PC: yatrikart.com
MMG Group, the Indian partner of the world’s largest brands such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, has made a strategic investment in this Yatri Kart expanding rapidly as a transit retail chain. This investment is part of the Series A funding round in which MMG Group has an equity stake in the company at a valuation of Rs 100 crore. The investment is intended to fuel Yatrikart’s expansion and establish itself in the transit retail space.
Yatrikart has raised $2.8 million from existing investors prior to this funding round, which include Artha Venture Fund, Fox Software Ventures, She Capital and Shuru Up. This latest capital infusion will help scale the company’s operation with its plan of increasing its franchise network through the FOCO (Franchise-Owned Company-Operated) and FOFO (Franchise-Owned Franchise-Operated) models. Apart from that, it will spend the funds to develop its technological infrastructure and further improve its supply chain through its own app ‘Quick Commerce for Transit’.
Revolutionizing Transit Retailing in India
Yatrikart, which was founded in 2021, is a tech-enabled transit retail chain that aims to disrupt the way hawkers and retailers work at transit stations. It is focused on giving power to small vendors and working on a modern and structured ‘retailing on the go’ format. The aim is to become the ‘WH-Smith of Bharat’ providing essential as well non essential items to all the commuters in the country, who could be rail or road travellers.
Yatrikart is located in Indore and boasts of making shopping easy and convenient for people on the move. The company offers a wide range of everyday essentials, including snacks and beverages, personal care products, home care items, pet care essentials, confectionery, tobacco, hygiene products, ready-to-eat meals, over the counter drugs, etc. Even its products include micro ATMs and charging stations. Yatrikart seeks to rebuild India’s transit retail ecosystem by serving the growing traveller demand for various daily consumption items.
Expansion Plans and Market Position
On the note that it has plans to set up more than 5,000 smart kiosks and stores at socio transit points including metro hubs, railway stations, highways and airports, the company has ambitious plans to change the status que. Yatrikart seeks to offer organized, accessible and hassle free shopping experience to the travelers using its technology driven retail approach.
Yatrikart does not consider any organized transit retail competitor directly (this space is totally unorganized), but realizes competition from roadside ickshaws and unorganized kiosks. And though it is not structured like a traditional retail model and has tech driven operations as well, the company is of the view to create a disruption at the market with a more reliable and convenient alternative.
India’s transit retail industry is undergoing a transformation, and Yatrikart has a strong backing from investors and strategic partners like MMG Group to do it. Integrating innovation with accessibility, it attempts to bridge the convenience gap to quality retailing for the travelers across the nation.
