Fipola served legal notice on non-payment of dues

Vendors to Chennai-based meat retailer Fipola have filed legal notice against the startup for non-payment of dues in Bengaluru. The startup is said to be exploring liquidation of assets to pay off some of the dues, said media reports.

YourStory has accessed one such legal notice that names Fipola. When YourStory tried to reach Sushil Kanugolu, the Fipola founder said he was not willing to comment on it.

Employees of the company have not received salaries for nearly two months and alleged that Fipola had not deposited its contribution to the Employee Provident Fund, sources told YourStory. In an interview given in February 2022, Fipola claimed to have over 850 employees.

Fipola ,which operated close to 48 stores across Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Vellore, and Puducherry—apart from selling through its app and on grocery delivery platforms—shut down operations earlier this month.

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Its founder first confirmed the development to MediaNews4u.com. Kanugolu told the publication that Fipola was unable to raise funds due to undesirable market conditions and had begun to liquidate the assets of the company to channel partners, vendors and all parties would receive settlements by April. 

In August 2022, Fipola had onboarded actor Nayanthara as its brand ambassador.

Founded in 2016, Chennai-based Fipola retailed fresh and processed meat and meat products and seafood. It also operated Fipola Exclusive Cafe and Grill House by Fipola, both of which have stopped their services through food delivery apps Swiggy and Zomato.

Fipola competes with the likes of well-funded direct-to-consumer (D2C) meat and seafood brands like Kotak Private Equity backed Licious, Investcorp-backed FreshToHome, and Tendercuts.

According to Tracxn, Fipola had raised $3 million from CK Ranganatha, Founder of CavinKare, in March 2022, and total of $12.8 million in funding across rounds. According to media reports in March 2022, Kanugola said Fipola had touched Rs 200 crore for FY22 and aimed to achieve a growth rate of 4X for FY23.