Tencent-backed Chinese e-grocery startup Missfresh bags $305m in investment

Missfresh, a Chinese online grocery startup, announced that it has raised 2 billion yuan (US$305.6 million) in strategic investment from a Qingdao government-guided consortium.

Photo credit: Missfresh

Founded in 2014, Missfresh operates an ecommerce platform that provides fresh food – including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, and beverages – through an integrated supply chain and network of mini-warehouses across the country.

With the investment, the company plans to build its industrial park base and smart supply chain center in Qingdao, a city in China’s eastern Shandong province.

The investment comes just five months after Missfresh raised US$495 million in a funding round from a fund under state-backed China International Capital Corporation, ICBC International Securities, Tencent, Abu Dhabi Capital Group, and Tiger Global, among others. The round followed the company’s US$450 million series D round in 2018 from Goldman Sachs, Tencent, and Sofina, among other investors.

The Chinese e-grocery industry has received a huge boost owing to the pandemic. During the first quarter of 2020, the online grocery market in the country saw 32.7% year-on-year growth, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Missfresh, for one, reported a 300% increase in online grocery orders during the Lunar New Year period, the report added.

Similar players in the space include Alibaba-backed Hema, JD.com-owned e-grocery platform JD Fresh, and Meituan’s Meituan Maicai.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.54 yuan.