India's TagZ Foods raises $2 million in Pre-Series A funding

TagZ Foods, a budding start-up specializing in popped chips, has successfully secured $2 million in funding during a Pre-Series A round led by 9 Unicorns.

Founded by Anish Basu Roy and Sagar Bhalotia in 2019, TagZ Foods leverages advanced food technology to produce popped potato chips that claim to have no cholesterol, no trans-fat, artificial colours, or preservatives.

Prior to the current funding round, TagZ Foods had raised $1.2 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors in 2020. The company was a participant in the show Shark Tank India's first season in 2020 and had raised undisclosed funding from Namita Thapar and Ashneer Grover.

TagZ Foods aims to enter untapped markets, expand its manufacturing capacity, bolster operational efficiency, introduce innovative products, and strengthen its logistics network to establish itself as the fastest-growing food direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand. The company's products are currently available in some international markets like Kuwait, Dubai, Maldives and Australia.

Despite being a relatively young start-up, TagZ Foods has experienced a remarkable surge in demand, with volumes increasing thirty-fold over the past 18 months.

The company has strategically targeted the top 30-40 million households in the country through an omnichannel approach, including a robust network of 5,000 retail stores and availability on over 30 e-commerce platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and Blinkit, effectively serving customers across 22 cities.