The idea behind Zappfresh did not emerge from a strategy offsite or a market report. It took shape in the aisles of India’s early online grocery platforms, where Deepanshu Manchanda noticed a stark imbalance: fruits and vegetables were steadily getting organised, but fresh meat remained fragmented, opaque and inconsistent.
Quality varied wildly. Hygiene standards were uncertain. Pricing lacked transparency. Most importantly, consumer trust was thin. For Manchanda, that gap was not marginal — it was structural. Meat was a high-frequency, essential protein category, yet it was being treated as peripheral in the organised food ecosystem.
Fixing it, he realised, would require more than a marketplace model stitching together local vendors. It would demand control over sourcing, processing and last-mile delivery.
Looking at the beginnings of Zappfresh
Zappfresh was founded in 2015 on that premise: build an integrated, farm-to-fork meat supply chain capable of delivering consistency at scale. Entrepreneurship itself was not new territory for Manchanda. He had worked across consumer Internet, payments, and wellness, and had grown up around business. The instinct to build was long-standing.
Over time, however, his focus shifted away from fast, surface-level opportunities towards problems rooted in physical infrastructure and on-ground execution. Fresh food and protein stood out because of its scale, fragmentation, and long-term relevance. Zappfresh became the vehicle through which that inclination took concrete form.
The idea sharpened during discussions with Albinder Dhindsa of what was then, Grofers, on standardising customer experience in food delivery. Those conversations pushed Manchanda to look more closely at the meat category.
He followed that up with extensive field research, spending time in local meat shops, wholesale mandis, and supply hubs, and speaking directly to consumers, retailers, and suppliers. The conclusion was consistent, that the end consumer was the most disadvantaged stakeholder in the system.
Unlike many startups, the core idea did not go through repeated pivots. The research convinced Manchanda early that the problem was structural. Inconsistent quality, weak hygiene practices, lack of traceability, and opaque sourcing were systemic, not isolated issues.
Addressing them required re-architecting the supply chain from the consumer backwards, with end-to-end control rather than incremental fixes. Execution would evolve, but the underlying model would remain intact.
That thinking led to the decision to build a full-stack operation from day one. Manchanda observed that consumers were willing to pay a modest premium for reliability and hygiene, but the existing supply chain was not designed to deliver either consistently. Controlling sourcing and processing, he believed, mattered more than merely building a delivery interface.
Zappfresh began operations out of a small residential apartment on Sohna Road in Gurugram. The flat doubled as office and living space. In the early months, Manchanda was directly involved in sourcing, processing, and collecting customer feedback.
There was no reference playbook for building an organised fresh meat brand in India, and most learning came through trial and iteration. The team was lean, supported by a handful of interns and early hires, with the focus firmly on understanding operations and building a stable foundation rather than chasing scale.
Capital came early, but cautiously. The first funds were raised through a small friends-and-family round within months of starting operations.
Investor conversations also began early, even before a formal launch, but were centred on stress-testing the model and assessing long-term scalability rather than immediate fundraising. The emphasis was on aligning with long-term partners who could offer strategic input alongside capital.
Over time, that approach translated into steady financial traction. Zappfresh has raised around $15 million in funding and counts investors such as Amit Burman of the Dabur family, Unity Bank, Ashvin Chadha Family Office, Resonance Fund, J4S Capital, and Narnolia Financial Capital among its backers.
In the first half of FY26, operating revenue stood at 97 crore, with profit after tax at7 crore. For FY25, the company reported operating revenue of 130 crore and net profit of9 crore.
Recent milestones and what’s ahead?
A key milestone was reached last year in October when DSM Fresh Foods, Zappfresh’s parent company, listed on the BSE SME platform. The stock debuted at a 20% premium to its issue price of `100. For the company, the listing marked a shift towards greater transparency and governance, while also creating headroom for expansion.
The next phase includes deeper play in frozen foods and selective international forays, with growth expected to come through a mix of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.
A decade on, the founding idea remains intact: fix the supply chain, and the brand will follow. What has changed is the sophistication of execution — and the scale at which it now operates.