 "How grocery marketplace Jumbotail is preparing kirana stores for the future")
Business-to-business marketplace Jumbotail, which supplies groceries to kirana stores, has raised Rs 151 crore ($18.2 million) in Series C3 equity funding round, an amount which the firm plans to use in scaling its suite of GTM (Go-To-Market) products and services for new and emerging brands.
Jumbotail aims to help more brands reach mass market consumers via its nationwide network.
The funding round was led by Artal Asia Pte. Ltd. Other investors were Heron Rock, Sabre Investment, Arkam Ventures, Jarvis Reserve Fund, Reaction Global, VII Ventures etc.
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The company said that it also wants to empower the kirana retailers to help meet the emerging needs of the next generation Indian consumer.
“Jumbotail is the fastest and capital-efficient way for brands to access over 100 million urban middle class consumers via the kirana stores. We will strengthen our leadership position by going deeper into our existing markets and by helping brands reach kiranas with the lowest total cost of activation and the fastest route to market in the sector,” said Ashish Jhina, Co-founder and COO Jumbotail.
He added, “We expect to be fully profitable on an operational basis across our entire network before the end of 2024. We are happy to see world class investors doubling down on our mission to transform India’s food and grocery retail ecosystem.”
Jumbotail is building AI-driven technologies to drive higher customer wallet share. The firm is leveraging its deep sourcing capabilities across FMCG and staples and its kirana supply chain.
“We are excited to see Jumbotail execute sustainable growth at scale, with a strong focus on profitability and capital efficiency,” said Benjamin Felt, Board Member of Jumbotail and Managing Director of Invus, the global advisor of Artal.
“Since Artal’s first investment in Jumbotail in 2021, Jumbotail has continued to demonstrate its differentiation and market leadership in the digital enablement of the kirana ecosystem,” he said.
An estimated 12 million kirana stores in India control more than 95 per cent of the country’s $600 billion food and grocery market.
Kiranas have proven to be a lifeline for Indian consumers, and the economic engine for the country. Technology, supply chain, and fintech solutions from startups like Jumbotail are trying to transform the kirana store ecosystem.
Jumbotail claimed that it can influence the entire demand funnel. This includes creating kirana awareness of their products to purchase and restocking to drive consumer awareness via kirana stores. With over 60 per cent of market penetration of kiranas in the cities it serves, Jumbotail has the highest wallet share and monthly purchase frequency of small and medium kirana stores in the industry.
100 per cent of Jumbotail’s sales are generated by unassisted digital orders placed organically by kirana stores across the country via Jumbotail B2B digital retailer app.
The firm said it is leveraging its economies of scale to accelerate its march towards profitability. The company said it plans to hire world-class teams in deep sourcing, category management, product management, AI and machine learning and marketing.
