RAW Pressery, a cold-pressed fresh juice company, recently received Series B funding worth $4.5 million from three equal partners - Sequoia India, Saama Capital and DSG partners. This was a follow-up to the first round that invited $1.8 million from Sequoia India in February 2015. The fresh capital will give an impetus to the company’s plans of introducing new flavours, increasing production capacity and initiating brand-building activities.
Talking about the development, Mr. Anuj Rakyan, Founder, RAW Pressery said, “RAW Pressery will greatly benefit from the valuable experience of reputed investors like Sequoia India, Saama Capital and DSGCP. With this fund-raise, we aim to make our fresh beverages more accessible, available and affordable. We will add 8 more juices and smoothies ranging from Rs.50 to Rs.150 to cater to our young and health-conscious audience. Our distribution footprint will scale rapidly to 12 cities and cover modern trade, institutions, HORECA and direct-to-home channels. The continuous involvement and support of our investors reinforces our vision to be India’s leading clean-label beverage brand in a rapidly growing global market.”
Highlighting the reasons behind choosing RAW Pressery, Ash Lilani, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Saama Capital, states, “We are very excited about our investment in RAW Pressery. From the very beginning, we have been impressed with Anuj’s vision and his ability to build a great team. Most importantly, we believe RAW Pressery has a terrific product. Globally, the category of cold pressed juices and all natural beverages is growing very fast and has huge potential. The focus on wellness and the heightened awareness of what one consumes is a growing trend, even in India and is only going to continue getting larger. After much diligence, we found RAW to have the best product in India by far. It is all natural with no added sugar or water and truly embodies the company’s slogan of “All Good, No Bad."
Talking about the deal in the beverage segment, Mr. Deepak Shahdadpuri from DSG Capital said “This is the first deal from our new fund DSG Consumer Partner II. We are very excited to be partnering alongside Sequoia India and Saama Capital in the latest round of funding. In a very short time, Anuj Rakyan has built a fantastic business based on strong fundamentals addressing a clear white space in the healthy beverage segment. We believe that RAW Pressery is well-positioned to redefine the juice and smoothie categories with an exciting portfolio of products for the Indian urban consumer."
"We are happy to have Saama Capital and DSG join us on board at Raw Pressery as Anuj and team set out to build the largest cold pressed juice brand in the country. Raw has lined up a series of exciting new product introductions and we are looking forward to the launch!" - VT Bharadwaj, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India Advisors.
RAW Pressery is currently available in 7 cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Chennai at over 300 points of sale. It will expand its presence to 12 cities and 1500-1800 points of sale in FY17. “With our main focus on product quality and safety, we are building India’s first state-of-the-art cold-pressed facility to ramp up our production and support distribution efforts. The company culture stems from a team who are passionate about providing taste and benefit in daily nourishment through superior service, ambitious growth and socially responsible practices.”