Yumist, a full-stack food tech startup operating in the daily meals segment, has raised a Pre Series A round of $2 million led by Ronnie Screwvala’s fund Unilazer Ventures, with participation from existing investor Orios VP. Steven Lurie, a Valley based investor, has also joined the round.
This development comes as a validation to the food-tech sector which has received a lot of flak in recent times, with startups shutting shop and others slimming down their operations.
“Yumist is solving a core problem in one of the largest F&B markets in India. We liked the team and their approach to building the business. They come with the right skill sets and have demonstrated a good understanding of the market and solid execution capabilities”, said Ronnie.
Yumist was founded in November 2014 by Alok Jain, a technology entrepreneur and Abhimanyu Maheshwari, a seasoned F&B entrepreneur.
They serve home-style meals prepped in their own kitchens at price points of Rs 65+.
“The Unilazer investment is a vote of confidence for Yumist’s core value proposition and business model. We continue to be excited about the opportunity and the great team driving Yumist” said Sumir Verma, Venture Partner at Orios.
Having piloted it’s offering in select localities of Gurgaon until March this year, Yumist quickly expanded to all of Gurgaon, Delhi and Bangalore.
The funds from the new round will be used to build the team, expand its footprint and create a brand in a market where none exists.
Abhimanyu Maheshwari, Founder & COO at Yumist, said “While everyone was writing off food-tech in India, we kept our heads down and focussed on building a profitably scalable business while staying true to the customer problem. This approach helped us grow organically and maintain a low cash burn. We are super excited to have Ronnie on board, his experience and guidance will be crucial as we take Yumist to the next level.”
