AnKa SumMor Raises INR 3 Cr In Pre-Series A Round Led By Inflection Point Ventures The startup will utilize these funds in scaling and technology among other developments
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Sales and distribution (S&D) platform AnKa SumMor for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector announced on Friday that it has raised INR 3 crore in a pre-Series A round led by angel investment platform Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).
The funds raised will be utilized towards scaling the business in Hyderabad and Chennai with improved infrastructure, coverage, and branding. The funds will also be used for expanding operations to Bangalore, along with technology development and deployment.
"Success of FMCG businesses depends on how well and deep their distribution model is. India is complex geography and it has taken global FMCG companies decades to cover the entire country by heavily investing in setting the distribution infrastructure. The new-age brands don't have to invest millions in setting up their distribution channel when a company like Anka SuMor can do this for them. A shared distribution network would be mean lower operational costs and better pricing for the consumers. We understand this sector well because of our other investments and were able to align naturally to Anka SuMor's vision," said Vinay Bansal, founder, and chief executive officer, IPV.
On a journey to disrupt FMCG sales and distribution for emerging brands, AnKa SumMor had launched SumMor Model in 2018 which has added value for brand partners with increased revenue, reduced S&D cost, and real-time transparent MIS. These features have not only helped the associated businesses grow but have also triggered the operations of the startup to a higher level, venturing into Chennai and plans to launch Bengaluru in FY 21-22, the company shared.
The startup serves all retail of FMCG distribution under one roof via "SumMor Model'. It acts as the single point of contact (SPOC) to serve all retail channels (national chains, e-commerce, local chains, standalone supermarkets, kirana) in a city/state with transparent and real-time structured data leading to market insights for the brands, leading up to 50 per cent S&D cost reduction for brands.
"Delighted to make through the rigorous evaluation process of IPV, importantly the value given to founders during the process. Apart from the investment, IPV augments value through an ecosystem of business leaders across various aspects of business, which we intend to leverage to expand and enhance our thinking, capabilities, and execution levels, thereby create value for all our stakeholders. This investment will predominantly go into building the tech stack, critical to managing complexity at scale efficiently and effectively, enhance predictive capabilities and provide market insights to brand partners. We will also invest in increasing S&D infrastructure and resources to increase the number of outlets serviced to deliver growth for existing brand partners, and the capacity to add more brands on our platform," added Ashok George, founder, and chief executive officer, AnKa SumMor.
The platform has covered quite a few retail channels like e-commerce, modern trade, general trade, select institutions, and up-country distributors. It has covered over 2600 relevant stores, working with 10 brands so far – McVities, Yoga Bar, Wai Wai, Paper Boat, Yellow Diamond, Bombay Shaving Company, Spice Story, Budweiser, Om Bhakti, Again Drinks.
The FMCG industry is the fourth largest sector in India and is expected to reach $260 billion by end of 2025, along with emerging brands growing at a pace of two to threefold the rate of established brands.
