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Grofers Raises $200mn+ in Funding Round Led by SoftBank Vision Fund Investment positions online grocery leader to accelerate rapid growth across India
Bengaluru, India, [MAY 15, 2019] — Grofers, India’s leading online grocery retailer, is raising $200mn+ in Series F funding. The SoftBank Vision Fund led the round with participation from a new investor, KTB, and existing investors, Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital. This represents the largest primary financing round in the online grocery sector in India.
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, projected to become the third largest by 2025.
1 The food and grocery market is one of the largest commerce categories in India and is estimated to reach $869bn in sales in 2023, a 70 percent increase from its 2018 forecast.
2 Grofers is growing rapidly in a fertile market, where increased smartphone penetration, the launch of 4G networks, and increasing consumer wealth are combining to accelerate e-commerce adoption.
3 Over the last two years, Grofers’ technology platform and focus on core markets has helped it grow a staggering 800% to achieve annual revenue of $400mn.
These growth, revenue, and funding milestones are evidence of an unprecedented turnaround. The company’s innovative and focused business model has enabled it to tap fast-growing urban communities in middle India that represent a massive market opportunity; India is projected to add 416mn urban city dwellers by 2050.
4 Today, Grofers is the market leader in India’s three largest cities: Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Kolkata. “We are building Grofers for the millions of Indians who cannot buy groceries at low prices due to multiple middlemen and the absence of large aggregators,” said Albinder Dhindsa, Co-Founder and CEO of Grofers. “This latest investment will help scale the company to ensure many more customers can access the best quality products at the best prices.” “Grofers is the leader in making India’s grocery industry more efficient, affordable and accessible to the mass market urban customer,” said Vikas J. Parekh, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “The company has iterated its way to great success with regards to its technology platform, extensive partner network and efficient supply chain. We are thrilled to partner with them to drive further innovation in the online grocery category for the mass market.”
Scott Shleifer, Partner at Tiger Global Management said, “We are pleased to continue supporting Grofers, which is helping transform the retail grocery market in India. The company’s strong team and innovative approach have put Grofers on a solid path to gain share in this large, growing market.” With the additional funding, Grofers will seek to expand into new markets, bringing its services closer to hundreds of millions of Indian consumers. Grofers will also continue to build out its supply chain, warehousing infrastructure, and private label product offerings, ensuring a steadily increasing range of products for customers.
