[Funding alert] D2C startup MOPP Foods raises Seed funding from India Accelerator

D2C Food startup MOPP Foods has raised an undisclosed sum in seed funding from the existing investor network of India Accelerator.

The company plans to use the funds to expand the capacity in its existing cloud kitchens in the Delhi NCR region.

The startup also plans to foray into retail with frozen versions of its popular dishes.

Gurgaon-based startup was founded in 2019 by Gold Medalist MBA Geetika Anand Gupta and IIT Bombay alumni Gaurav Gupta, MOPP distributes popular Indian street food Parathas and Pakoras.

The startup currently operates 3 brands – MOPP – Made Over Parathas & Pakoda, Mealy, and Made Over Curry in Delhi NCR. MOPP has revamped the pakoda's to make them delivery friendly, as they are less oily, do not get wet, and remain crunchy after delivery, a company statement said.

“We started off with an aim to build a single brand QSR chain focused around popular street-foods and snacks, parathas, and pakoda's. We strongly believe that these street-foods carry a wider appeal compared to Burgers, Pizzas or Momos but still there is no big brand or chain trying to uplift them in an organized segment. While we have evolved into a multi-brand cloud kitchen over the last 2 years, our original aim to uplift popular Indian street-foods remains the vision of our brand MOPP,” says Gaurav Gupta, Co-founder MOPP Foods.

“We have seen the founders hustle through the last 2 years, which perhaps is the toughest time a food startup could ever see in its journey. We are very proud and happy to see how they have successfully scaled and achieved 5x growth during this period. It is noteworthy that the startup has already given a multifold exit to its early investors which builds great investor confidence in founders and their commitment”, said, Mona Singh, Co-Founder, and Partner, India Accelerator.

The startup said that the company has grown at a CAGR of 80 percent in the last three years and is now looking to achieve even faster growth as the challenges of the pandemic are behind us. It is trying to raise additional funds to promote the next phase of scale in Delhi NCR.

“This is a very exciting stage in our journey as we are pushing our limits to breach our own projections. While the pandemic has been challenging, it has taught us to do more with less. This mantra is our guiding principle as we look to scale beyond Delhi NCR in the coming year”, said, Geetika Anand Gupta, Co-Founder of MOPP Foods.

The online food delivery market was valued at around $4.66 billion in the 2020 year and is projected to grow to $21.41 billion during 2020-2026 with a staggering CAGR of 28.95 percent. The startup said that it is well-positioned to capitalize on this market opportunity, which has grown manifold due to the change in food ordering behavior due to the pandemic.