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Hindustan Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Comfort, convenience drive ready-to-cook food market
In his consumer research in the past two years, Akash Agrawalla, co-founder of spices company ZOFF Foods, discovered that people are keen to compress their cooking time. Working women rushing to their jobs, homemakers keen to savour experiences other than gastronomy and men who turned home chefs during covid lockdowns – all want home-cooked meals but seek convenience in food preparation. Comfort, convenience drive ready-to-cook food market This prodded Agrawalla to join the growing number of big and small companies making ready-to-cook (RTC) food products. Last month, he launched gravies and marinades in partnership with Reliance Retail. 'Convenience is addictive. Look at the success of quick-commerce services. Likewise, RTC foods, which simplify cooking, will grow sharply over the next 5-10 years,' Agrawalla said. A proprietary survey by Fireside Ventures shows RTC product volumes have doubled in the last two years, driven by batters and semi-prepared meals. A June FMCG Pulse study by Kantar reflects similar data. The ready-to-cook (RTC) mixes doubled in volume in the last two years, adding 18 million new households in the period, it said. Category growth was led by batters and mixes. RTC curries added six lakh households in the same period. Batters are fastest growing 'as they give you a dish on the table which is closest to what you would make fresh. It has the taste of home-made food and offers convenience,' observed food scientist Rinka Banerjee, founder of Thinking Forks. She expects expansion of the batter category with the likes of 'chilla' batter (made of gram flour or split green gram) entering the fray. Kantar study said that while RTC grew, the Ready-to-Eat segment – served directly after heating -- lost volume. Ready-to-Eat is losing out to fresh food delivery from restaurants and cloud kitchens, Banerjee said. 'Why would I buy packaged palak paneer or dal makhani when I can get it fresh on the delivery platform in 30 minutes,' she said. Adarsh Menon, partner at Fireside Ventures agreed that consumers like to be involved in the cooking process building a case for RTC. 'Traditional home-cooking is still big but the affluent urban consumers are becoming time poor, hence, seeking ease of cooking. We are very bullish on the entire RTC category,' Menon said. To be sure, RTC products are not new to India with several brands selling ginger pastes and idli-dosa mixes for close to 20 years. Yet the category lacked sizzle. That is beginning to change. 'RTC is poised to take off pushed by more women joining the workforce and our large millennial and GenZ population looking to cook smarter,' said Banerjee. With Indians experimenting with food, they're lapping up RTC aids for dishes from, say, Chettinad to Kolhapur, Banerjee said. 'Besides, there's growing demand for preservative-free, cleaner labels which has been a deterrent for the category in the past,' Banerjee said. Emergence of quick-commerce as a distribution channel has also become an enabler for category growth. 'For RTC, the stars are aligned. The consumer is ready, the channel is established and food companies are giving what people want, that is, healthy and clean RTC products,' Menon said. People want millet batters, high protein breakfasts and low oil curries and are willing to pay a premium for it, he added. Banerjee spots a bigger opportunity for RTC in frozen foods which have ventured beyond the routine snacks like fries to gourmet foods. Meat and seafood brand TenderCuts agreed that the RTC meals market is going through a transformation with customers seeking restaurant-like starters and gravies at home, without compromising on quality, hygiene or freshness of meats. It offers premium, preservative-free, all-natural marinated meats and plans to introduce fusion recipes designed for kids, and high-protein combos for fitness enthusiasts, the company said. Among emerging subcategories in RTC, Fireside Ventures expects proliferation of pre-cut ingredients, marinated proteins, global and regional meal kits, and frozen semi-cooked bundles—all designed to shave off preparation time while preserving the home-cooking experience. In the next three years, Fireside Ventures expects the RTC market to double and RTC products to become a mainstream pantry staple in urban kitchens. It is banking on urban consumers to start using RTC daily rather than weekly, with an increase in rural penetration as cold chains and price points improve. Agrawalla said he expects his pocket-friendly gravies to become a regular habit with Indian consumers as they speed up their homestyle cooking.
