Raw Pressery looks at dairy products to fuel growth

Beverage startup Raw Pressery, best known for its cold-pressed juices, plans to launch dairy products for the first time starting next month- moving away from its core competence, as it looks to expand its product portfolio and push growth.
“We will launch high protein dairy next month in the milks, shakes and drinkable yogurt format,” said Anuj Rakyan, founder and CEO of Rakyan Beverages, which runs Raw Pressery, in an interview.
Known for its cold-pressed juices, which contributes to 85% of the company’s revenue, the company is now eyeing two segments- almond milk and dairy products to fuel growth.
While he declined to comment on revenue figures, he said that almond milk, launched 7-8 months ago, already accounts for 15% of revenue, indicating the importance of new product lines.
“Even in non – dairy we will continue to expand our almond milk range in 200 ML and 1 LTR. Apart from plain, cocoa we are also launching mango and dates variant this month,” Rakyan said.
In the next three years, he expects the non-juice segments to contribute to over half of the company’s turnover.
Raw Pressery has raised $22.4 million in equity so far, with investors including venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners; and about $5 million in debt from Alteria Capital, which provides loans to startups.
For its expansion, product wise and geographically, the startup is planning to raise more capital.
“We will be raising the next round of funding with a focus on near term profitability and unit economics suited for margins plus operational leverage with a strong trajectory to scale the business,” Rakyan said.
Brands such as Raw Pressery are witnessing increasing adoption as consumers seek healthier food and beverage products.
The startup also plans to expand abroad- in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, which the company believes are attractive juice markets because of a culture of juice consumption, as well as disposable incomes far higher than that in India. After that it also plans to expand to Southeast Asia.
“UAE Qatar Kuwait are large juice markets; and SouthEast Asia is a growing juice market that is definitely on the cards for us. For now we’ll concentrate on Metro Tier 1-2 as there is sufficient growth in top 12 cities where we get 50-55% (of revenue) from the top 4 cities,” Rakyan said.

Source : livemint