The financing round, a mix of primary and secondary transactions, may value the firm at Rs 2,600-2,700 crore, up from Rs 900 crore ascribed to it two years ago, they said.
Lahori has been in talks with the likes of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Motilal Oswal Financial Services for the funding, said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.
The transaction could see Belgian investor Verlinvest – founded by the family shareholders of beer maker InBev – sell part of its stake in Lahori, the people said.
Verlinvest is the first institutional investor of Lahori, having invested $15 million in its series A round, and currently holds a 21.2% stake in the company.
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Lahori is looking to raise around Rs 250 crore in primary capital, with the founders also planning to partially offload their stake.
“The deal is still in discussion stages… investors such as Peak XV Partners have also held talks,” said another person.
Queries emailed to Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and Verlinvest did not elicit any response. ADIA declined to comment.
Fast scale-up
Lahori was founded in 2017 by three cousins – Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna and Nikhil Doda – who together hold 78.8% stake, according to data platform Tracxn.
The company’s most popular product is Lahori Zeera, a cumin-flavoured carbonated beverage, which sells in 160 ml and 240 ml sizes. It also sells lemon-based drinks such as shikanji, which is popular in northern India.
“Lahori is a fast-growing company and the scale-up has been rapid. Internally the thought process is to accelerate the business. The primary capital will be utilised to expand its manufacturing capacity from the current 5 million bottles per day to over 8 million bottles per day,” said one of the persons cited earlier.
The company has two manufacturing plants, one each in Punjab and Gujarat, and is now working to open a new facility in Uttar Pradesh.
Business snapshot
Lahori’s CEO Munjal declined to comment on the ongoing funding round. He told ET that the company closed 2023-24 with revenue of Rs 312 crore, up almost 50% year-on-year, and is on track to increase revenue to Rs 500 crore in this financial year.
Lahori is mainly focused on offline general and modern trade channels for its sales, with 99% of its turnover coming from offline distributors, while online, including quick commerce, contributes a miniscule portion, he said.
“Almost 80% of the sales for the carbonated beverages category in India is coming from general trade… quick commerce is mainly focused on top cities for now. So, the contribution of quick commerce to our sales will grow as and when penetration increases,” Munjal said.
He said that the direct-to-consumer brand hasn’t started selling on quick commerce platforms outside of northern India, which accounts for the bulk of its sales.
“ As much as 75% of our revenue is coming from North India till last year, followed by Mumbai and east India,” Munjal said, adding that the company is looking to expand its distributor footprint across the country.
Contrary to the market trend, he said, Lahori sees a large chunk of sales from its bigger stock-keeping units.
According to the Indian Beverage Association, the non-alcoholic beverages segment– comprising carbonated soft drinks, water, juice and sports drinks – in India is expected to expand to Rs 1.5 lakh crore by 2030 from about Rs 67,000 crore at present.
In June, Gurgaon-based new-age beverage startup Rockit – which launched an energy drink as its first product – raised Rs 6 crore in seed money led by consumer-focused venture capital firm Sauce VC.
Over the past two years, Reliance Retail has also signalled greater interest in the category, having bought vintage cola brand Campa in 2022 and having picked up a 50% stake in Gujarat-based carbonated soft drinks and juices maker Sosyo Hajoori Beverages.