Flipkart’s Shopsy🛍, Rebel Foods $150Mn budget💰, Nike's metaverse push⚡

Flipkart’s Shopsy enters grocery business, Rebel Foods budgets $150 mn to acquire and scale, Nike buys virtual sneakers maker, Funding Deals & more.

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Dec 15, 2021

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Flipkart’s Shopsy enters grocery business to take on DealShare, Meesho🛍

Flipkart has started offering groceries as a category on its five-month-old social commerce platform Shopsy.

Groceries on Shopsy will be available across 700 cities, spanning over 5,800 pin codes. The platform will have 6,000 products across 230 categories such as staples, FMCG, and other dry groceries, matching the selection and range available on Flipkart Grocery. The platform will offer a flat 5% commission margin to its resellers.

Flipkart’s Shopsy Starts Offering Groceries in 700 Cities, Aims to Become Largest Retailer in India

An increasing number of companies are now selling groceries through the social commerce model. DealShare has been a prominent player while Meesho has been doubling down on groceries through Farmiso. We previously reported that Udaan has also entered the space through Price Company.

When Flipkart launched Shopsy in July, the company specifically mentioned that it would not offer groceries. The change in plan is similar to that of Grofers, which a few months ago pivoted to quick grocery deliveries.

Rebel Foods budgets $150 million to acquire and scale new brands🍔

Rebel Foods, which operates a network of cloud kitchens and digital brands, said it is committing $150 million (about Rs 1,138 crore) for strategic brand investments and acquisitions in India and around the world.

It will use this investment pool over the next few quarters as it looks to scale existing partnerships and build new ones with more than 40 Indian and international brands, it said in a statement.

jaydeep barman and kallol banerjee — Kallol Banerjee (left) and Jaydeep Barman, co-founders of Rebel Foods

Mumbai-based Rebel Foods, the company behind brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Ovenstory Pizza and Mandarin Oak, turned unicorn in October after raising $175 million in a round led by Qatar Investment Authority.

Soon after, the company said it planned to launch its IPO in the next 18-24 months. We also reported in October that Rebel Foods plans to expand globally through its partnership with Foodpanda.

India’s cloud kitchen sector has seen heightened deal activity in recent months.

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Nike buys virtual sneaker maker in metaverse push✔

Nike Inc said on Monday it had bought virtual sneaker company RTFKT for an undisclosed sum, as the sportswear giant looks to quickly expand its footprint in the fast-growing "metaverse".

Last month, Nike became one of the first big brands to enter the shared virtual world that gained prominence after Facebook Inc recently rebranded itself to Meta Platforms Inc.

Nike Acquires Fashion and Sneaker NFT Site RTFKT

In such blockchain-based environments, users can buy virtual land and other digital assets such as clothing for avatars in the form of a crypto asset called a non-fungible token (NFT).

Formed in 2020 by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev, RTFKT also makes NFT collectibles and memes, according to its website.