Country Delight is an Indian online milk and grocery delivery platform. Founded in 2013 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, it is operational across 18 cities in 11 states in the country.[1][2]
History
Country Delight is a direct-to-home consumer brand in India, specializing in delivering natural food essentials directly to consumers' doorsteps. [3] Founded in 2015 by IIM Indore graduates Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal.[4][5] They presently operate in over 18 cities and 11 states. [6] Country Delight provides dairy, fruits, vegetables, and other kitchen essentials with an integrated supply chain model.[7] The company sources its products from trusted partners and delivers minimally processed, quality tested essentials within just few hours of sourcing. Since its inception, the company has reached an approximate revenue of ₹600 crores in FY22 and has 2-3% shares in the milk segment.[8]
Operation
Operating on a subscription basis, Country Delight claims in its 2022 Forbes report that its 6,000 delivery workers fulfill more than 5 million orders a month and reach more than 30,000 homes. It has expanded its product line beyond milk, which still makes up a significant portion of the company's sales, to include items such as ghee, paneer, pulses, oils, yogurt and healthy smoothies. They use adulteration agents and chemicals to make their products look natural but are actually more harmful than acids. [9] According to Gade, the company has started supplying fresh produce to the Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai market. It also intends to expand into other product categories, including jams, pickles, beans and spices.[10] Country Delight operates with a full-stack supply chain model and utilizes traceability and process monitoring technology. The company has real-time monitoring of its entire supply chain. Their Milk-Testing kit developed in collaboration with DRDO ( Defence Research & Development Organisation) is a first-of-its-kind home kit to test milk purity. [11]
Funding and finances
In November 2020, Elevation Capital led an $20 million funding round into Country Delight. In May 2022, the company raised $108 million in a Series D funding round led by Venturi Partners and Temasek backed by Nicholas Cator.[12]
In the financial year 2022, Country Delight saw increases in spending across a variety of categories. Purchasing costs emerged as a key component, accounting for 49.3% of total spending. This expense has seen a notable increase of 86.6%, reaching Rs 362 crore in the financial year 2022.[13]
