Snapdeal, others co-invest $36mn in PepperTap

NEW DELHI: India’s on-demand hyperlocal grocery delivery service PepperTap has closed a Series B funding round of $36 million. This latest funding round was led by Snapdeal along with existing investors Sequoia India and SAIF Partners.

The funding also saw participation from new investors like Ru-net, JAFCO, and BeeNext. Additionally, PepperTap is in advance talks to expand this round by another $20 million from other financial investors. This second close is expected to happen in the next few weeks.

Speaking on the investment, Navneet Singh, co-Founder and CEO, PepperTap, commented, “PepperTap has been on a hyper-growth track since its inception nine months ago. From less than $1mn GMV (gross merchandize value) run rate at the start of Fiscal Year 2015-16, we are solidly on track to end the year with a GMV run-rate of over $250mn. Investment by an established player like Snapdeal is a stamp on our asset-light, low burn business model and our execution track record. We look forward to leveraging Snapdeal’s experience to help our partner stores develop their capabilities and multiply their sales.”

Kunal Bahl, CEO of Snapdeal added, “We are excited to be entering into a strategic partnership with PepperTap. Navneet and his team have done a phenomenal job in building PepperTap into India’s leading grocery ordering platform. We look forward to working closely with PepperTap to make them very successful, leveraging the capabilities we have built in Snapdeal’s ecosystem.”

Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors, also commented, “PepperTap is making exciting progress in building the most efficient hyper-local infrastructure to deliver a great user experience for grocery shopping. It’s thrilling to see the incredible progress Navneet and team have made since Sequoia’s seed investment and we're delighted to support them in their journey.”

Ravi Adusumalli of SAIF Partners added, "Since our investments a short while ago, the team at PepperTap has done an extraordinary job of growing and establishing themselves as the clear leader in the hyperlocal grocery space. We believe that this is a massive market and our focus only on groceries will enable us to have the best customer service in the market."

With the infusion of fresh funds, PepperTap plans to expand its presence to 75 cities across India by the end of the current fiscal year. The company also plans to invest heavily in strengthening its technology and supply chain capabilities. PepperTap expects to have more than 5,000 staff by year end to support its operations.