On-demand grocery delivery company PepperTap has raised $36 million in Series B led by Snapdeal with participation from existing investors Sequoia and SAIF Partners. New investors like Ru-net, JAFCO and Beenext also participated in this round.
PepperTap will use the fresh fund to expand its presence in 75 cities by the end of this fiscal. It also plans to invest in strengthening technology and supply chain capabilities.
“PepperTap has been on a hyper-growth track since its inception nine months ago. From less than $1million GMV run rate at the start of fiscal year 2015-16, we are solidly on track to end the year with a GMV run-rate of over $250million. Investment by an established player like Snapdeal is a stamp on our asset-light, low burn business model and our execution track record. We look forward to leveraging Snapdeal’s experience to help our partner stores develop their capabilities and multiply their sales,” said Navneet Singh, co-founder and CEO, PepperTap.
The company said it needs more than 5,000 staff by the end of the year to support its operations.
It raised $10 million earlier this year and is already in talks to raise another $20 million in a few weeks.
The company competes with the likes of Amazon’s Kirana Now, Grofers, Local Banya, ZopNow, and others.
“We are excited to be entering into a strategic partnership with PepperTap. Navneet and his team have done a phenomenal job in building PepperTap into India’s leading grocery ordering platform. We look forward to working closely with PepperTap to make them successful, leveraging the capabilities we have built in Snapdeal’s ecosystem,” said Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and chief executive officer, Snapdeal.
Started in 2014 by Navneet Singh and Milind Sharma, the app-only company delivers groceries and daily need provisions to users.
With no minimum order requirement, it promises to deliver goods within two hours in Delhi NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Jaipur.
However, it charges extra delivery cost of Rs 50 for orders below Rs 250.