Food-tech startup Pluckk acquires DIY meal kit brand KOOK

Pluckk, a first-of-its-kind digital lifestyle-oriented fresh food brand in the Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) space, has announced the acquisition of KOOK, an Indian food-tech startup that offers a range of DIY Meal Kits for consumers, at a deal value of $ 1.3 million through a combination of cash and equity.

KOOK offers DIY Meal Kits that make cooking easier for everyone by providing pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. With a reputation for catering to various dietary preferences and cooking skills, KOOK has a strong presence in Delhi and Mumbai.

Pluckk`s acquisition of KOOK is a strategic move to tap into the enormous growth potential of the meal kit market and presents significant opportunities for Pluckk. The global market is projected to grow from $15.21 billion in 2021 to $31.5 billion by 2025, representing a 20 per cent CAGR. With KOOK`s strong target audience and expertise in meal kits, Pluckk is well-positioned to deliver the best quality fresh food to its end consumers in this thriving $15 billion market.

Speaking on the acquisition, Nelson D`Souza, CFO,Pluckk, said, "We are thrilled to welcome the young team of KOOK to the Pluckk family. Their demonstrated expertise in building a world-class product in the meal-kit space, coupled with our commitment to provide safe and chemical-free produce, will enable us to offer an unbeatable farm-to-fork experience to customers across India. In the post-Covid world, Ready to CookMeal Kits have emerged as a sought after cooking trend with customers preferring to control the quality of food consumed while having more dining options which we look to leverage by offering this differentiator to our customer experience. Further, from a unit economics point-of-view, this is a welcome addition to our portfolio and will help us accelerate our journey towards building a profitable business.

KOOK, Co-Founder, Arpitta Jerath said, "We are thrilled to be joining forces with Pluckk and becoming a part of their innovative fresh food ecosystem. The synergies between what we are building at KOOK and the lifestyle first approach that Pluckk brings to the Fruits & Vegetables category seems very compelling. Our range of DIY Meal Kits, combined with Pluckk`s digital lifestyle-oriented brand, will allow us to offer even more convenience and healthy meal options to the discerning customers in the ever-growing markets Pluckk operates in."

KOOK, Co-Founder, Nikhil Thatai said, "At KOOK, we are committed to making cooking easy and convenient for our customers and we are excited to bring our range of DIY Meal Kits to even more people through our synergies with Pluckk. We estimate the market size of meal kits to be around $1 billion by 2025 in India and we look forward to leveraging our expertise in meal kit delivery to offer healthy and delicious meal options to cater to this booming market in our country."

Pluckk offers a farm-to-fork product line for health-conscious consumers, featuring safe and chemical-free produce through their ozone wash and traceability program. Customers can shop based on food trends such as gut health, heart health, and diabetes, and access a wide range of products beyond the basics, including organic and exotic produce. Pluckk`s products are available on their own D2C platform and partner platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, Dunzo, and Amazon.

About Pluckk

Pluckk is a B2C fresh produce food tech supply chain platform founded in July 2021. Co-founded by Pratik Gupta and seed-funded by Exponentia Ventures (EV) with current operations in Bangalore and Mumbai. It is the first of its kind digital lifestyle-oriented fresh food brand in Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) space.

Pluckk provides a platform to facilitate the `farm-to-table` concept. It offers a large variety of special selections of gourmet fruits and vegetables directly to end consumers, doing away with mediators. The platform has already on boarded 500 plus farmers across Mumbai and Bengaluru and plans to reach the 1,000 mark in the next 6 months.

About KOOK

KOOK is a DIY Meal Kit Startup founded by ISB Alumni Nikhil and Arpitta in 2020. With presence across Delhi and Mumbai, KOOK was started with a mission to make at home cooking hassle free and easy. KOOK aims to make the task of cooking wholesome good quality meals less daunting with ready to cook kits that come with semi prepped and pre-portioned ingredients that are freshly sourced, hygienically packed and have ZERO preservatives. KOOK Meal kits enable people to make a perfect meal from start to finish at home in under 20 minutes.