The Hindu
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Lab-grown diamond jewellery start-up Aukera raises $15 million, to expand network
Lab-grown diamond jewellery company Aukera on Monday said it has raised $15 million in growth capital led by Peak XV Partners with follow-on participation from existing investors, including Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures and Alteria Capital. The investment will accelerate its retail expansion plans and contribute to enhancing product offerings, Aukera said in a release. It has stores in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Hyderabad and expanding into new cities. The brand will scale into a Rs.1,000 crore brand in next 5-7 years', founder and CEO Lisa Mukhedkar said.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Lab-grown diamond jewellery company Aukera raises $15 million in round led by Peak XV Partners
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Lab-grown diamond jewellery company Aukera has raised $15 million in its latest funding round led by Peak XV Partners Existing investors Fireside Ventures , Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures, and Alteria Capital also participated in the will use the funds to double down on its retail footprint and enhance its product offerings by investing in hiring design, merchandising, and marketing talent. Currently, the company has 13 offline stores across Bangalore, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad. It will be adding two more in the next 10 in 2023 by Lisa Mukhedkar and Kumar Saurabh, Aukera is a Bengaluru-based lab-grown diamond jewellery brand. The latest funding brings the total funds raised by the firm to almost $20 million.'The demand for lab-grown diamonds in India is growing phenomenally,' Mukhedkar told ET. 'Our customers, who started buying from us out of vague curiosity, are now engaging with the brand with an intent to buy backed by trust. We are seeing very high repeat and referral rates. It is between 25 and 30% within a period of six to eight months.'According to Mukhedkar, Aukera is expected to be at a Rs 200 crore annual run rate by the end of this financial year. 'We see ourselves scaling to a Rs 1,000 crore brand in the next five to seven years.'Kanwaljit Singh, founder and managing partner at Fireside Ventures, who is an existing investor in the firm, said, 'With this investment, Aukera is now poised to scale rapidly and set the benchmark for the category.''We are excited to partner with them as they scale Aukera's footprint and deepen the brand's leadership in this emerging category,' Abhishek Mohan, principal, Peak XV Partners, said in a prepared expanding lab-grown diamond industry is emerging as a promising opportunity for both brands and investors. The market, which stood at $299.9 million in 2023, is estimated to reach $1,192.3 million by 2033 at a 14.8% CAGR, according to the Industrial Extension Bureau, which is an investment promotion agency of Gujarat.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fireside Ventures bets on tier-II, III locations after funding city firm
Jaipur: Venture Capital firm Fireside Ventures has reinforced its belief in the entrepreneurial depth and consumption potential of markets beyond the metros following its investment in Jaipur-based dairy brand Frubon last year. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Adarsh Menon, Partner, Fireside Ventures, said, "The successful partnership has highlighted the kind of scale, category innovation, and consumer resonance emerging from Tier II and III regions like Rajasthan – across not just dairy, but also high-growth sectors such as beauty, wellness, functional foods, and snacks." Frubon, which raised a Series A round from Fireside Ventures, Pi Ventures LLP (Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office) and other angel investors, has since scaled up rapidly. "With a CAGR of over 65% since inception and projected revenues in the range of Rs 250 crore in FY2026, it has emerged as one of north India's strongest dairy players," said Rahul Verma, director, Dev Milk Foods. tnn
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
India's probiotics market doubles in 5 years, hits Rs 2,070 cr in 2025
ET Bureau Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel As Indians seek ways to improve gut health, boost immunity, and enhance digestive function, probiotics are becoming a significant ingredient in their diet. Data suggest that probiotics market clocked strong double-digit growth of 22% on a Moving Annual Total (MAT) for May, as per market research firm PharmaTrac."The probiotics market has almost doubled in the last five years," said Sheetal Sapale, vice president, commercial, PharmaTrac. The probiotics market has grown from ₹1,016 crore MAT value in 2021 to ₹2,070 crore in 2025, show pharmaceutical companies including Sun Pharma , USV, Zydus , Torrent, Mankind and Dr Reddy's are leading the market, which is mostly driven by the older brands as new launches in the last two years have garnered a revenue of approximately ₹49 crore only, data showed."The probiotics market has become a very important market as far as restoration of gut health is concerned. Ailments affecting the normal gut microbe density, especially diarrhoea, dysentery and other intestinal/stomach infections, need consumption of probiotics along with anti-infectives. In some cases, consumption of some medications also involves nausea and vomiting as side effects, wherein probiotics play an important role. The overall market has shown a 5-year value CAGR of 19% and a very strong growth of 22% in MAT May 2025," Sapale probiotic drugs account for over 90% of the market in India, it is followed by milk and milk products. Companies such as Amul and Mother Dairy are aggressively pushing probiotics, while start-ups such as The Good Bug and WellBeing Nutrition have been also attracting significant investor Mehta, MD of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation which makes and sells a range of Amul dairy products, said they sell 3 million litres of probiotic buttermilk every day across India. Amul is the largest probiotic brand in the country, claimed the company."The category is growing in high double digits and has high momentum but remains very under-penetrated. India being a very large and growing market for processed foods also translates to a large addressable market for gut-related issues," said Kannan Sitaram, cofounder and partner of Fireside Ventures, an early-stage investment fund which has invested in The Good Bug and Wellbeing Nutrition."Our probiotic portfolio currently contributes around 45% to our overall fresh dairy products portfolio. The category is seeing strong growth...," said Manish Bandlish, MD, Mother month, The Good Bug raised '100 crore in a fresh funding round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with existing investor Fireside Ventures also participating in the May, probiotics delivered a standout performance with exponential double-digit growth, signalling rising consumer preference for gut-health Rakesh Patel, consultant gastroenterology, Fortis Hospital, Kalyan, said consumption is growing rapidly in India, especially among younger people, thanks to increasing health awareness and the influence of social media and healthcare a word of caution on its rampant usage, Dr Kaushal Madan, principal director & head-gastroenterology, hepatology & endoscopy, liver transplant and biliary sciences, at Max Hospital in Saket, New Delhi, said there are several conditions and indications where probiotics have been shown to be very effective in controlling certain conditions, but "in many other illnesses, their rampant use is possibly unwarranted."
