Bengaluru's food and beverage (F&B) industry has witnessed a remarkable transformation over the last two decades. Once concentrated in central areas like MG Road and Church Street, the city's culinary map has expanded exponentially, reaching outlying areas like Hennur and North Bengaluru. This geographic diversification mirrors the city's evolution from a relatively modest urban center to a cosmopolitan metropolis with a diverse, international populace.

“The population of Bengaluru was much lower back in days and the Bangalorean would step out during weekends. From the past 20 years the city has become very diverse. We have people from across the world we've become an international city,” mentions Shivanth Nishkam from Dock 66. The F&B sector in Bengaluru has bounced back impressively in the post-pandemic world. There's been a significant increase in customer footfall, coupled with a rise in average spending per visit. 

This reflects not only a resurgence of the market post-COVID-19 but also points to a more robust economic environment and a consumer base with higher disposable incomes. Investments in the sector have grown, indicating strong confidence in the market's potential and future growth. The influx of diverse international cuisines and dining concepts has further enriched the city's F&B landscape, catering to the evolving palate of its cosmopolitan population. Establishments are increasingly focusing on experiential dining, integrating local flavors with global trends, and emphasizing sustainability in their operations. This trend towards innovation and variety is attracting not just local residents but also tourists, making Bengaluru a burgeoning culinary hotspot in the region.

Innovation and Expansion in the F&B Sector

Innovative ventures like Dock 66 in Whitefield's LIT Box complex, led by business head Shivanth Nishkam, showcase the dynamism of Bengaluru's F&B scene. Plans for expansion and diversification under different brand names reflect a strategic approach to tapping into various market segments. Similarly, The Pump House's expansion from JP Nagar to Whitefield, with unique offerings like alfresco dining and hot pot tables, underscores the innovative spirit driving the sector.

The NRAI India Food Services Report revealed that Bengaluru’s organized food service market, valued at INR 20,014 crore, is the third-highest among other metros in India. Positioned as a major industry in the country’s service sector, following retail and insurance, this sector's growth trajectory looks promising.

Recent trends also indicate an increasing inclination towards healthy and sustainable dining options, with many restaurants and food outlets incorporating organic, farm-to-table concepts. This shift towards sustainability and health-conscious dining aligns well with Bengaluru's progressive and environmentally aware populace.

While all the cusines are taping in well in Bengaluru’s F&B landscape, in the past year, at least 14 restaurants have opened in Bengaluru with a focus on Japanese and Korean food or expanded operations. Japanese restaurants have consolidated their place on Bengaluru’s F&B map, Korean food is beginning to come up, and the appetite for Indo-Chinese has saturated. Prajwal Hegde, who has been in the F&B business for over 20 years, used to primarily focus on Chinese food. “The Indian crowd now has a growing appetite for Thai and Japanese food,” he tells. Hegde and two partners recently launched Hunan Square, a pan-Asian restaurant in Electronics City.

Bengaluru's Market Dynamics and Investment Appeal

Bengaluru's F&B market is one of India's largest value. It stands just behind Mumbai and Delhi in terms of size but leads in terms of growth potential. This is largely due to Bengaluru's demographic profile: a young, dynamic population that includes a significant number of professionals and students from across India and the world. These demographics not only provide a diverse customer base but also ensure a steady demand for varied and innovative F&B offerings.

“Being a young city with many consumers being fresh graduates from small towns and cities with access to many things, it’s a happy dining destination with a prospect for better ROI as an investor,” Vishal Atreya, chef and founder of The Pump House had mentioned. 

Bengaluru is already experiencing a resurgence and fresh arrivals in its food and beverage scene this year. While Monkey Bar made a significant comeback, The Tham Brothers, Ryan and Keenan from Pebble Street Hospitality, are set to make their mark in Bengaluru's F&B market. They are launching their first restaurant at Forum Rex Walk on Brigade Road, adding to the city's vibrant dining landscape.

Why Bengaluru is a Hotspot for F&B Investment

Bengaluru's status as a prime destination for food and beverage (F&B) investments is attributed to a combination of key factors. The city boasts a young, tech-savvy population, eager to explore new culinary experiences, making them a significant driving force in the F&B sector. This is further bolstered by Bengaluru's economic prosperity, often referred to as the Silicon Valley of India, which has led to increased disposable incomes and consumer spending in dining and leisure activities. 

