Source: Entrackr
Mithila Foods, a Bihar-based FMCG start-up, has raised ₹1.5 crore in seed funding from A Junior VC (AJVC), founded by the investment professional Aviral Bhatnagar. This investment represents the company’s first external capital raise and will enable the company to expand its operations across India.
As per the company, the funds will facilitate the expansion of its distribution network, enhance its supply chain, and optimize the launch of new product categories targeting Bihari cuisine.
An authentic traditional startup
Mithila Foods, co-founded in January 2025 by Shubham Sunderka, Ankit Kumar, and Anshu Kumar, makes basic food items that are embedded within Bihar and Bihari food culture. The company’s product mix includes sattu, roasted chana, makhana, and katarni chuda, items that are widely consumed by households throughout Bihar. The founders saw the opportunity to mainstream Bihari traditional food products to a broader audience, including urban consumer populations across India.
Even though the company is less than a year old, it is growing fast. In less than five months, it says it reached over ₹3 crore in annualised revenue, launched over 20 SKU’s, and has served over 25,000 customers across 4,000 pin codes.
Mithila Foods started operating with a warehouse in Dumka, scaling quickly to offer products to customers in all of India. The products are sold through Amazon, Flipkart, and offline retail stores within Tier I and Tier II cities. And, the brand offers its products to migrant populations who are living outside of Bihar who would like to continue to consume authentic regional products.
The AJVC investment
AJVC has a standard methodology of investing ₹1.5 crore for 9% equity stake in startups. AJVC has already invested in nine startups in the pre-seed stage in D2C (consumer brands), AI, B2B services, etc. Unlike other VC firms, AJVC has invested in startups from states that are not strictly metro like Jharkhand and Assam.
Earlier this year, in March 2025, AJVC announced the closing of its first ₹100 crore fund. AJVC set up the fund to support companies in the early stages of their life cycles in India, especially at the pre-seed stage of funding. With this new round of financing for Mithila Foods, AJVC is maintaining its focused approach to building regional and scalable consumer brands.
Looking Forward
The founders of Mithila Foods believe this investment will help us not only solidify our presence in India but also introduce more heritage-based food products to new markets. Next steps for the company involve establishing more offline stores for available distribution, improving supply chain processes and developing new food products that highlight the food culture of Bihar.
