Retail Tech Startup Daalchini Raises $4 Million In A Series A Funding Round

Retail Tech startup Daalchini reported securing $4 million in its Series A funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures. Existing backers including Artha Venture Fund, Ajay Kaul, the former CEO of Dominos India, and VSS Investco, the investment arm of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the CEO of Paytm, also participated in the round.

Prerna Kalra and Vidya Bhushan, former executives at Paytm, founded Daalchini in 2017, which sells snacks and home-style meals via automated kiosks, mobility retail stores, and vending machines. According to the company, the business stated in a prepared statement that it aims to make its solutions available to over 450 direct-to-consumer brands and 10 million retail locations in India.

Daalchini reports a 300% increase in growth over the previous year and currently has over 200K monthly active users. Although the business has not yet submitted its annual financial statement for FY22, it reports revenue of Rs 12 crore for the previous fiscal year (FY22). The business asserts to be present in more than 20 locations and to have more than 200 franchise partners.

According to Daalchini, it hopes to generate revenues of 50 crore rupees with a gross merchandise value (GMV) of 130 crore rupees over the course of a year. By 2023, the company aims to increase the number of smart and retail points from more than 850 to over 5,000.

"Daalchini aspires to establish its footprints with its autonomous smart stores and vending machines at every 200 metres of habitable area. Currently, there are only a few thousand vending machines in our nation, compared to more than one autonomous store for every 200 people in the US or Japan. Prerna Kalra, cofounder and CEO of Daalchini Technologies, noted that we are still a long way from realising the full potential of this type of retail.