Bengaluru's rich cultural diversity, shaped by both expatriates and people from various parts of India, has created a demand for a broad spectrum of cuisines and dining experiences. The city's rapid urbanization and evolving lifestyle patterns have also heightened the preference for dining out and experimenting with different cuisines. Lastly, the local government's supportive stance towards the hospitality industry, through initiatives such as ease of doing business and licensing reforms, has played a crucial role in attracting investments to the sector.

Bengaluru's emergence as a break-or-make market for restaurant brands is a narrative of demographic shifts, economic resilience, innovative entrepreneurship, and adaptive consumer behavior. The city's varied population, increased spending power, and openness to new culinary experiences make it a fertile ground for both established brands and novel culinary ventures. As Bengaluru continues to evolve, it is poised to remain a linchpin in the shaping of India's F&B landscape, offering compelling opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs alike.

Beco, an eco-friendly home and personal care D2C brand, is planning to expand its presence into Tier II and Tier III markets. Its offline presence spans 1,500+ stores in India.

Recently, the Mumbai-based startup has raised Rs 4 crore in a seed round, led by Climate Angels Fund and other investors including Titan Capital, Better Capital, Rukam Capital, Sequoia Sprout, and Richa Kar (Founder of Zivame). With the added capital support, Beco aims to quadruple its sales and encourage consumers to switch to sustainable living through its eco-friendly product range. 

Talking about this latest round of funding, Aditya Ruia, Co-Founder, Beco, said, “Our ultimate aim is to help every individual contribute towards saving the environment and to do so, we need to expand our distribution and customer touchpoints across cities. We are thankful to our investors, who are helping us to strengthen Beco’s positioning by encouraging us to continue to create eco-friendly alternatives to reduce the impact on our environment.”

Anuj Ruia, Co-Founder, Beco, added, “One of the major challenges that came our way was managing the cost of raw materials and eliminating plastic from packaging. To tackle the problem, we have a sustainable production and packaging model in place, however, we believe the support from our investors will further accelerate our vision and build a stronger repertoire of sustainable products with zero-waste.”

Founded by Aditya Ruia, Akshay Varma, and Anuj Ruia in 2019, Beco is a 100 percent eco-friendly and zero plastic company. By adopting a sustainable production and packaging model, Beco has saved over 500 tonnes of plastic waste that could have been generated through the production and sales of the products.

Akshay Varma, Co-Founder, Beco, also spoke about why this funding matters to them. “Our goal is to provide affordable sustainable products for daily use and break the notion that eco-friendly products are expensive. Through this funding, we would be able to optimally invest in product development, distribution, and operations and take Beco to every household,” he said.

Beco’s impressive product profile boasts of a wide range of household items that are made using bamboo and cornstarch, and have no plastic components. From reusable kitchen towels, compostable garbage bags, to bamboo toothbrushes and travel kits, all of Beco’s products are chemical-free and non-GMO verified. Beco products are available on its website, e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, and Nykaa among others.

India’s Thrasio-style investment venture, GlobalBees has raised $150 million in a mix of equity and debt in a Series A led by FirstCry and some of its investors with additional participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

This is the largest Series A funding round by an Indian Thrasio style startup in the country. With this round, Vikas Agnihotri of Softbank, Harsha Kumar of Lightspeed, Atul Gupta of Premji Invest, Sudhir Sethi of Chiratae Ventures, and Kshitij Sheth of Chrys Capital will join the GlobalBees board.

With a focus on capital efficiency, GlobalBees looks to partner with digitally native brands across categories like beauty, personal care, home, kitchen, food, nutrition, sports, lifestyle, etc. with a revenue rate of  $1-20 million, which as per the company, is proof of a great product-market fit. 

Commenting on the investment, Nitin Agarwal, Co-Founder, and CEO, GlobalBees, said, "GlobalBees aims to unleash the power of product innovation by Indian entrepreneurs and strategically partner with them to help them realize the full potential of their brand and products.  Apart from capital, GlobalBees brings in strategic capabilities across marketing and growth, technology, distribution, sourcing, branding, warehousing, logistics, R&D, product development, and operations, all things essential to rapidly scale the brands in the digital space."

