Troo Good raises $7.4 million from OAKS Asset : Tech News

Troo Good, a Hyderabad-based millet snacks company, has raised $7.4 million, or about Rs 55 crore, in Series A funding from OAKS Asset Management.

The company will use the funds to expand its business across the country and beef up its research and development and manufacturing capabilities, a senior official said.

This is the first institutional capital raised by the company founded in 2018. It had earlier raised $1 million from angel investors in 2018.

“We have come a long way in creating a robust pipeline of products and corresponding expertise and are now looking to scale rapidly,” said Raju Bhupathi, founder of Troo Good. “We expect to have a significant ramp-up in the millet-based snacking segment over the next decade.”

Started by selling millet-based chapatis and parathas to schools, IT companies and sky kitchens, Troo Good introduced a chikki based on a unique formulation using different types of millets by the end of 2018.

According to Bhupati, the company is currently clocking Rs 70 crore in annualised revenue run rate and serves nearly one million mostly children every day across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

“With the help of the capital, the company expects to reach a revenue run rate of Rs 300 crore over the next 18-24 months,” Bhupati told ET.

According to the company, the Indian snacking market was worth about $12 billion, or about Rs 88,850 crore, in FY21 and is expected to grow at over 12% a year over the next decade.

The chikki market in India (where Troo Good is one of the largest organised players) is estimated to be around $1 billion, or about Rs 7,400 crore.

“This market is completely unorganised – dominated by large local players and home cooking outfits. The core product (nuts, jaggery and sugar) is consumed across India with different names,” Bhupati said.

Alongside this flagship product, Troo Good is also creating a range of other millet-based products that will take advantage of the distribution channel that its chikki has created.

The company is Ebitda positive and is not very capital intensive.

“The company has decent gross margins and is in a market which is largely untapped. We are betting on the company’s ability to scale faster across geographies and also through a wider product line,” said Vishal Ootam, CEO and founder of OAKS Asset Management.