Consumer Foods Brand Yu Raises INR 20 Crore In Series A Funding The company plans to utilize the fund to double its capacity in addition to ramping up its existing offline or online distribution in India, while continuing to expand its global footprint across markets like Africa, Middle East and the US
By Teena Jose
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Yu, an omnichannel consumer foods brand that provides instant meals, has raised INR 20 crore in Series A funding via a mix of equity and venture debt. The round was led by Ashish Kacholia, a public market investor and also saw participation from existing investors, Asian Paints Promoter Group (Manish Choksi and Varun Vakil). Yu plans to utilize the fund to double its capacity in addition to ramping up its existing offline or online distribution in India, while continuing to expand its global footprint across markets like Africa, Middle East and the US.
"It has been truly heartening and motivating to receive a tangible vote of confidence from a diverse and highly eminent set of investors within 1 year of the launch of our business. The funding provides us the capacity and resources to penetrate alternate channels like airlines, railways, hospitals, universities and defense services where our 100 per cent natural meal bowls are truly disrupting the segment," said Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, founders of Yu, in a joint statement.
The brand has expanded its team to over 100 employees across multiple functions like production, operations, sales, marketing and finance. The company recently ventured into non-veg category with its signature chilli chicken noodles and butter chicken pasta. The brand is looking to launch 10 more unique products over the next 12 months to complement its existing product portfolio, claimed by the company in the statement.
Founded by Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur, Yu has developed a wide range 15 unique instant food products that closely resemble freshly prepared foods. The brand is looking to launch 10 more unique products over the next 12 months to complement its existing product portfolio, as per the statement.