Box8, one of the India’s fastest growing food delivery start ups has raised Rs 50 Cr in funding from IIFL Seed Ventures Fund & Mayfield. Box8 is a full stack online food delivery player that specializes in preparing and delivering delicious Indian food at an affordable price. Its diverse menu consists of over 100 dishes in All-in-1 Indian meals, biryanis, wraps, sandwiches and Salads.
Started by two IIT graduates Amit raj and Anshul Gupta, Box8 now serves 12000 meals every day to its large consumer base through a network of 60 stores across three cities Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore.
“We are glad that our investor partners share our vision of becoming India’s largest QSR chain for Indian food, catering to the taste buds of modern Indians. The funds help us strengthening the supply chain Eco system, building superior technology, enhancing product development and expanding into new geographies” said Amit Raj.
Talking further about expansion, Amit mentioned “Our focus has always been to go deep into each market, understand our consumer completely and deliver a superior customer experience. Our strategy of establishing ourselves in certain key markets, instead of spreading wide and thin has helped us scale fast and develop a loyal customer base in a capital efficient manner. With the growing working class and their changing lifestyle preferences, there is immense potential to be tapped. This new influx of capital will allow us to capitalize on the opportunity by expanding to three to four more cities using the same micro intensive approach.”
One of the leading investors in funding is IIFL Seed Ventures Fund, which is the venture capital & private equity arm of IIFL Wealth & Asset Management. The venture arm raised a sector agnostic fund last year to invest in both early and growth stage companies and Box8 becomes the first food business for them to invest in.
Prashasta Seth, CEO of IIFL AMC said “IIFL Seed Venture Fund has successfully invested in NBFC’s, consumer internet and technology companies. This is our first investment in food business and we are excited about it. Since inception, Box8 has taken a full stack approach, where they manage and control all aspects of the chain. From procurement, to preparation, till last mile delivery; this has helped them tremendously to offer a seamless experience and build brand loyalty. Their ability to control the entire food experience is a strong value proposition and when it is replicated by the passionate team across other major cities, Box8 will emerge as a major force to reckon with in the food industry”.
Box8 manages an operational team of 1200 plus to operate its full stack approach model whcih helps them bring efficiencies in each fraction of the process chain. All of this effort more than pays back for them as over 85% of their transactions come from repeat consumers making a strong case for long term sustainable model. And the positive word of mouth ensures that every day a good number of new customers try Box8.
“It is their focus on classical business fundamentals combined with a new-age technology driven approach which sets them apart. They are very focused on the product and are glued to the consumer need. At the same time they have been able to scale rapidly by using technology and data effectively. We are very happy to have partnered with them and are confident in their approach” said Nikhil khattau, Partner at Mayfield.
Box8 with their comprehensive business model has already made a dent in the estimated Rs 50,000 Cr food tech industry and are now positioned to make their hold even stronger. They maintain that Product development is the core competence of the organization and it is that which differentiates them from neighbourhood restaurants.
"Hence all our parathas and breads are made in whole wheat, we use little oil & butter, nothing on the menu is fried, food is loaded with proteins in the form of Paneer and Chicken and we use a lot of fresh salads in our meals; basically all the things that you don't see in a neighborhood restaurant" said Anshul.
There is a large population which frequently eats outside and Box8 intends to become a ‘go to’ brand for this set of customers. Hence, their focus lies in preparing food which is light, easy on the stomach and made from best quality ingredients, allowing the consumers to order food frequently.
While product innovation is in the centre of things, it is beautifully complemented with technology. It also plays a big role for Box8 in understanding & quickly reacting to consumer needs and maintaining quality consistency across all centers.
“Real time decision making is the key in any operationally intensive business. With an integrated platform that cuts across customers, delivery units, kitchen & vendors, we have a live single window that speeds up decision making not just for our ground crew but also for our central teams. Two key areas we are focusing on going forward are automation and prediction. While technology and data, has helped us identify challenges, automation will help address them and prediction will help us understand consumer preferences better" said Anshul.
Amit adds "We set out to be a food company and that still is the heart of the organization. In order to be more effective in doing so, technology plays a big role. It helps us to be efficient in running operation, which in turn helps us deliver the very best experience to our customer."
Box8 have their eyes set on becoming a leading brand in the domain of food delivery and given the journey so far and with all this support, it doesn’t seem so far.
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