Jumbotail, an online B2B marketplace for food and grocery products based in Bengaluru, India, has raised $11 million in a Series B2 round that the company plans to use for expansion, according to a report from Business Standard.
The round was led by Heron Rock, and other investors included Nexus Venture Partners, Jumbofund, Siddhi Capital, Reaction Fund and Pimpernel Holdings, as well as several high-net-worth individuals and industry leaders, the report stated.
The expansions will include more scaling for the B2B market to new geographies, with more of a network of its J24 stores and a bigger private-label portfolio. There will also be more go-to-market services for more fast moving consumer goods brands looking to enter the kirana stores and standalone supermarkets around India. Kirana stores are small stores in India.
Currently, Jumbotail serves 30,000 kirana stores with its eCommerce model, transforming the stores into modern omnichannel convenience stores in the J24 brand within 24 to 48 hours, the report stated. There are an estimated 12 million kirana stores that control 95 percent of the country's $450 billion grocery and food market, with technology and FinTech startups like Jumbotail playing a role in modernizing the stores for the digital age.
The digital shift has come for convenience stores, PYMNTS reported, with companies like Czech firm Nulisec working on adding digital storefronts that can display what's in stock. CEO Lukas Pham told PYMNTS that the idea behind it was to break companies out of the old patterns of relying on local suppliers. While some companies are still reliant on the traditional methods due to the lack of transparency and trust in newer models, the company has been working on building a centralized online hub that can build trust over time.
Jumbotail Co-Founder Ashish Jhina said the store network "is emerging as the ecosystem of choice for kirana store owners looking to seamlessly transform their kiranas into modern grocery stores, and to compete better in an increasingly technology-driven retail world," according to the report.
