By All In Capital
Copyright indiatimes
Quick medicine delivery startup Plazza, founded by former Zomato head of dining out Aman Priyadarshi, has secured $1.4 million funding led by All In Capital. Better Capital, data platform Tracxn founder Abhishek Goyal, e-scooter maker Bounce’s founder Vivekananda Hallekere, the Singhania family office, and the promoters of JK Tyre also participated in the round.Plazza will use the funds to expand its product range and increase its store footprint in Bengaluru. Currently, it has one store in the city and will add two more this year. While Plazza aims to deliver within 15 to 60 minutes, it has taken an omnichannel approach. It started with its flagship store in Yemalur and plans to open 20 new outlets in the next 12 months.“A typical pharmacy has 4,000-5,000 SKUs (stock keeping units), which is very small and doesn’t have all the medicines that customers need’’, said Priyadarshi, who is the startup’s founder and chief executive. “We are challenging how pharma is retailed. We have 20,000 SKUs which can be directly purchased from our store or delivered’’.Plazza plans to expand its offerings to healthy snacks, mother and baby care, elder care, and dermatology products across its app and stores.“So far, we have served 10,000 customers and the business is growing 25% weekly of late’’, Priyadarshi said. Plazza was founded by Priyadarshi and Aniruddha Sen, cofounder of Kenko Health, in November 2024. Kenko shut shop in August last year after running out of funds.The funding comes at a time when quick commerce platforms are also pushing their 10-minute delivery of over-the-counter medicines and supplements. Instamart has tied up with Pharmeasy for this, Zepto is going on its own, and Amazon has partnered with Orange Health for diagnostics services.ET had reported in March that while there is a strong demand for quick medicine delivery, companies could face roadblocks, impacting aggressive expansion plans. Executives said the key to shorter delivery timelines for medicines is adding physical pharmacies to the supply chain, which is capital intensive and comes with arduous licensing rules.Earlier this month, Bengaluru-based online pharmacy PlatinumRx raised $6 million in a funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners. In August, e-pharmacy Truemeds, which focuses on recommending and delivering generics/brand substitutes to patients, secured $85 million in a round led by Accel and Peak XV Partners.
