Shaka Harry, the fledgling India-based alt-meat firm, has secured investment from prominent sector investor Blue Horizon.
The Bengaluru-based business has raised US$2m in seed funding, with backers including Asia-focused alt-protein fund Better Bite Ventures and Blue Horizon, which has invested in a clutch of meat- and dairy-alternative businesses.
Shaka Harry sells products across seven major Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
Blue Horizon, which declined to comment on how much it invested in the business, said the company’s products are on sale “at the large national outlets and a few local city chains”. The investor added: “Online they are on BigBasket and Swiggy, two of the largest grocery e-commerce portals.”
In a statement, Blue Horizon described Shaka Harry as “one of the fastest-growing plant-based meat brands” in India. The investment firm told Just Food: “In two of the largest online market places, Shaka Harry has grown from 10% of the category to 48% of category sales. This is over the last three months. Shaka Harry’s offline retail partners have also reported a far higher customer repurchase for Shaka Harry than [its] closest competitors.”
In 2022, Shaka Harry expects to generate $4m in sales. Blue Horizon refused to be drawn on the firm’s profits. The funding will be used to increase the distribution of the company’s products, invest in marketing and set up internal production capacity. At present, it uses co-packers for its products, which are made from pea protein, soy and mushrooms.
Bjorn Witte, Blue Horizon’s CEO, said: “Shaka Harry is one of the first movers in a new sector offering a wide product range tailored to the Indian cuisine. This will work well not only in India but also internationally.”
Anand Nagarajan, co-founder of Shaka Harry, added: “We are already the best-performing brand in the online stores where we have presence. Our products are doing significantly better than the competition on taste and customer response. Food is an area that can move the sustainability needle much more. Winning a consumer segment in the food space needs a well-designed product range, deep expertise in taste and flavour and consistent customer experience.”
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