Consumer foods brand “Yu” raises Rs 20 crore in follow-on Series A funding taking total funding to Rs 40 cr

Chef crafted instant food brand, Yu has raised INR 20 CR in a follow-on Series A round following its last fundraise in November 2022. The round was led by public market investor Ashish Kacholia and Asian Paints Promoter Group (Manish Choksi, Varun Vakil). With this round of capital, Yu will look to scale-up its manufacturing capacity while entering multiple product categories and segments.

Yu is among the few D2C brands that penetrated multiple distribution channels including offline (6,500+ stores), online (E-Com and Q-Com servicing pan India), institutional segments and exports. The brand will look to consolidate its presence and setup a nationwide distribution network within the next 12 months. Apart from ramping up its domestic distribution, Yu will solidify its presence in South Africa where it has built a nationwide presence (2000 stores) in a short span of time.

Founders Bharat Bhalla and Varun Kapur jointly expressed, “It is extremely motivating to see our existing, highly eminent investors double down on us. Since the last fund raise, Yu has grown exponentially having deepened its penetrated in the Indian market and opened up several export markets like South Africa where Yu now has a nation-wide presence. It is extremely heartening to see a young Make in India brand successfully selling its products in global markets like South Africa, Middle East and Australia. The funds raised will allow us to augment our manufacturing capacity and grow our distribution in India and globally.”

Apart from Ashish Kacholia and Asian Paints Promoter Group (Manisha Choksi, Varun Vakil), Yu counts Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya, Sameer Mehta (Founder of Boat), Srikrishna Dwaram (Partner, True North Private Equity), Nikhil Srivastava (PAG Private Equity) and DPIITs Start Up India Seed Fund among its investors.

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