[Funding alert] Contactless retail tech startup Gobbly raises $500K from Sauce.vc

Gurugram-based retail technology startup Gobblyhas raised a seed funding of $500,000 from Sauce.vc, an early-stage consumer VC fund. The startup said it plans to utilise the funds towards development of its technology and marketing initiatives.

Manu Chandra, Managing Partner, Sauce.vc, said:

“Consumers want personalisation in selection and instantaneous consumption when it comes to fresh food retail. Classic ecommerce has limitations of delivery time and costs, and the inability to offer real look, touch, and feel, which the Indian consumer is very accustomed to while shopping for fresh produce. For her, Gobbly is an extension of her personal kitchen and fridge, being accessible a few steps away around the clock.”

In February this year, Sauce.vc also backed Mumbai-based Near.Store, a plug and play ecommerce platform for offline stores, with $300,000 seed funding.

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Gobbly provides contactless forms of automated retail for categories including farm produce, curated fresh F&B products including meals, snacks, salads, desserts, and select packaged third party brand packaged goods. According to the startup, its first product includes mobile-operated unmanned fridges that allow for hand selection of products with customers being charged electronically from a mobile wallet on closing the fridge door to complete a transaction. These fridges are in demand at residential apartment complexes, offices, educational institutions, etc., the startup said, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

Gobbly claims to have been currently present in office spaces, educational institutions, and residential apartments in Delhi NCR, including Gurugram and Noida.

Ankur Agrawal, Co-founder of Gobbly added that the company is developing a full stack automated retail technology platform with which it intends to improve the overall experience over offline shopping and traditional ecommerce.

“Gobbly is a digital store, which allows for instantaneous consumption right where consumers work or reside. The UX is friendly and allows for consumers to co-curate what their local Gobbly store should stock,” shared co-founder Amit Ahuja.

"The device is quick to deploy, space efficient, and has a very low capex outlay when compared to traditional forms of retail. It is easily transportable and does not carry traditional location risks of brick and mortar stores," Amit said.