ETtechBusiness-to-business FMCG wholesale startup ApnaKlub has raised an additional $6 million funding from TrueScale Capital and ICMG Partners, with participation from Flourish Ventures, Sequoia India’s Surge, Blume Ventures and Whiteboard Capital.
This is a follow-on to ApnaKlub’s $10 million round raised from Tiger Global in late 2022, bringing the total funding in the round to $16 million.
The company will use the money to improve its technology and sell its services to more kirana store owners in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
The development comes at a time when Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed Udaan, which is also the first mover, is struggling to raise funds and improve unit economics. Meanwhile newer players such as ElasticRun and ShopKirana are making inroads into the space along with Reliance’s Jiomart Partners.
ApnaKlub directly buys products from FMCG companies, takes ownership of these products, stores goods in its warehouses, and sells them to mom-and-pop kirana stores in tier-2 and tier-3 cities across India. The startup works with the Tata Group and Grand Chemicals, among others.
The company's cofounder and CEO Shruti told ET that the company has the best unit economics among players in the market, and its differentiation is in ensuring reliable delivery and a better assortment for customers.
“According to (regulatory filings) MCA data, our margins and the cost of transportation are better than a number of players in the sector,” she said. “What we can promise and what we do promise our retailers, is that we are here for the next 20-40 years, we are going to be servicing your market, we are going to be helping you improve incomes and we are going to be giving you reliable delivery,” she said.
Shruti said that her startup has a micro-level understanding of the market, which helps it build a better assortment compared to competitors.
“We have an unbeaten understanding of local market needs,” she claimed. “So, we know which 100 SKUs to start with. We know how to grow them, and how to deliver them reliably so that business is never stuck.”
ApnaKlub was founded by Shruti and Manish Kumar, the COO of the company, and is headquartered in Mumbai. Till date, ApnaKlub has onboarded about 33,000 kirana stores and about half of them are active users every month, Shruti said ApnaKlub has around 200 full-time employees.
The startup has a monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) of around Rs 35 crore, and an annualised GMV of Rs 420 crore, said Shruti. Gross Merchandise Value is the total value of goods sold over a period of time.
“We seek to partner with experienced founders who are demonstrating meaningful revenue and growth in large target markets in a capital-efficient manner,” said Sameer Nath, managing partner at TrueScale Capital.
This is a follow-on to ApnaKlub’s $10 million round raised from Tiger Global in late 2022, bringing the total funding in the round to $16 million.
The company will use the money to improve its technology and sell its services to more kirana store owners in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
The development comes at a time when Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed Udaan, which is also the first mover, is struggling to raise funds and improve unit economics. Meanwhile newer players such as ElasticRun and ShopKirana are making inroads into the space along with Reliance’s Jiomart Partners.
ApnaKlub directly buys products from FMCG companies, takes ownership of these products, stores goods in its warehouses, and sells them to mom-and-pop kirana stores in tier-2 and tier-3 cities across India. The startup works with the Tata Group and Grand Chemicals, among others.
The company's cofounder and CEO Shruti told ET that the company has the best unit economics among players in the market, and its differentiation is in ensuring reliable delivery and a better assortment for customers.
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“According to (regulatory filings) MCA data, our margins and the cost of transportation are better than a number of players in the sector,” she said. “What we can promise and what we do promise our retailers, is that we are here for the next 20-40 years, we are going to be servicing your market, we are going to be helping you improve incomes and we are going to be giving you reliable delivery,” she said.
Shruti said that her startup has a micro-level understanding of the market, which helps it build a better assortment compared to competitors.
“We have an unbeaten understanding of local market needs,” she claimed. “So, we know which 100 SKUs to start with. We know how to grow them, and how to deliver them reliably so that business is never stuck.”
ApnaKlub was founded by Shruti and Manish Kumar, the COO of the company, and is headquartered in Mumbai. Till date, ApnaKlub has onboarded about 33,000 kirana stores and about half of them are active users every month, Shruti said ApnaKlub has around 200 full-time employees.
The startup has a monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) of around Rs 35 crore, and an annualised GMV of Rs 420 crore, said Shruti. Gross Merchandise Value is the total value of goods sold over a period of time.
“We seek to partner with experienced founders who are demonstrating meaningful revenue and growth in large target markets in a capital-efficient manner,” said Sameer Nath, managing partner at TrueScale Capital.
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