FirstCry Co-Founder, Supam Maheshwari, and Nitin Agarwal had earlier co-founded Brainvisa Technologies back in 2000. A brainstorming session around creating a vibrant D2C ecosystem and partnering with exciting fellow entrepreneurs brought two long-time friends together to start GlobalBees.

"We are extremely excited to have a stellar list of investors on our cap table and we are looking to partner with founders who have built brands based on unique consumer insights. The funds raised will play a crucial role in helping us scale these brands globally," Nitin added.

Vikas Agnihotri, Operating Partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers, stated, "India is at the cusp of a D2C revolution with an estimated market size of $200 billion in the next 5 years. Indian brands have shown great promise in the recent years, and we believe that GlobalBees is building great assets to accelerate the growth of digitally native brands in the country."

Sudhir Sethi, Founder, and Chairman, Chiratae Ventures India, added, "GlobalBees presents a unique technology platform to consolidate D2C Brands and massively scale them in India and the world. Chiratae is excited to support and invest in GlobalBees." 

"Globalbees is deepening our partnership with Firstcry and is a strong validation of our confidence in the founders," said  Atul Gupta from Premji Invest.

Sports brand PUMA has appointed Prabhdeep S Bedi as Director and Head of D2C e-commerce in India. He will further accelerate PUMA India’s digital transformation journey and will be responsible for leading the D2C e-commerce business and the entire value chain of operations, cataloging, technology, account management, and customer experience.

He will report to Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India, and Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the appointment, Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India, and Southeast Asia, said, “Prabhdeep brings a strong track record of driving growth-oriented strategies. I am confident that Prabhdeep, with his knowledge and understanding of the e-commerce space coupled with his effective leadership style, will significantly contribute to our growth. His digital-first approach towards business will further help build the next phase of PUMA’s e-commerce journey in India. We are thrilled to welcome him to the PUMA family.”

He brings with him 13 years of rich and diverse experience in various domains like education technology, FMCG, and consulting. In his previous role, he was the Chief Operating Officer with Toppr Technologies Pvt Ltd for 5 years. Prior to that, he has worked with McKinsey & Company in their Chicago office and Procter and Gamble India.

Talking about his new role, Prabhdeep said, “It’s commendable to see how PUMA has strengthened its foothold in the Indian market in such a short span. The rate at which e-commerce is growing in the country is unimaginable and I am really looking forward to driving strategic innovation initiatives for the brand, keeping in mind the heightened digital awareness of the new-age consumers of today. I am absolutely thrilled to join the team at such an exciting phase in the company’s growth trajectory.”

Green Soul Ergonomics has secured Rs 1.5 crore from revenue-based financier Velocity.in. This is the first round of external financing the company has raised.

With financing from Velocity, the bootstrapped venture is now gearing up for its next leg of growth.

Ravi Khushwani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Green Soul, said, “It is vital to have a seating setup that is comfortable and conducive to productivity. Regular office chairs do not provide adequate comfort and are not tailored to the unique shape and size of each person. Our ergonomic chairs solve this problem.”

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup manufactures ergonomic seating products that are comfortable, durable, and designed to help people achieve the best posture.

“In the beginning, it was difficult to sell our DIY furniture online since it is a tangible product. But positive customer reviews and word-of-mouth helped us get more customers on board. As people started working from home, they realized the need for a comfortable seating setup. With this round of financing, we aim to build more inventory to cater to demand from people who are building their work from home setup. We needed capital for inventory and evaluated multiple revenue-based financiers before making a choice. Velocity had the most holistic offering in terms of the amount of financing, data privacy, and speed of execution. The fact that the financing happens through a single partner and the data is secured with bank-level encryption drove our decision-making. We are excited about working with them and eager to see where this round of financing takes us,” Khushwani added.

Abhiroop Medhekar, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Velocity.in, stated, “Green Soul is a fast-growing e-commerce brand with an impressive revenue trajectory, good average order value, and strong unit economics. Customers love their products, which explains their phenomenal growth with minimal marketing spends and maximum word-of-mouth promotions. The pandemic and consequent shift to a remote-working model worked in their favor, leading to a threefold jump in revenue in FY21 alone. We are happy to collaborate with them and see how they utilize this round of financing to achieve growth.”

Nua, a women wellness D2C brand, has secured $7.1 million in a Pre-Series B funding round. The funding has been led by an existing investor, Lightbox Ventures. The round has also seen participation from Vindi Singh Banga and Kamini Banga of the Banga family office as well as Kae Capital.

