Orios Venture Partners earns 45X return on partial exit from Country Delight
Orios Venture Partners still holds the majority of its investment stake in Country Delight, which it financed through Fund I.
Early-stage venture fund
has made a partial exit from , earning a 45X return on its initial investment.The venture fund still holds the majority of its investment stake in the company, which it financed through Fund I.
“We have always worked hard to identify the very best companies at early stages to invest in. We look at between 4,000 to 5,000 companies in a year to invest in 10. We have been doing this since 2008, first as private investors and then since 2014 as an AIF (alternative investment fund). The same process also led to the identification of Ola and Druva," said Rehan Yar Khan, Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners.
Before selecting Country Delight as an investment target in 2017, Orios conducted a sector study on subscription commerce and met with over 40 companies.
"We believe exceptional founders in large spaces can build special companies. With Country Delight, it has been an honour and great learning experience to watch Chakradhar and Nitin build the company, from a single product to over 140 products,” said Khan.
Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand which offers premium dairy products along with vegetables, fruits, and staples.
The brand aims to disrupt the decades-old food FMCG space in India, which is dominated by aggregators, over-processed products, and broken supply chains, according to Gade, Co-founder and CEO of Country Delight.
The company—which raised $108 million at a valuation of $615 million in May 2022—competes with Reliance-owned Milkbasket, A91 Partners-backed Akshayakalpa, Mother Dairy, Milky Mist, and traditional state-owned brands like Amul and Nandini.
"Orios has been the earliest believer in Country Delight. We are thrilled to have given a partial exit to Orios at a 45X return and continue to be excited about their support and belief in the business," said Gade.
Orios Venture Partners, founded in 2013, provides strategic support to its portfolio companies to achieve cost-effective growth and cultivate customer loyalty. , Country Delight, Battery Smart, Beato, Karbon, Unnati, , Mobikwik, , , and are some of the notable investments in its portfolio.
Edited by Kanishk Singh