Funding story
Increasing consumerism and diversifying tastes of the average Indian has spurred a huge growth in the food tech industry, particularly those that specialize in the ready-to-cook segment. Ready-to-cook packaged items are thus becoming hugely popular among Indians. Thus, the news that Chefs Basket, a ready-to-eat food startup garnered investment worth $6 million from SAIF Partners and Indian Fund Advisors partner Haresh Chawla in series A funding is certain to tickle the tastebuds of many.
About Chefs Basket
Chefs Basket was founded in 2012 by Varun Jhawar, who also co-founded Fizzy Foodlabs, Nipun Katyal and Manish Tirthani. The funding is expected to be used to expand the startup, bringing the brand’s products to as many as 15 Indian cities, diversify their range of products and advertise more aggressively. While ready-to-cook products aren’t hard to find on the market, finding exactly the right item to cater to the customer’s tastebuds used to be a daunting prospect. Not any more, if Mukul Singhal of SAIF Partners is to be believed. According to him, the ready-to-cook segment in India is expected to expand 10-20 times over the next few years, which justifies the excellent investments notched up by the likes of Chefs Basket.
Chefs Basket itself aims to provide an international culinary experience, offering Recipe and Explorer Kits containing fully natural products, which aren’t tainted by artificial colours or preservatives. Currently, Italian, Mexican, Oriental and Thai dishes are on offer in two ready to cook formats, priced between Rs. 75 and 300. Their pastas, in particular, have won them wide renown. Some of these include Cheesy Alfredo, Chunky Arrabbiata and Creamy Tomato. Their products are available all over India on Amazon, and in Mumbai through Bigbasket, LocalBanya and Ekstop, and Bigbasket and Zopnow in Bangalore.
Currently, they have a panel of 12 chefs of wide experience in famous restaurants who are responsible for designing their excellent products.
Looking ahead
With their wide acclaim spurring Chefs Basket to expand its range of products into South Africa, Canada and Australia(a programme which is expected to take off by Jan 2016), Chefs Basket is certain to revolutionise the ready-to-cook segment, creating an outstanding range of exciting products which allow users to discover diverse cuisines conveniently and relatively inexpensively.