In addition to this, Nua has also added actor Deepika Padukone as an investor who will work closely with the brand for ideating and creating new wellness solutions.

Ravi Ramachandran, CEO and Founder, Nua, said, “This round of funding will help us further invest in our community, new products, and technology as we continue to scale up the brand.”

Prashant Mehta, Partner at Lightbox, added, “Since inception, Nua has displayed a deep understanding of women’s evolving needs for wellness. They’ve pioneered the subscription model for menstrual products in India that lends itself perfectly to this category. This was possible due to the strong community they’ve built on trust, giving consumers a deeper connection with the brand. We are confident of the team’s approach and capabilities to change this category for the better.”

Founded by Ravi Ramachandran in 2017, Nua offers recurring doorstep deliveries of sanitary pads and other healthcare products at the customer’s chosen frequency.

The brand also claims to have seen an 87x growth in subscriber base since June 2020.

Earlier, the company had raised $4 million in 2019 from Lightbox Ventures and Kae Capital.

Lenskart, India’s omnichannel D2C eyewear brand, has announced its plans to invest up to $2 million in each of the selected start-ups that are synergistic to the eyewear, eye-care and omnichannel retail sectors. In addition to the infusion of capital, select start-ups will benefit from Lenskart’s phenomenal market access via 700+ retail stores and online channels across India, Singapore, Middle East, and the US.

The access to Lenskart’s state-of-the-art vertically integrated supply chain, word-class technology stack for facilitating omnichannel retail, tech expertise in building futuristic technologies for eyewear will provide select start-ups the right ecosystem to build consumer-centric, technology-led, disruptive products and services. Apart from this, the senior leadership team at Lenskart will mentor the start-ups to navigate challenges during the early phase of business building.

Speaking on the launch, Peyush Bansal, Founder, and CEO, Lenskart, said, “We have traversed the challenging journey as a start-up to become a unicorn. We believe it’s time to give back to the ecosystem and support exceptional entrepreneurs by helping them build scalable enterprises. We have a decade of experience and expertise in building and scaling a D2C business through technology which can be leveraged by start-ups to realize their vision of building world-class businesses.”

Since the initiative is designed to help start-ups scale, Lenskart will select early-growth stage ventures with clear in-market evidence of traction and customer adoption.

Focus sectors for investing include D2C eyewear and eye care brands, technologies enabling access to vision care, eye testing technologies, omnichannel retail solutions across logistics, supply chain, merchandising, marketing, in-store automation, and deep tech solutions for eyewear, retail, and e-commerce.

The Lenskart Vision Fund initiative is being run in partnership with Applyifi, and endeavors to attract start-ups that have a clear product-market fit and a defensible competitive differentiator.

Kwik Foods, D2C, and social commerce brand, has secured an undisclosed fund in its seed round from 9Unicorns, India’s first idea-phase accelerator VC fund. The round has also seen participation from LetsVenture.

Prabhleen Kaur, Co-Founder of Kwik Foods, said, “We believe that a kitchen is a place of joy, and when cooking is stress-free, the food is always honest and delicious. Our range of product offerings consisting of fresh, healthy, and easy-to-cook, food items falls in line with this belief. We are delighted to secure the support of 9Unicorns. We will leverage the capital infusion to strengthen our product line and bolster our marketing operations.” 

Founded by Prabhleen Kaur and Harshal Patel in 2020, Gurugram-based Kwik Foods is a D2C and social commerce brand that aims to disrupt India’s ready-to-cook space. 

Abhijeet Pai, Partner at 9Unicorns, stated, “The post-lockdown economy has highlighted the value of home chefs within one’s vicinity that one can rely on for safety, security, and above all, the flavor and trust of healthy home-cooked meals and Kwik Foods is primed to meet this burgeoning demand and capture the lion’s share of India’s ready-to-cook market. We are confident in the founding team’s ability to steer their startup towards success. We wish them continued success.”

Sunitha Ramaswamy, President, Early Stage, LetsVenture, added, “With home food consumption on the rise, consumers tend to look for different meal options. While work from home continues, consumers are also looking for quick and hassle meals without spending too much prep time. Hence, the reliance on ready-to-eat food items is surely expected to gain momentum. We are happy to be part of the Kwik Food family, as they now look to propel the ready to eat segment.”

