Chicago-Based Food Innovator Quicklly Raises Seven-Figure Investment to Expand Digital Marketplace for Indian and South Asian Small Businesses
The $1.27 MM Pre-Seed funding round was led by current and former executives of Home Chef, Peapod, and Fabletics
CHICAGO, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based startup Quicklly today announced the completion of a $1.27 million pre-seed funding round, led by Founder and CEO of Home Chef Pat Vihtelic, Peapod Co-Founder and Former CIO John A. Furton, Farmer's Fridge Executive and Former Peapod CMO Mike Brennan, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Shiftgig, Angel Investor Eddie Lou, John Cerasani of Glencrest Global (Cerasani Family Office), Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of TechStyle Group (Owners of Fabletics and JustFab) Adam Goldenberg and Don Ressler, and SVP of Operations at Foxtrot and Former General Manager of Instacart Scott Holloway.
As the nation's most comprehensive Indian and South Asian food marketplace, this investment in Quicklly's future demonstrates the power and opportunity in Ethnic Groceries and Food Delivery. It also allows the company to further its goal of becoming the nation's largest one-stop-shop for grocery items, tiffins, and fully prepared South Asian meals.
"After being in business for only three years, Quicklly has been able to digitally revolutionize mom and pop businesses who can now benefit from the company's scale and proprietary technology. We're honored to partner with them as they take their operations to the next level," said Adam Goldenberg, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of TechStyle Group.
"As early investors in Quicklly, we've seen this breakthrough business consistently grow 2X-3X, since its inception, and quadrupled in 2020. It's rare to find a business that is at once mission-driven and extremely profitable. Still, Quicklly's team has built precisely that with their digital marketplace," said Eddie Lou, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of Shiftgig, Angel Investor, and John Cerasani, Owner of Glencrest Global, Cerasani Family Office.
Co-founded in 2017 by Keval Raj, Quicklly offers a range of Indian grocery items, tiffins, and fully prepared restaurant meals, delivered to your doorstep. The company aims to simplify the lives of the nearly 5.4 million South Asians living in the U.S. by seamlessly connecting them to their favorite local businesses. The co-founders drew from their family's entrepreneurial roots to develop the business' initial concept and are now helping local business owners create digital storefronts to connect with their customers across Greater Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area.
"In an effort to solve a problem for their family businesses, Quicklly discovered a powerful opportunity to impact Indian and South Asian business across the country. They've created a one-of-a-kind marketplace that offers everything customers need to prepare and enjoy their favorite dishes, and their success is proof that the next wave of food tech innovation will be driven by ethnic and niche grocery," said John A. Furton, Peapod Co-Founder and Former CIO.
With a simplified ordering process through quicklly.com, customers can order groceries or meals online, schedule their most convenient delivery time and date, and easily manage payment with the click of a button. Unlike other food delivery companies, Quicklly covers up to a 20-mile delivery radius and allows customers to consolidate orders from several grocers and restaurants into a single delivery.
Quicklly's proprietary Artificial Intelligence-driven technology helps vendors determine the most popular items and tailor their offerings to current demand. With significantly lower fees than traditional delivery apps and a clientele that is perfectly tailored for South Asian ethnicity food, Quicklly is also helping local entrepreneurs remain in business throughout the pandemic and keep their customers satisfied.
"We're thrilled to partner with these dynamic investors across e-commerce, food tech, and retail to expand Quicklly's geographic footprint and deepen our support for local grocers, restaurants, and caterers," said Keval Raj, one of Quicklly's co-founders. "As the child of small business owners, I know first-hand the challenges that local entrepreneurs face. These obstacles have only increased as business owners across the country deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We created Quicklly to give these businesses the technological resources to compete against the larger players by building their digital storefronts, expanding their consumer base, and scaling their digital capabilities with a significantly lower fee structure. This seed investment allows us to focus on our mission of becoming the country's #1 South Asian marketplace so that our small business partners can focus on what they do best -- providing high-quality groceries and meals to our customers."
Quicklly currently offers same-day grocery and food delivery in the Greater Chicago area and the San Francisco Bay area and is on track to enable more than 100 small businesses with its proprietary digital platform by the end of Q1 2021. The company also plans to expand to New York City and Northern New Jersey in the coming months. For more information or to sign up, go to quicklly.com.
About Quicklly
Whether longing for ingredients to stock up your kitchen or meals to satisfy your cravings, Quicklly offers everything you need to enjoy South Asian and Indian cuisine, all in one place. As the nation's most comprehensive, one-stop marketplace, Quicklly provides access to a range of Indian grocery ingredients, tiffins, and fully prepared restaurant meals delivered to your doorstep.
Founded in 2017, Quicklly also provides a full digital presence for local businesses, connecting them to customers across Greater Chicago, San Francisco, the Bay Area, and soon will be expanding nationwide. Learn more at https://www.quicklly.com.
SOURCE Quicklly
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