Startups take DMart route to small towns, catch investor eyes

Last week, India's test cricket captain Shubman Gill was part of a ₹100-crore investment into a supermarket chain that counts Kadapa, a small city in Andhra Pradesh with a population of under 500,000, as its biggest market.

- Sowmya Ramasubramanian

SuperK, which sells groceries at affordable prices similar to that at DMart, Vishal Mega Mart, and Reliance Retail's Smart Bazaar, attracted other marquee investors as well—Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal's 3State Ventures, and CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti.

Other similar value-retail chains Apna Mart, Citykart and Aap ka Bazar that are focused on small-town India and have quick-commerce and technology-led operations at their core have also caught the eye of venture capital investors.

Nandan Nilekani's investment firm Fundamentum Partnership, Accel and Peak XV Partners invested $25 million (nearly ₹220 crore) in Bengaluru-based Apna Mart in March. Citykart meanwhile, secured ₹538 crore from TPG NewQuest and A91 Partners in May.