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China-based high-end instant noodles maker Baijia Food has raised CN¥200 million ($28 million) in a Series B funding round in order to focus on product research and development, expand its production capacity, and marketing and brand promotion.
The round was led by GL Ventures, an affiliate of Beijing-based PE (private equity) firm Hillhouse Capital.
The funding round also witnessed participation from MTCCBT, Binfu Fund, Tongchuang Weiye, Yisan Capital, and others, according to AgFunder’s report.
It is to be noted that the company closed its Series A round in February, raising around $16 million.
Brands like Baijia Food see themselves as competing with restaurants on quality, but at a lower price point; while they’re able to command a higher price than traditional instant noodles and soups, according to GL Ventures’ Dai Yuexiang.
Speaking to the National Business Daily, Baijia Food chairman Chen Zhaohui said the company’s revenue has grown by an annual average of 45% over the past 3 years. In 2019 sales reached over $98.7 million.
Since the beginning of 2020, sales have skyrocketed by 120% due to the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown. With millions of consumers nowadays eating at home more often, ‘new convenience foods’ received a boost in interest, he said.
Started out as a maker of dry-frozen instant noodles, Baijia Food has refocused on so-called ‘new convenience foods’ in recent years in order to recreate some of China’s several regional delicacies as microwave-ready meals.
