Rahul Verma, Co-founder & Director of Dev Milk Foods (FruBon), following the brand's latest capital infusion from Fireside Ventures to accelerate its North Indian dairy expansion.

FruBon Bags Follow-On Funding From Fireside Ventures & Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office — Eyes 75-City North India Push

Harshvardhan Jain
12 Min Read

 Quick Take 

  •  Funding: Undisclosed amount — follow-on round from Fireside Ventures + Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office + angel investors
  •  Lead Investor: Fireside Ventures — India’s leading consumer brand VC with Rs 5,300 Cr AUM; prior investor since Series A (Jan 2024)
  •  Traction: 200+ SKUs, 75+ cities, 5,000+ farmers, 65%+ CAGR since commercial launch; Rs 100 Cr+ revenue target
  •  Use of Funds: More retail stores, cold chain & production upgrades, new dairy and ice cream product development
  •  What’s Next: North India city expansion; positioning as the dominant regional dairy brand ahead of a potential Series B

Jaipur-based consumer dairy and ice cream brand FruBon, operated by Dev Milk Foods Private Limited, has raised an undisclosed amount of follow-on funding from Fireside Ventures and the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, with participation from a group of angel investors — marking the brand’s latest capital infusion as it accelerates its push across North India’s fast-growing branded dairy market.

This round positions FruBon to aggressively expand beyond its current 75-city footprint in North India, strengthen cold chain capabilities — the critical infrastructure moat in any dairy business — and launch new product lines to challenge both legacy cooperatives and fast-scaling new-age dairy brands. Fireside Ventures’ continued backing, following its initial Series A led investment in January 2024, signals strong conviction in FruBon’s unit economics and regional brand-building playbook.

 StartupFeed Insight

  • What the numbers say: A 65%+ CAGR with Rs 100 Cr+ revenue on a 200+ SKU portfolio — while competing directly with cooperatives in Rajasthan — is an extraordinary signal. FruBon has done what most dairy startups cannot: build profitable product diversity without sacrificing distribution depth.
  • If you’re a founder: FruBon’s model — integrating sourcing (5,000+ farmers), manufacturing (FSSC22000-certified plant), and multi-channel distribution — is a blueprint for how to build defensible regional consumer brands before scaling nationally.
  • If you’re an investor: India’s branded dairy market is projected at $380 Bn by 2028 at 13.2% CAGR. FruBon’s North India-first play, with Rajasthan as a manufacturing base, is undervalued relative to metro-focused peers. Watch for a Series B by H1 FY27.
  • If you’re an employee: Fireside doubling down post-Series A means the company’s expansion roadmap is funded. Roles in sales, cold chain logistics, and product development across North Indian cities will open significantly.
  • Our prediction: FruBon will cross Rs 150 Cr in revenue by FY26 and file for a Series B of Rs 80-120 Cr by Q2 FY27 to fund its Tier-2 city push and potential entry into South India.

Deal Breakdown

Investor Role Type Status
Fireside Ventures Lead Consumer Brand VC Follow-on (Series A lead, Jan 2024)
Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office Participating Family Office Follow-on (prior Seed investor, May 2022)
Angel Investors (group) Participating Angels Follow-on

The exact funding amount has not been disclosed. Based on Tracxn data, FruBon’s total cumulative funding across all rounds stands at approximately $10.5 Mn (~Rs 87 Cr), with the Series A in January 2024 valued at $7.7 Mn (~Rs 64 Cr). Dexter Capital served as exclusive financial advisor for the Series A; advisor details for this round have not been disclosed.

Investor Spotlight

Investor Key Facts
Fireside Ventures Founded 2015 | AUM: Rs 5,300 Cr (USD 650 Mn) | Fund IV closed Dec 2025 at Rs 2,265 Cr | Portfolio: Honasa Consumer (Mamaearth), boAt, The Sleep Company, Pilgrim, Slurrp Farm | 83 portfolio companies | 3 unicorns
Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office Part of Ambuja Cements / ACC promoter family (Sekhsaria family) | Based in Mumbai | Prior Seed investor in FruBon since May 2022 | Known for backing quality consumer and food businesses

Vinay Singh, Co-founder and Partner at Fireside Ventures, said at the time of the Series A: “Our decision to invest in Frubon was based on two premises: the universal appeal of the category and the focus of building a sustainable brand, from an efficient supply chain to maintaining a high quality of dairy products to giving back to society.”

Use of Funds

  • Retail Store Expansion: Opening new company-owned and franchise retail outlets across existing and new North Indian cities
  • Cold Chain Upgrade: Upgrading production infrastructure and cold storage systems to support higher SKU volume and geographic reach
  • Product Development: Developing new dairy and ice cream products to extend the 200+ SKU portfolio into untapped categories
  • Distribution Strengthening: Deepening general trade, modern retail, HORECA, and quick commerce channel penetration beyond 75 cities

The emphasis on cold chain infrastructure — not just store expansion — signals that FruBon is building the durable physical moat that has historically been the key differentiator between dairy startups that scale and those that plateau.

