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Venture Catalysts, an integrated incubator and early-stage investor, has announced a pre-Series A investment of $500,000 in TagZ Foods, a Bengaluru-based snacking brand focused on the urban GenZ.

The round also saw participation from Dharamveer Chouhan (Co-founder, Zostel), Dhruv Toshniwal (Co-founder, The Pant Project), and Loy Halder (Managing Director, Goldman Sachs) among others.

 Shailesh Ghorpade (Managing Partner – Exfinity Ventures) has been on the board of the company.

Founded in 2019 by Anish Basu Roy and Sagar Bhalotia, TagZ Foods claims to be the first brand in India to manufacture popped potato chips — which are neither fried, nor baked — and have 50 percent less fat. The startup uses cutting-edge food technology to make potato chips which claims to have no cholesterol, no transfat, no artificial colors, or preservatives.

“Our mission is to bring global innovation in foodtech for the Indian GenZ consumers, with our lips-smacking and better-for-you snacking experiences. At the same time, we want to help this future generation beat obesity and truly enjoy active passions such as travel, outdoors and sports. Afterall, life is much more than mobile games and binge-watching,” said Co-founder Anish Basu Roy.

“Also, we are a 100 percent made-in-India product and have already helped over 2.5 lakh consumers shift to fitter potato chips and quit the fatty fried ones,” Anish added.

The brand is available on all online platforms including Amazon, Big Basket, Supr Daily, Grofers, and others. It also has an offline presence with over 1,000 premium retail stores in Bengaluru and other cities.

Since its launch, the brand has served more than 2.5 lakh consumers. With the funding, TagZ Foods will now improve its distribution and production capacity in other major cities across the country. Consumers can also expect to see a range of new products being launched by the company, which will disrupt traditional snacking in the country.

Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-founder and Managing Director, Venture Catalysts, added, 

“There is, currently, a major tech-led transformation afoot in the Indian snack food industry. TagZ Foods is at the forefront of this disruption with its innovative manufacturing processes and specialised foodtech. We have full faith in the founding team’s vision to craft an Indian GenZ brand and fulfil the growing demand for fitter snacking experiences.”