Box8 raises fresh funds; revenue jumps over 63% in FY19

Box8 has been one of the full-stack foodtech platforms to thrive in India along with market incumbents — Rebel Foods and FreshMenu. While its core business has taken a hit due to the COVID-19 crisis, the company recently launched “InstaFresh” on its platform offering delivery of grocery essentials.

To beef up its new offering, Box8  has raised fresh funds to the tune of Rs 30 crore from IIFL Seed Ventures Fund and Menlo park based Mayfield Fund in a mixed round of equity and debt. The Mumbai-based venture has issued convertible debentures worth Rs 30 crore to IIFL while Mayfield Fund has picked up Series C3 CCPs for Rs 10 crore in what seems to be a bridge round.

The new round for Box8 has come a year after it raised $15 Mn in a Series C round led by Chinese fund eWTP Ecosystem and existing investors Mayfield and IIFL in March 2019.

Box8 is the second full-stack foodtech platform to raise capital in the recent time. Rebel Foods had scooped up $50 million from Coatue PE Asia. Entrackr had exclusively reported the round last week.

Earlier this month, Box8 had introduced a feature under its ‘Instafresh’ tab to order grocery, dairy and self-branded bakery products. It also introduced a new tab ‘Tenderly’ on its app to deliver chicken, eggs and varieties of meats within 30 minutes. 

Box8 is one of the three dozen companies that have entered the grocery and essentials delivery segment as essential services were the only ones allowed over the last 3-4 weeks due to the countrywide lockdown. Companies such as BharatPe, DealShare, JioMart, NoBroker, ShopClues and many others enabled grocery ordering on their platforms.

Zomato also launched Zomato Market to mark its entry in the grocery segment and compete holistically with its arch-rival Swiggy. Interestingly, Meesho also launched grocery offerings to support their reseller network during the time when their core business has come to a grinding halt.

On the business front, Box8 generated operating revenue of Rs 133.o2 crore during FY19, registering a healthy 63.2% jump from Rs 81.5 crore it earned in FY18. While total expenditure also rose by 69% to Rs 156.1 crore in FY19 from Rs 92.34 crore in FY18, financials reflect efficient utilisation of the Rs 60.7 it had raised during the last fiscal. 

The firm spent Rs 1.17  to earn each rupee of revenue, staying close to the break-even point. Even with a significant increase in cash burn to grow scale, Box8’s losses grew by only 25% to Rs 22.64 crore during FY19.