Bengaluru based Distribution and Logistics startup Ripplr raises $40 million in funding led by Fireside Ventures

Ripplr, a Bengaluru-based tech distribution and logistics startup, has raised $40 million in funding led by Fireside Ventures. The investment round also saw participation from new investors such as Bikaji, a snack maker, and Neo Foods, a sauce and dips maker.

Existing investors, including 3one4 Capital, Zephyr Peacock, and Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese conglomerate, also participated in the funding round.

Additionally, several debt investors, such as Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, Northern Arc Investments, and Trifecta Capital, invested in the company.

The fresh funding will be used to expand into more cities outside of southern India and hire more employees.

Ripplr, founded in 2019 by Abhishek Nehru and Santosh Dabke, offers a plug-and-play service for brands to distribute their products to Kirana stores.

Ripplr has been backed by multiple investors and has raised a total of $56 million so far. This includes a $12 million equity and debt raise from Japanese firm Sojitz Corporation and Stride Ventures in December 2021.

The company's distribution network comprises 24 warehouses across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, and tier-2 cities, servicing over 80,000 retailers.

It works with FMCG brands such as HUL, Britannia, ITC, Nestle, Mondelez, Colgate Reckitt Benckiser, Godrej, Dabur, and Nivea.

The startup faces competition from various players in the market,
including Lightspeed Venture Partners-backed Udaan, Reliance JioMart Partners, Shopkirana, SoftBank-backed Elastic Run, and Tiger Global-backed ApnaKlub.

The company has experienced tremendous growth over the last four years, expanding its operations to 12 cities and claiming to be operationally profitable.

While the company has not disclosed its profit figures, co-founder Santosh Dabke stated that Ripplr recorded revenue of about Rs 900 crore in FY23, with 90% of the revenue coming from its distribution business.

According to Entrackr, the company's operating revenue grew by 5.8 times to Rs 275 crore in FY22 from Rs 47.8 crore in FY21.

However, the company also experienced a surge in losses, which increased by 86.7% to Rs 9.09 crore in FY22 from Rs 4.87 crore in FY21.

Despite this, Ripplr's growth in revenue and expansion across cities indicates a promising future for the tech-enabled distributor of FMCG products.