One of the first global companies to break all the critical barriers of taste, price, and shelf-stability at room temperature, GoodDot is poised for explosive growth with the help of this investment and support from Sixth Sense Venture, India's leading consumer venture fund. According to the press statement, this marks the first VC investment in the plant-based meat space in India.
The investment will enable Udaipur-based GoodDot to further cement its leadership status in the plant-based meat space in India while supporting its international growth on the back of increased emphasis and spend on R&D, marketing, and channel broadening.
The company sells through direct-to-consumer channels, eCommerce platforms as well as 7500+ offline stores. GoodDot has recently launched its products in Canada, Dubai, Nepal, South Africa, and Singapore and plans to cover the US and Europe in the months ahead. It is also working on expanding the rollout of its retail QSR outlets under two formats' GoodDo' and 'GoodKhana', which are currently in Mumbai, Delhi, Udaipur, and Kathmandu.
"We are delighted to have concluded this round of funding with Sixth Sense Ventures, led by Nikhil Vora. This is the epitome of an ESG-focussed investment. The synergy and alignment of both the vision and the expertise with Nikhil and the Sixth Sense team excite us beyond words. We are confident this strong partnership will enable GoodDot to position itself as a force to be reckoned within the space of plant-based meats not only in India but across the world," says Abhishek Sinha, chief executive officer and co-founder of GoodDot.
Nikhil Vora, founder and chief executive officer of Sixth Sense Ventures, said, "we believe that going forward, consumption preferences will evolve increasingly fast towards meat alternatives on the back of health, ecological, or compassion-related reasons. In the US, plant-based meat has grown over US $ 1 billion in sales, growing 40% y-o-y, while the animal-based meat industry is degrowing. Validation by HORECA is critical for a new food category. With endorsement by leaders such as Dominos and other institutional customers, GoodDot has emerged to be the leader in plant-based meat in India. This fits well into Sixth Sense's thesis of investing in the Consumer of Tomorrow, with evolved consumption habits. The company is catering directly to this change in behavior through alternative meat products. Super elated to be part of a business which is trying to make the world a compassionate place."
According to estimates, globally, meat substitutes is a US $ 20 billion market, which seems to have just scratched the surface and is all set to disrupt the US$ 1.4 trillion organized meat industry. The pace of this disruption is expected to increase exponentially as the pandemic has accelerated the consumption of meat-alternative products globally. India is steadily acquiring a taste for plant-based meat substitutes. This space is primed for exponential growth in the coming days. The country could also play as an essential supplier for the global plant-based meat industry, considering the availability of skilled manpower and abundant agri and agri-processing resources.
J R Laddha Financial Services was the exclusive advisor to the deal. Satish Ganega, vice president - Investment Banking, advising GoodDot on the transaction, says, "Excited to see the ace investor place confidence in a breakthrough product and a passionate team. It would be interesting to see this collaboration take on the global industry titans in the coming years."