Former Top MilkBasket Executives Raise $5 Million For Grocery Startup

BFCD Technologies Pvt. has raised over $5 million, or approximately Rs 41 crore, for their fruits and vegetables delivery platform, Sorted, in an ongoing seed round.

Investors in the round included Beenext Capital Management Ltd., White Venture Capital VCC and NB Ventures Ltd.

"Sorted is not attempting to change the way India buys fruits and vegetables; it's plugging the inefficiencies that plague the existing supply chains. We have undertaken multiple proofs of concept over the last nine months to solve the known industry issues, especially wastage, while also answering for growth and profitability,” said Anant Goel, chief executive officer at Sorted.

Goel is the former CEO of MilkBasket Ltd., a micro-delivery service for groceries and daily essentials, which was sold off to Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. in 2021. Sorted's co-founders include former MilkBasket Head of Product and Engineering Nitin Gupta and Head of Growth Sahil Madan.

The grocery models on the market "are created and optimised for selling FMCGs", Goel said.

"FMCGs are man-made, prepacked products with a known shelf life that sell in fixed quantities through a static catalogue—none of which is true for fruits and vegetables. It just has to be solved differently and distinctly. If and when done, this can be the fastest, profitable decacorn in the making," he said.

Sorted claims to be the country's first omnichannel platform for fruits and vegetables. The startup's platform allows customers to order fresh vegetables and fruits and either pick them up from their neighbourhood mom-and-pop store or get it delivered to their homes.

According to the founders, it runs a tech-heavy, full-stack national supply chain, specifically created to handle fruits and vegetables, that will supply fresh produce from farmers to the stores. 

Sorted is currently operational in Gurugram and is seeking to expand to other locations in the future.