Chennai-based agri-commerce firm WayCool lines up Rs 250 crore ESOP

Scheme to cover all 1,500 employees; firm plans to expand its presence to geographies like Middle East as part of its roadmap to become a unicorn by 2025

Chennai-based agriculture supply chain startup WayCool Foods and Products has announced its first employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) worth Rs 250 crore for all 1,500 employees. Waycool is planning to expand its presence to select geographies like the Middle East as part of its roadmap to become a unicorn by 2025.

The ESOP announcement is close to the heels of the company raising $117 million in their Series D round which saw participation from new and existing investors such as LightRock, LightBox, FMO, Lightsmith, World Bank Group’s- IFC, Redwood Equity Partners and Gawa Capital. Early this month, as part of its plan to expand presence in North India, Waycool had acquired a 70 per cent stake in SV Agri (SiddhiVinayak Agri Processing), an integrated player in the potato supply chain ecosystem, for $8 million.

"For a few quarters, we are seeing substantial growth in terms of revenue. We want our employees to own the growth. A Rs 250-crore pool is created for all 1,500 employees across all the grades," said Chinna Pardhasaradhi, chief financial officer of  WayCool, talking about the ESOP plan. The agri supply chain major had achieved a turnover of Rs 400 crore during the financial year 2020-21 and is on road to touch Rs 1,000 crore during the current financial year. It has also set a roadmap to become a $1 billion company by 2025.

"Through the money raised during the current round, we want to further expand in South and Western India. We may also look at The Middle East, as a large portion of the supply chain in that market is coming from the South and the West," said Karthik Jayaraman, Managing Director of the company. WayCool had reportedly announced $100 million investment in technology, product development, facility expansion, and new company acquisitions over the next four years.

Through the funds raised, WayColl is planning to introduce more technology, including robotics in its warehousing facilities. The company will increase its technology team in Bengaluru from 150 now to 350 by the end of the current financial year.

WayCool Foods, leverages innovative technology to scale and operate a complex supply chain from soil to sale. Implementing deep tech and automation has enabled WayCool to successfully create a World Class, Sustainable Supply Chain, the company said. WayCool has a wide product range across multiple channels and categories such as fresh produce, staples, and dairy, serving over 100000 clients in the general trade, modern trade,e-commerce, and food services space. With its network, it caters to over 500 locations in southern and western India.

WayCool's private label brands basket consists of Madhuram, Shuddha, Kitchenji, L'exotique and Freshey’s, the company is looking to add more brands into this.