The funds will be utilised towards strengthening the company’s technology infrastructure and developing private label offerings
Rural omnichannel retail platform Rozana has raised Rs 290 crore in a Series B funding round, led by Bertelsmann India Investments. The company will use the capital to strengthen the retail infrastructure and broaden its product categories.
The funds will also be utilised towards strengthening the company’s technology infrastructure and developing private label offerings. The funding round also saw participation from Fireside Ventures, Spark Growth Ventures, Bikaji Family office and others.
The company aims to expand to over 200 stores and mark its entry into two to three additional northern states across the Gangetic belt, where the company has already expanded its hybrid commerce infrastructure to 21,000 villages, as per the reports. It eyes reaching 1,30,000 villages as it enters the next phase of growth.
The company operates in gram panchayat-level markets, where organised retail and ecommerce penetration remain significantly low and most consumers depend on small kirana stores with a narrow product assortment.
A report by Redseer revealed that nearly 80 per cent of Indian households shop for groceries in small, frequent baskets with average order values of Rs 100 to 200, a consumption pattern that continues to favour neighbourhood kirana stores over capital-intensive retail formats. Despite the expansion of modern trade and quick commerce, kiranas still account for over 90 per cent of India’s USD 600 billion grocery market and are expected to remain the primary touchpoint for everyday grocery needs well into the next decade.
