Snapdeal, invest $36 mn in hyperlocal grocery delivery service

PepperTap, an on-demand hyperlocal grocery delivery service, has raised a $36 million funding led by Snapdeal along with its existing investors Sequoia India and SAIF Partners.

The Series B funding (second round of institutional funding) also saw participation from new investors such as Ru-net, JAFCO, and BeeNext.

PepperTap is also in talks to expand this round by another $20 million from other financial investors, which is expected by the next few weeks.

''PepperTap has been on a hyper-growth track since its inception nine months ago," said Navneet Singh, PepperTap co-founder and CEO.

"From less than $1 million gross merchandise volume (GMV) run rate at the start of fiscal 2015-16, we are solidly on track to end the year with a GMV run-rate of over $250 million.''

With the infusion of fresh funds, PepperTap plans to expand its presence to 75 cities across India by the end of the current fiscal year. The company also plans to invest heavily in strengthening its technology and supply chain capabilities.

PepperTap expects to have more than 5,000 staff by year end to support its operations.

''Investment by an established player like Snapdeal is a stamp on our asset-light, low burn business model and our execution track record. We look forward to leveraging Snapdeal's experience to help our partner stores develop their capabilities and multiply their sales,'' Singh added.

GMV is a term used in online retailing to indicate a total sales.

''Navneet and his team have done a phenomenal job in building PepperTap into India's leading grocery ordering platform,"said Kunal Bahl, CEO, Snapdeal.

"We look forward to working closely with PepperTap to make them very successful, leveraging the capabilities we have built in Snapdeal's ecosystem.''