Lo! Foods nears Rs 100 Cr ARR, fuels next phase with $3.5M funding to drive Protein Chef

Less sugar, more protein—that’s what Bengaluru-based Lo! Foods is betting on as it nears Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR), driven by strong traction for its protein-focused brand Protein Chef through quick commerce platforms.

The company has raised $3.5 million in a Series A round led by Rainmatter Health, an initiative by Zerodha, and Singapore-based Capital Code. The round also saw participation from Mount Judy Ventures, Ice.VC, KPB Ventures, and existing family offices.

“Protein Chef is our fastest-growing brand, and we believe we have only scratched the surface here. We think that this alone can be very large. In the next 6 months, it can be a 100 crore plus brand, and so right now the funding is to build out overall our infrastructure, our tech and our marketing to build out Protein Chef as a brand,” said Sudarshan Gangrade, Founder and CEO of Lo! Foods, in a conversation with YourStory.

Lo! Foods operates as a functional food company across four verticals tackling different health concerns—Protein Chef (protein deficiency), Keto Smart (obesity), DiabeSmart (diabetes), and GlutenSmart (gluten intolerance). While Keto Smart was its first offering, starting over five years ago, the company is now prioritising Protein Chef as its primary growth engine.

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Launched in 2023, Protein Chef has grown 4 times in the last year. It primarily sells through quick commerce platforms and its own D2C website, offering protein-enriched products such as atta, snacks, bread, and savoury items.

The brand gained traction after launching on quick commerce platforms last year. It went live on Blinkit in June, followed by Zepto and Swiggy Instamart.

“Quick commerce enabled D2C brands to reach consumers in 10 minutes. Sometimes you think about buying something, go on Amazon, place an order, and it comes after two days. A lot of people lose momentum. But when you open your order and you see our product right next to Britannia, you say, ‘Come on, I’ll try it once.’ That instant gratification pushes trials up—and once trials go up, the ability to take [market] share from the main players increases significantly. That’s exactly what we’ve seen,” says Gangrade. 

It currently clocks about 65% of its total business from quick commerce, vastly overshadowing its ecommerce sales. A part of the proceeds is also expected to go towards strengthening its tech stack and supply chain. 

“We have our own manufacturing setup, which will continue, but with quick commerce being so dynamic, we now need to build local supply chain infrastructure, especially more warehousing, and that’s where a part of the investment is going,” Gangrade adds.

Lo! Foods is also planning to begin offline retail pilots in Bengaluru, with plans to scale in the next financial year. It intends to launch new protein-based product lines, including a broader assortment of high-protein snacks, cookies, and functional foods.

Additionally, the company is expected to invest in brand-building efforts, including a rebrand of its diabetic-focused offering DiabeSmart to “Sugar Smart”, to improve consumer recall.

“What Lo Foods has achieved in the last 15 months is remarkable. tripling revenues, building strong brand love and proving that functionality can be scaled. Their ability to marry science with format familiarity like protein breads, diabetic-friendly attas, or high-protein rotis is exactly what makes them the next big story in food and health,” shared Harsh Rajpal, Managing Partner, Capital Code.

Founded in 2019, it last raised $1 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Chona Family Office and around $550,000 in its seed round from a host of angel investors. 

(The story was updated to reflect the funding stage.)