Fingerlix raises $7M in Series B funding from Accel Partners and Zephyr Peacock

Ready-to-cook fresh food solutions brand Fingerlix has raised $7 million in a Series B funding led by Accel Partners and Zephyr Peacock. Fingerlix will utilise the fresh capital to accelerate its growth strategy and expand into newer geographies of Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai in addition to expanding its footprint within the NCR. It also plans to launch recipe-based offerings in several centre-of-plate categories.

As the Series A round of $3 million funding was raised earlier this year by Zephyr Peacock, talking about the latest round within a year, Shripad Nadkarni, Founder Director, Fingerlix, said, “ We got Accel Partners interested and we wanted them as a partner along with strengthening our relations with Zephyr Peacock. With this partnership, and the technical expertise, we want to work in the areas of analytics, widening of our distribution channels and expanding our presence across high-demand geographies.”

Launched in 2016, Fingerlix is the brainchild of Shripad Nadkarni, Shrikrishna Bharambe, Varun Khanna, and Abhijit Berde. The startup claims to serve freshly cooked and chilled food prepared in a state-of-the-art hygienic kitchen. Fingerlix allows customers to customise the dish as per their tastes. It serves a wide range of products that includes batters, mixes, parathas, snacks and ready-to-eat accompaniments. It plans to expand to the top 10 cities in India as well as select international markets. The company also expanded its product offerings by introducing Upma Mix, Biryani Mix, and Puran Poli.

An alumnus of IIM Bangalore, Shrikrishna has earlier been associated with Johnson & Johnson and MarketGate Consulting. Chef Abhijit has been in the food and beverage industry for the past 16 years and has diverse experience in deluxe hotels, restaurants, and airlines. Also an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, Shripad has been associated with companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola India & South-West Asia in key leadership positions.

Prayank Swaroop, Principal, Accel Partners, said, “Consumers are juggling today with less time available for cooking, lack of healthy options, tasteless frozen foods — the joy of cooking is dying! Fingerlix is trying to solve this big growing need for healthy and tasty cooking at home with ease, a vision we believe in and with a team that we think can solve it better than anyone else."

Pankaj Raina, Vice President, Zephyr Peacock, added, “The past few years have witnessed a rise in demand for convenience foods led by rapid changes in consumers’ lifestyle and food preferences. However, the market for ready-to-cook fresh food remains largely untapped. Given the exciting response that Fingerlix has received in Mumbai and Pune, we believe it is well-positioned to become the market leader in this emerging segment across the country.”

Along the lines of Fingerlix, ready-to-cook fresh packaged food company iD Fresh Food had raised $25 million of funding from Premji Invest, Azim Premji’s investment arm, earlier this year.