raise will help us realize our full potential through rapid expansion in India

and the Middle East," said Shan Kadavil, Co-Founder and CEO of FreshToHome.

    FreshToHome is the world's largest fully integrated online brand in fresh

fish and meat e-commerce, with approximately 1.5 Million (15 Lakh) B2C orders

per month and $85M (~INR 600 Crore) annualized sales on the platform.

    "We are pleased to partner with FreshToHome and to support the vision of

management and the growth of the company. FreshToHome is a leader in leveraging

AI-based technology and business innovation to bring a superior value

proposition to customers and suppliers in a large and important market. At ICD,

we seek to partner with companies like FreshToHome that are able to break new

ground for the greater good while also enjoying a large shareholder value

creation opportunity. This successful fundraising is a strong recognition of

the company's achievements and significant potential," said Khalifa Al Daboos,

Deputy CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai.  

    Shan Kadavil and other co-founders of FreshToHome have a Silicon Valley

entrepreneurship background, having been part of leadership teams of companies

such as Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA).  Some of the early backers of FreshToHome include

Mark Pincus - Zynga founder, David Krane - CEO of Google Ventures, Pete Briger

- Chairman of Fortress, Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair - Chairman of Mashreq Bank, Rajan

Anandan of Sequoia and other renowned investors.

    "DFC's first equity deal with FreshToHome demonstrates the power of our new

equity tool to drive development and advance U.S. foreign policy," said  US

Government's DFC CEO Adam Boehler. "This project will support economic growth

and strengthen agricultural supply chains in a key U.S. partner."

    Support from its existing large Middle East-based investors such as

CE-Ventures - the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises

significantly helped in aiding its expansion in the UAE, where it is already

one of the top 5 e-grocers.

    Gaurav Sharma, Head of Private Equity at Investcorp India added, "At

Investcorp, we look at companies who redefine the category with proven top-line

and bottom-line impact. We believe that FreshToHome fits this bill perfectly

and is poised to achieve significant scale. We look forward to this partnership

and supporting the company in realising its full potential."

    "FreshToHome's unique collaborative approach with fishermen, farmers, and

use of tech-based solutions on procurement give them an edge in emerging as the

best reliable brand in the segment and a potential contender for the Unicorn

Club," said Raja Kumar, Founder & CEO, Ascent Capital.

For details, Contact: sonali.chakravorty@kaizzencomm.com 

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1320773/FreshToHome_Logo.jpg 

Caption: Freshtohome

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1320774/FreshToHome_Series_C_Funding.jpg 

Caption: FreshToHome raises $121M – the largest ever Series C funding in India Consumer Tech

Source: FreshToHome