Company Snapshot — Dev Milk Foods / FruBon

Metric Details
Legal Entity Dev Milk Foods Private Limited (DMF)
Brand Name FruBon
Founded April 2017 (commercial production began; parent entity traces to 2004)
Headquarters Jaipur, Rajasthan
Founders DD Verma (Dairy Technologist, 45+ yrs experience, NDRI Karnal), Rahul Verma (IIT + IIM Ahmedabad, ex-global banking), Rohit Verma (Electrical Engineer, ex-TCS)
Products (200+ SKUs) Ice cream (kulfi, cups, cones, sundaes, party packs, cakes), flavoured milk, paneer, ghee, lassi, chaach, dahi, milkshakes
Geographic Presence 75+ cities and towns across North India (Rajasthan, UP, Delhi NCR)
Farmer Network 5,000+ farmers across Sikar, Ringus (cow milk) and Niwai (buffalo milk) belts in Rajasthan
Milk Procurement 50,000-60,000 litres per day
Manufacturing 60,000 sq ft FSSC22000-certified plant at Mahindra World City, Jaipur
Quality Standard 36 quality checks per product
Revenue Growth 65%+ CAGR since commercial launch; Rs 100 Cr+ revenue target for FY24
Distribution General trade, modern retail (Reliance Retail), HORECA, Blinkit, BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart
Total Funding ~$10.5 Mn (~Rs 87 Cr) across 4 rounds (28 investors)

What the Founder Says

Rahul Verma, Director of Dev Milk Foods, said: “We are very excited about the partnership with Fireside Ventures which will enable us to progress on our journey to become one of the most trusted Dairy brands in India. With the only ice cream manufacturing setup of its kind in Rajasthan, Frubon is in a unique position — strategically and geographically — to address various gaps and opportunities in the market. This partnership will further accelerate our rapid growth leveraging our position as an end-to-end integrated dairy brand.”

Reading between the lines: Verma’s emphasis on ‘end-to-end integrated’ is deliberate. FruBon’s vertical integration — farm sourcing, manufacturing, and multi-channel distribution under one roof — is its core defensibility claim against both unbranded cooperatives and asset-light branded peers.

Who Should Be Watching

Player Why This Matters
Country Delight National dairy brand backed by Temasek and Venturi; FruBon’s North India expansion directly targets Country Delight’s distribution corridors in UP and Delhi NCR
Amul / State Co-operatives FruBon’s ‘pure milk ice cream’ and value-added dairy positioning challenges cooperative brands on quality differentiation — their weakest flank
MilkMantra / Sid’s Farm Regional dairy peers now face a better-funded, Rajasthan-anchored competitor with cold chain infrastructure and a proven 65% CAGR growth track record
Blinkit / Swiggy Instamart / BigBasket FruBon’s quick-commerce channel partnerships make it a beneficiary of India’s Q-commerce dairy demand surge — any deepening of those listings accelerates city reach without capex
Fireside Ventures portfolio (Slurrp Farm, etc.) Cross-portfolio synergies in modern trade and HORECA channels are a quiet advantage — Fireside’s network effect for consumer brands is proven post-Mamaearth and boAt

Funding Journey

Round Date Amount Lead Investor Key Investors
Seed Feb 2008 Undisclosed Early family/angel investors
Seed ~2021 Undisclosed Angel investors
Seed May 2022 Undisclosed Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, angels
Series A Jan 06, 2024 $7.7 Mn (~Rs 64 Cr) Fireside Ventures + Pi Ventures Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, 15 investors total
Follow-On Apr 2026 Undisclosed Fireside Ventures Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, angels
Total Raised ~$10.5 Mn (~Rs 87 Cr) 28 investors across all rounds

What’s Next

FruBon’s roadmap is clear: consolidate North India’s Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, leverage the Fireside network for modern trade and HORECA expansion, and build the cold chain density that makes a serious Series B — likely targeting national expansion into East and Central India — inevitable.

The larger question is whether FruBon can maintain its 65%+ growth rate as it scales from a Rajasthan-anchored brand to a pan-North India one. Geography compression favours it: unlike metro-first dairy startups that struggle with last-mile logistics, FruBon’s Jaipur manufacturing hub gives it cost-efficient reach across Rajasthan, UP, and Delhi NCR simultaneously.

By FY27, watch for: either a significant Series B announcement targeting South or East India expansion, or a strategic partnership with a national FMCG player seeking a branded dairy acquisition.

What do you think — will FruBon become North India’s answer to Amul for the next generation? Tell us @StartupFeed_official

FruBon is a Jaipur-based consumer dairy and ice cream brand operated by Dev Milk Foods Private Limited, founded in April 2017 by DD Verma, Rahul Verma, and Rohit Verma. The company has raised approximately $10.5 Mn across 4 rounds from investors including Fireside Ventures, Pi Ventures (Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office), and angel investors. FruBon operates a 60,000 sq ft FSSC22000-certified manufacturing facility at Mahindra World City, Jaipur, sourcing milk from 5,000+ farmers across Rajasthan.

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