Country Delight raises funding in round led by Matrix Partners

Fresh milk startup Country Delight has raised $7-10 million in a Series B funding round led by venture capital firm Matrix Partners, two people familiar with the matter said.

The company claims to source milk directly from the farm, eliminating the middle men and allowing farmers to earn a premium. It also invests in cold chain and quality testing infrastructure at the farmer’s location. Gurugram-based Country Delight counts investors such as Orios Venture Partners, IMFR Trust and MAN Impact Accelerator.

Founded in 2013 by IIM-Indore alumni Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, Country Delight is based on the farm-to-fridge concept and offers fresh milk delivery directly to houses through a subscription model. It is currently available in Delhi-NCR, Pune and Mumbai. Country Delight says its milk is tested on 75 parameters by an FSSAI-accredited lab.

Gade did not respond to an e-mail and a telephone call. Matrix Partners didn’t answer queries until press time.

The company offers other milk-based products including paneer, curd and ghee through its mobile app. Doodhwala, another startup which operates in the same business, raised $2.2 million from agri-focussed venture firm Omnivore Partners in February 2018.

New Delhi based Farmery and iOrganic in Gurugram also aim to provide fresh, unadulterated milk through their farm networks. Country Delight is among the biggest milk-delivery startups with a daily supply of 15,000 litres, according to a Times of India report.

Matrix Partners has previously invested in milk and grocery delivery startup DailyNinja. The online milk delivery industry has an addressable market of $1.2 billion of which 8% is currently online as of May 2018, according to a RedSeer consulting report.

While the milk delivery and produce business is growing fast in India, margins are wafer-thin. Hence, players in the market are adding more essential categories to increase revenue, the report adds.