Foodybuddy, a home-cooked food distribution network, raised Rs 6 crore from Prime Venture Partners in Pre-Series A funding round, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The company will use the funds to develop the product and expand the team.
Foodybuddy currently has around 20 full-time employees and the platform is operational in Bengaluru.
Incorporated in 2017, Foodybuddy is a home-cooked food distribution platform where people can buy food from their neighbours. “Buddies” or cooks can list their meals and portion sizes on the app and “foodies” or customers can pre-order meals. The food is either delivered or picked up by customers. Cooks on the platform include IT professionals, professors, doctors and homemakers.
Prime Venture Partners, a Bengaluru-based early stage investor, previously invested in Ezetap, a mobile payments company, Mygate, a gated community security app, HackerEarth, an innovation management company, and others. This is the VC firm’s first investment in a food tech start-up.
Foodybuddy was founded by Rachna Rao, a product manager at Zynga Inc, with Anup Gopinath, her colleague from Zynga, along with Akil Sethuraman, a B.Tech graduate from University of Madras.
“I was working at Zynga and would never have time to cook. But at the same time, I would smell the amazing food fragrance coming from my neighbour’s house. That is when I thought what if we could make a platform where home chefs can sell their food in their neighbourhood,” Rao told Mint in an interview.
There are about 1,000 home “chefs” selling 1,000 meals a day in 100 apartment communities in Bengaluru. The average meal costs Rs 150-200.
“Rachna and Anup have an incredibly strong social and product background and Akil has a deep connection with chefs and the community. We see a huge potential in serving a large base of customers who are looking for authentic, comforting, and a variety of home-cooked meals,” according to Amit Somani, managing partner, Prime Venture Partners.
After setting operations in Bengaluru, the company plans to expand in cities, including Hyderabad and Pune.
Source: Mint