Agri-commerce startup WayCool Foods raises $11.6 million

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Agri-commerce startup WayCool Foods has raised from Europe’s impact investing fund, Huruma, managed by GAWA Capital, as part of its Series D round. The company has so far raised $122.8 million from investors including Lightbox, Innoven Capital, among others.

The new investment will be used to accelerate and leverage deep tech and automation at WayCool to enhance its efficiency. WayCool focuses on food development and distribution and leverages innovative technology to scale and operate a complex supply chain from soil to sale.

The Chennai-based company said that advanced technology has allowed the business to grow 4X in revenue which is driven by a jump in the share of own brands from 2% to 15% of revenue, said the company.

WayCool has increased its overall customer base by 10X and recently entered the Middle East market. The business already has operations in six states with over 40 distribution centres and is all set to build a tech playbook to scale quickly.

WayCool operates a full-stack, broadline product range across multiple channels and categories such as fresh produce, staples, and dairy, serving over 1,00,000 clients in the HoReCa, general trade, modern trade, and food services space, said the company.

“We welcome Gawa Capital to WayCool foods. Gawa is a veteran European impact investor into India, and together, we will explore building viable commercial and financing models in the food supply chain," said Chinna Pardhasaradhi CFO, WayCool Foods.