1K Kirana, an Indian startup operating a hyperlocal shopping app and retail distribution network of the same name, has raised $25 million in a new round of funding to expand the reach of brands and convenience stores among consumers.
The three-year-old startup’s Series B funding was led by Alpha Wave Global, Info Edge Ventures and Kae Capital. A number of angel investors, including Amrit Acharya, founder and chief executive of Zetwerk, also participated in what the startup says is the first tranche of a larger funding round.
Convenience stores are spread across tens of thousands of cities and towns in India. They survived – and thrived, despite – the multi-billion dollar investment of retail giants in the country. But they are struggling to secure stocks in large volumes and at good prices.
1K Kirana tries to solve it with a multifaceted approach. The startup serves as a distribution network for these stores and also helps them with digital marketing to reach more consumers. 1K Kirana also has an app for consumers that allows them to discover, order and pay for their purchases.
“We control their entire supply chain. We deliver them the goods, we do the marketing and we make sure that the number of visitors in the store increases. These stores operate as a franchise partner and earn money through commission rather than playing through margin,” explains Kumar Sangeetesh, co-founder of 1K Kirana, in an interview with businesstraverse.com.
Consumers can have their order delivered to their home or collect them from a store nearby. If they have ordered an item that is not available in the store, 1K Kirana will deliver it to the store.
The vast majority of items that convenience stores sell come from the FMCG category. The challenge of operating in the universe of this category is that store owners make a one-digit profit by moving these items. The industry agrees it’s a problem worth solving because these stores move the vast majority of their inventory, so reaching them — and by proxy, their consumers — is critical to everyone’s success.
What 1K Kirana is trying to do on a fundamental level is to help these stores significantly increase the number of items they sell so that it is feasible for them to scale up. At the same time, 1K Kirana serves consumers, giving them access to a larger catalog of items, more selections in categories and discounts.
“In our case, I collect demand for supply from stores, go to manufacturers, cut costs and pass the cost advantage to consumers,” said Sangeetesh, adding that 1K Kirana is not a kirana tech startup, but a consumer. . play.
“The kind of impact that 1K has created in the lives of both consumers and franchisees in a very short time is extremely difficult to achieve. The 1K Mall app has already enabled thousands of non-urban Indians to shop online for the first time,” Kitty Agarwal, Partner at Info Edge Ventures, said in a statement.
“We believe the 1K team is building an iconic business that transforms the way non-urban India shops for their everyday needs by broadening their choices with higher quality, affordable options. The founding team is exceptional in their execution and we are very excited about strengthening our partnership with them.”
1K Kirana says it has served more than a million customers in more than 25 districts in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It plans to use the new funds to hire more tech talent to expand 1K Kirana’s reach to more than 100 districts, he said.
“Sangeetesh, Abhishek and Sachin have built a business that combines strong growth with attractive unit economy. We are excited to partner with them as they bring a modern shopping experience to underserved consumers in the Indian grocery market worth more than $600 billion,” said Navroz D. Udwadia, founder and partner of Alpha Wave Global, in a statement. .
This is a story in development. More to follow…