Wellbeing Nutrition, a whole food nutrition company that trusts plant-based ingredients to deliver wellness to individuals with fast-paced lives, has raised $2.2 million in a Series A round. The round has been led by Fireside Ventures and also seen participation from ACG, one of the world’s leading providers of integrated solutions for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

The funds will primarily be utilized to strengthen R&D and create the next generation of nutraceuticals which will rely on advanced nano Technology, delayed-release technology, and sustainability, to launch new products, acquire talent, and create better awareness and reach. 

Kannan Sitaram, Venture Partner at Fireside Ventures will join the company’s board. Fireside is focused on investing in consumer start-ups and helping them become strong brands that people love. Its portfolio includes well-known new-age brands like boAt, Mamaearth, Vahdam, and Yogabar.

On the fundraising, Avnish Chhabria, Founder, Wellbeing Nutrition, stated, “Nutraceutical and dietary supplements space has witnessed unprecedented growth post the pandemic. We saw an increase in demand for our innovative and carefully designed research-driven products. As we enter the next phase of growth and innovation, we look forward to benefitting from Fireside and ACG’s pedigree, collective experience, and resources in helping us scale.”

Founded in 2019 by Avnish Chhabria, Wellbeing Nutrition was launched to provide organic, non-genetically modified vitamins and minerals that are not chemically synthesized. Wellbeing is a research-based wholefood nutrition company that uses plant-based ingredients to deliver wellness to individuals with fast-paced active lives. The products use research-driven formulations in innovative delivery formats that are proven to be more bioavailable, effective, and fast-acting compared to traditional formats like tablets and capsules. 

Wellbeing, with a strong focus on research and clinical studies, has created a strong brand presence with customers wanting to choose organic and plant-based wellness alternatives to traditional lab-derived nutraceuticals. Wellbeing has grown 40 percent month-on-month with a strong retail presence across 600+ stores in India while also opening up a large export opportunity with sales to markets like UAE, UK, Germany, and USA. The brand is available on marketplaces including Amazon India and also has a strong D2C channel.

On the investment, Kannan Sitaram, Venture Partner at Fireside Ventures, said, “Healthy India is a big consumer theme and today's consumers want to invest in their everyday wellness. The nutritional supplements space is attracting a lot of interest from millennial consumers who are making considered choices on what they eat and how they look after their physical and mental health and we at Fireside believe that Avnish and his team at Wellbeing Nutrition are creating a brand that will be one of the leaders in this area. We value their focus on product innovation using high quality, organic ingredients which will drive rapid growth as consumers take their wellness into their own hands.”

MGB Advisors acted as exclusive advisors to Wellbeing Nutrition on the fundraising from Fireside and other investors.  

In September 2020, Wellbeing Nutrition raised a $400k angel round. 

Youth brand Bewakoof, one of the fastest-growing D2C brands, has released its extensive Pride collection of all-gender footwear and apparel in Pride-inspired colors, such as the cozy, rainbow-patterned 'Disco Stripes Slide'. The company proudly supports the LGBTQ community and celebrates individuality as they launch a special limited edition Pride collection on its platform.

The collection includes apparel, footwear, backpack, and mobile covers available in expanded sizing -  XS-2X - making this a truly inclusive offering. The price ranges from Rs 199-899. 

Bewakoof, launched by Prabhkiran Singh in 2012, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing youth brands and is backed by marquee investors like IvyCap and InvestCorp. The company sells 20,000 units of apparel and accessories a day and has a customer base of over 10 million. The company currently has a revenue base of Rs 250 crore and aims to touch Rs 1,000 crore by 2024.

Prabhkiran Singh, CEO & Founder, Bewakoof, said, “As a brand, Bewakoof stands for equality and respect. Inspired by our brand ethos, we decided to launch a specially curated Pride collection to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ community in India is slowly finding acceptance (much needed and deserving) in the social fabric of our country, but a lot more yet needs to be done, to create awareness and foster an environment that normalizes conversations around LGBTQ. This is just the start and the month is just an excuse. There is an entire pipeline of Pride products throughout the year.”

The company recently announced its association with one of the most promising actors in the Indian Hindi film industry Rajkummar Rao. Rao who will be seen across campaigns promoting the brand has also shot for the Pride campaign, which is going live with the collection launch.