Indian grocery delivery service Milkbasket has secured $3 million in funding, including a lead investment by Unilever Ventures.
Founded in 2015, Milkbasket delivers grocery items to consumers and currently operates in the city of Gurugram, where it handles 6,000 orders a day and has a customer base of around 10,000.
The start-up will use the funding and Unilever Ventures’ expertise to boost its technology, acquire new talent and increase its portfolio of products on sale.
Milkbasket said it now plans expand its operations to the Indian cities of Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida. It hopes to end the year with between 20,000 and 25,000 daily orders.
The delivery service started in order to cater for the popular Indian habit of getting milk delivered at home every morning. Through the site, consumers’ orders made before midnight are delivered to their doors before 7am the following day.
Milkbaset CEO Anant Goel said: “The endorsement from Unilever Ventures is an important mark of confidence in our potential. At present, Milkbasket is growing exponentially and has become a popular brand in the city of Gurugram. Our vision is to become a strong player in online top-up groceries platform in India within the next five years.”
Head of Unilever Ventures Olivier Garel added: “Unilever Ventures aims to support some of the most disruptive emerging commerce models and Milkbasket’s approach, leveraging Indian consumers habits and preferences, bringing convenience and attractive unit economics, is definitely one of them.”
Milkbasket is Unilever Ventures’ second investment in India after leading a round for grocery distribution company Peel-Works last year.
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