D2C Snacking brand Happilo raises US$25 million to fuel its growth plans

India-based healthy snacking brand Happilo has raised US$25 million from Motilal Oswal PE (MOPE) to build its direct-to-consumer (D2C) snacks business.

Last year in February, the company had raised US$12 million from A91 Partners.

“Covid-19 has emphasized the importance of healthy eating and nutritious food in the mind of every customer. The MOPE investment will help the company accelerate its plans across brand, product and distribution,” said VT Bharadwaj, partner, A91 Partners.

Happilo which sells trail mixes, dry fruits, muesli, and nut protein bars will be using the fresh funding to grow its D2C channel and distribution network, for product expansion across healthy snacking categories, acquisition of synergistic food brands, capacity expansion, and brand building.

“Partnering with MOPE will help accelerate our growth plans and significantly scale the business from current levels. Their prior experience of investing and working with category leaders within the food and beverages segment will add significant value,” said Vikas Nahar, Promoter and CEO, Happilo.

He added, “The investment would be used for significant product expansion across healthy snacking categories, acquisition of synergistic food brands, brand building, capacity expansion and deepening the distribution infrastructure. This will help us serve our customers better and help us achieve INR 2000 crore revenue target in the next 4 years)

“As the country increasingly moves online, we believe the digital channels will be a strong enabler for consumer businesses to scale at a rapid pace. Our investment in Happilo marks our entry into the tech enabled consumer franchises who have the first mover advantage in large unorganized categories,” said Vishal Tlusyan, Managing Director and CEO of MOPE.

About Happilo

Founded in 2016 by Vikas D Nahar, Happilo operates a healthy food brand that brings an exclusive range of dried fruits, nuts, organic seeds, dry roasted snacks, trail mixes, festival gift hampers, and more.

The company claims to have grown its business 4x in the last 24 months.

About MOPE

MOPE is a subsidiary of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited and is currently managing and advising four growth capital funds focused on providing growth capital to mid-market companies across its preferred sector of consumer, financial services, life sciences and niche manufacturing.