Highlighting its commitment to driving start-up activities beyond the tier-1 and metropolitan regions in India, Indian Angel Network, the largest horizontal seed-stage platform in India, has recently invested in Sattuz. Under the aegis of Gorural Foods & Beverages, the Bihar-based brand is facilitating improved access to the goodness of foods and beverages of rural India for the global consumer base comprising new-age, health-conscious individuals. Prominent IAN investors Hari Balasubramanian and Vikas Kuthiala led the funding round and will join the company board at Sattuz post investment.
Incorporated on February 28, 2019, Gorural Foods & Beverages was founded by Sachin Kumar. Richa Kumari lends key support to the company in her role as its co-founder. The company was founded with the vision of providing a tasty and healthy alternative to carbonated and caffeinated beverages currently flooding the market. On account of the limited supply of such products and the growing health awareness, the demand for non-carbonated and non-caffeinated drinks has seen a great rise over the years the world over.
“People today – especially the younger generation – are very selective regarding what they eat and drink and how it will affect their health. Naturally, they realize the value of consuming non-carbonated and non-caffeinated beverages as part of a healthy diet,” Sachin Kumar, Founder, Sattuz commented. “But the problem is that such products have very limited availability, especially in India. And add to it the challenges faced by people with fast-paced or travel-centric lifestyles who seek healthy food on the fly. Through Sattuz, we aim to fill this void exactly. Not only do the drinks under this brand offer instant energy and nutritious boost to consumers but also give them a dollop of the natural goodness of rural food and beverages! The best part is, it comes in different flavors and requires no refrigeration.”
Non-alcoholic beverage industry currently stands at over INR 200,000 crore and Sattuz – on the back of its nutritional benefits and ease of transportation – is well-placed to disrupt this high-value market. The company is targeting to capture 1-2% of market share over the next 5 years.
Speaking on the investment, Hari Balasubramanian – Lead Investor, IAN said, “Sattu is amongst one of India’s ancient superfoods . We strongly endorse the vision of the founding team that a global FMCG brand can be created out of this ancient instant food if it is adapted for modern life styles. We are also pleased to see a decent number of innovative entrepreneurs from states like Bihar and appreciate the efforts of the Bihar Industries Association in incubating entrepreneurs from the state in partnership with Indian Angel Network . The Indian consumer is always looking for new and healthy non-alcoholic beverages with distinct taste and Sattuz comes as a unique option for beverage lovers not just domestically but also across the world. We hope state governments like Bihar where people consume Sattu also start recognising and supporting startups which are looking to build FMCG brands from traditional Indian food items. We have complete faith in the disruptive potential of this venture and are looking forward to an exciting journey ahead.
“We are thankful to IAN for recognizing the value of our venture. We will leverage the capital infusion to scale up our production, strengthen our team, and expand our commercial footprint,” Sachin added.
In addition to pioneering the burgeoning rural entrepreneurial landscape in the country, Gorural Foods & Beverages is also the first start-up from Bihar which has received investment from from IAN and some members of BIA (Bihar Industries Association). This investment furthers IAN’s commitment towards facilitating a commercial pathway to entrepreneurs from tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India which falls in line with its overarching goal of enabling the Indian start-up ecosystem.
Indian Angel Network, a pioneer in the seed and early-stage investing, has launched a ₹450 Crores VC fund making it now, the single largest platform for seed & early stage, where entrepreneurs can raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores (with co-investors), thus making IAN the platform of choice!
Incorporated on February 28, 2019, Gorural Foods & Beverages was founded by Sachin Kumar. Richa Kumari lends key support to the company in her role as its co-founder. The company was founded with the vision of providing a tasty and healthy alternative to carbonated and caffeinated beverages currently flooding the market. On account of the limited supply of such products and the growing health awareness, the demand for non-carbonated and non-caffeinated drinks has seen a great rise over the years the world over.“People today – especially the younger generation – are very selective regarding what they eat and drink and how it will affect their health. Naturally, they realize the value of consuming non-carbonated and non-caffeinated beverages as part of a healthy diet,” Sachin Kumar, Founder, Sattuz commented. “But the problem is that such products have very limited availability, especially in India. And add to it the challenges faced by people with fast-paced or travel-centric lifestyles who seek healthy food on the fly. Through Sattuz, we aim to fill this void exactly. Not only do the drinks under this brand offer instant energy and nutritious boost to consumers but also give them a dollop of the natural goodness of rural food and beverages! The best part is, it comes in different flavors and requires no refrigeration.”
Non-alcoholic beverage industry currently stands at over INR 200,000 crore and Sattuz – on the back of its nutritional benefits and ease of transportation – is well-placed to disrupt this high-value market. The company is targeting to capture 1-2% of market share over the next 5 years.
Speaking on the investment, Hari Balasubramanian – Lead Investor, IAN said, “Sattu is amongst one of India’s ancient superfoods . We strongly endorse the vision of the founding team that a global FMCG brand can be created out of this ancient instant food if it is adapted for modern life styles. We are also pleased to see a decent number of innovative entrepreneurs from states like Bihar and appreciate the efforts of the Bihar Industries Association in incubating entrepreneurs from the state in partnership with Indian Angel Network . The Indian consumer is always looking for new and healthy non-alcoholic beverages with distinct taste and Sattuz comes as a unique option for beverage lovers not just domestically but also across the world. We hope state governments like Bihar where people consume Sattu also start recognising and supporting startups which are looking to build FMCG brands from traditional Indian food items. We have complete faith in the disruptive potential of this venture and are looking forward to an exciting journey ahead.
“We are thankful to IAN for recognizing the value of our venture. We will leverage the capital infusion to scale up our production, strengthen our team, and expand our commercial footprint,” Sachin added.
In addition to pioneering the burgeoning rural entrepreneurial landscape in the country, Gorural Foods & Beverages is also the first start-up from Bihar which has received investment from from IAN and some members of BIA (Bihar Industries Association). This investment furthers IAN’s commitment towards facilitating a commercial pathway to entrepreneurs from tier-2 and tier-3 cities in India which falls in line with its overarching goal of enabling the Indian start-up ecosystem.
Indian Angel Network, a pioneer in the seed and early-stage investing, has launched a ₹450 Crores VC fund making it now, the single largest platform for seed & early stage, where entrepreneurs can raise from Rs. 25 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores (with co-investors), thus making IAN the platform of choice!
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