WayCool secures $2.7 million from VC firm Aspada Investments
BENGALURU: WayCool, a fresh-produce distribution startup, has secured $2.7 million from venture capital firm Aspada Investments.
The funds raised will be deployed for building technological upgradations to reduce inefficiencies in the supply chain and augment the Chennai-based company's existing infrastructure, besides expanding to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“We are basically a supply-chain company that connects fresh produce from the farm to the consumers, who are primarily (business-to-business) clients, such as hotels, restaurants, caterers and so on,“ said Karthik Jaya raman, cofounder of Wa ycool.
WayCool sources fruits and vegetables from far mers and aggregators. It focuses on optimising so urcing and transporta tion of fresh produce across distribution channels. The startup, which has a team of 100 employees, said it processed 350 tonnes of produce in March. The average order size they receive from restaurants, hotels and other clients could range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 20,000.
“In terms of technology, we will build multiple la yers of analytics that will help improve our respon se rates and real-time mae stock. For instance, if a nagement for the stock. For instance, if a truck gets held up for some reason, we will need technology to automate the process, besides using GPS technology to track the vehicle,“ said Jayaraman.
The company views logistics as a challenge, since the value reduction of the produce from the farm to the consumer could be pegged at 40-45%. Since the produce is rehandled at least three times, 10% of the produce is lost in the process, often resulting in the logistics cost being as high as the produce cost.
According to Kushal Agrawal, partner at Aspada Investments, structural challenges in India's fresh produce supply chain comprises multiple intermediaries, leading to significant wastage of food, lower prices for farmers, and poor quality produce being sold at a relatively high prices.
The funds raised will be deployed for building technological upgradations to reduce inefficiencies in the supply chain and augment the Chennai-based company's existing infrastructure, besides expanding to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“We are basically a supply-chain company that connects fresh produce from the farm to the consumers, who are primarily (business-to-business) clients, such as hotels, restaurants, caterers and so on,“ said Karthik Jaya raman, cofounder of Wa ycool.
WayCool sources fruits and vegetables from far mers and aggregators. It focuses on optimising so urcing and transporta tion of fresh produce across distribution channels. The startup, which has a team of 100 employees, said it processed 350 tonnes of produce in March. The average order size they receive from restaurants, hotels and other clients could range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 20,000.
“In terms of technology, we will build multiple la yers of analytics that will help improve our respon se rates and real-time mae stock. For instance, if a nagement for the stock. For instance, if a truck gets held up for some reason, we will need technology to automate the process, besides using GPS technology to track the vehicle,“ said Jayaraman.
The company views logistics as a challenge, since the value reduction of the produce from the farm to the consumer could be pegged at 40-45%. Since the produce is rehandled at least three times, 10% of the produce is lost in the process, often resulting in the logistics cost being as high as the produce cost.
According to Kushal Agrawal, partner at Aspada Investments, structural challenges in India's fresh produce supply chain comprises multiple intermediaries, leading to significant wastage of food, lower prices for farmers, and poor quality produce being sold at a relatively high prices.
