Celcius, a cold supply chain marketplace, raises INR 100 Cr in Series A funding, led by IvyCap Ventures

MUMBAI : Celcius Logistics, India’s fastest-growing cold chain marketplace startup, has successfully completed its Series A funding by raising the total amount of INR 100 Cr, led by IvyCap Ventures. As part of its Series A funding, the company earlier raised INR 35 Cr, from their existing investors – Mumbai Angels, Supply Chain Labs, Endurance Capital, VCats, Huddle, Eaglewings Ventures (EVAN), and others. Over the past 2.5 years, Celcius has recorded enviable growth. Being an asset-light platform, it boasts of a network fleet of over 4500+ reefer vehicles, 107 cold storage facilities, 7 distribution centers, 100+ hyperlocal riders, and a team of 125 dedicated employees, and is operational in 350+ cities across the country. This marks Celcius Logistics as the first start-up in the cold supply chain sector to achieve such rapid growth and establish a niche in the cold chain industry within a short period of time. The company aims to utilize the funds for tech innovations to solve the fragmented nature of the cold supply chain and reduce the wastage in perishables thereby building towards a sustainable future. 

Celcius offers an integrated online smart platform that provides end-to-end supply chain solutions, including transport, warehousing, last-mile, and hyperlocal delivery services for all stakeholders across the cold chain network. The tech-enabled platform efficiently and transparently allows users to explore, book, monitor, and receive real-time updates and data analytics about their cold supply chain needs.

Celcius also offers a last-mile delivery service that focuses on the aggregation of existing small reefer vehicles and uses its unique Vahaan Vikas Yojana to introduce new assets in the sector, creating opportunities for smaller transporters across India. The first-of-its-kind temperature-controlled hyper-local service allows for the transportation of perishables ranging from 500gms to 500 kgs, across the nation within 18 hours, through its fleet of bike riders, and leveraging air, rail, and road network.

Speaking about the journey and plans for the company, Founder and CEO, Mr. Swarup Bose, said, “We are grateful to our investors for their unwavering support and belief in the vision and mission of Celcius. From our humble beginnings with just 5 employees during the COVID pandemic, we have become a leading player in the cold supply chain industry, with a team of 125 dedicated employees and an operational presence in 350+ cities across the country. We have recently launched smart solutions catering to the specific needs of last-mile deliveries and hyperlocal cold-chain transportation. Having raised more funds, we aim to further expand our operations and build a seamless, and truly unbroken cold supply chain, ensuring food security for all. We are also working towards introducing smart tech innovations to address challenges in the pharma sector. Our goal is to work towards a sustainable future, by taking steps to reduce wastage of perishables through innovative tech solutions and creating a meaningful impact on the ecosystem.”

As per the recent reports on the cold-chain system in India, the industry suffers from several inefficiencies including sectors like Food and Pharma. The current unorganized and inefficient cold chain system leads to food losses of about $14bn yearly and about 29% of vaccine wastage due to damages and temperature variations during transit. Celcius has been using its proprietary tech solutions, catering to these challenges for all the stakeholders (Manufacturers, small transporter, and the end consumer).

Speaking about the investment, Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures Pvt Ltd, said, “We are glad to have partnered with Celcius Logistics, which is revolutionizing the cold supply chain sector, with its innovative approach. Given its focus and the expertise of the team, we are confident that Celcius will emerge as the leading brand in this space.”

Tej Kapoor, Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures will be joining the board of Celcius on behalf of IvyCap Ventures.

With a growth of 20X in the past year, Celcius has an esteemed list of clientele, including Zepto, Zomato, Maersk, Prabhat Dairy, Baskin Robbins, Vadilal, Domino’s, Keventers, and Godrej Agrovet. Celcius has transported over 125, 000 tons of perishable cargo for sectors like dairy, fresh agricultural produce, pharma, fruits, seafood, and vaccines across 350+ cities in India. The startup has also ventured across the border, to enable the Export and Import of products like exotic fruits and seafood.