Ripplr Secures $3 Mn Funding From Zephyr Peacock The platform has rapidly scaled to reach an ARR of INR 850 million and expects to reach an ARR of INR 8.5 billion in the next two years

Bengaluru-based tech-enabled distribution and logistics ecosystem platform Ripplr announced to have raised $3 million in a Series A funding round led by private equity fund Zephyr Peacock Growth Fund that supports small and medium enterprises in India. Chand Family Office, Yukti which has invested in over thirty consumer-facing businesses, and existing investor early-stage venture capital fund 3one4 Capital with a strong portfolio of investments in direct to consumer brands and enterprise technology, also participated in the round.

This Series A funding comes on the heels of strong growth and execution by the company in the last few quarters amidst the pandemic. With the onset of COVID-19 in India, the market experienced significant disruptions in supply chains, and re-establishing them to provide a higher degree of reliability became a significant challenge.

"The distribution network is mostly regional in nature and the strength and consistency of operations are heavily dependent on each individual distributor. Consistency, penetration depth, and reliability became top priorities for brands in re-establishing their supply chain networks. At Ripplr, we plan to build a first of its kind tech platform which will enable authorized distributors with business, finance, analytics, and operation support and become India's first asset lite and tech-led distribution company in next three years," shared Abhishek Nehru, co-founder, Ripplr.

The platform provides tech-enabled logistics and distribution services for consumer brands. While the entire value chain consists of multiple stakeholders starting from the manufacturer and ending at the retailer, and there is no consistent piece of tech between all of them.

"Retail distribution in India is on the cusp of a technology-led transformation. The distribution network continues to be broken and unorganized. The need for speed, technology, and reach will become critical for the success of brands. FMCG companies and emerging consumer brands will increasingly partner with tech-driven distribution businesses and use their internal resources for branding, marketing, and advertising. Ripplr, which is integrating technology and distribution, is well-positioned to offer distribution as a service and solve for complexities. As a company, Ripplr has already proven its ability to convert revenue potential into actual revenue for brands. It is already working with several marquee players. We are excited to partner with the founders and the management to bring about a distribution revolution," explained Pankaj Raina, managing director, Zephyr Peacock.

The company deploys predictive analytics to manage demand and inventory for brands and retailers, providing real-time information on sales orders, inventory, and delivery status through customized dashboards. At scale, the brands can use the analytics with suggestive planning algorithms to reduce wastage and loss of sale at retail endpoints. This platform-based approach helps optimize operations across the value chain.

"In the last year, we have observed the consumer purchase patterns change significantly and unified data is not available to brands easier to understand what the consumers want. We have set in place the fundamentals of our tech-enabled business that will emerge as the next generation data-led distribution network. This will also be great leverage for emerging brands that want to identify and reach their customer cohorts without spending large marketing budgets. Our mission is to create a first of its kind omnichannel platform connecting brands with distributors/retailers, building strong predictive analysis boosting sales and collections, optimizing inventory and out of stock situations," remarked Santosh Dabke, co-founder, Ripplr.

The AI/ML-based distribution platform bridges the gap between brands and unorganized retail, solving for both distribution and information asymmetry. The company currently operates in more than six cities and works with over 6,000 retailers across the country. The company has some of the biggest consumer brands as its clientele including Dabur, Reckitt & Benckiser, Britannia, McDonald's, Tata consumer Brands, Patanjali, Too yum and Godrej Consumer.

"We have been working with Ripplr since day one on their vision to transform the Indian distribution ecosystem and bring state of the art technology into this space. Santosh and Abhishek have flawlessly executed in the two years that we have known them, and we are incredibly excited to continue supporting them as they scale further and lay foundations of a technology-driven, new age distribution infrastructure for India," added Anurag Ramdasan, principal, 3one4 Capital.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Ripplr is currently serving customers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi NCR. The company plans to expand to 300 cities and towns in the next three years by adding distribution partners to its platform.

The platform has rapidly scaled to reach an annualized run rate (ARR) of INR 850 million and expects to reach an ARR of INR 8.5 billion in the next two years.