Grocery retailer Yipien Fresh (Yipin Shengxian) has scored RMB 2.5 billion (USD 359 million) in its Series C round, led by Tencent as well as Today Capital, and joined by Eastern Bell Capital, Tencent Investment posted on its official WeChat account on Tuesday.
Tencent also led Yipie’s RMB 2 billion Series B in March 2019.
This new round comes as investors are increasing their bets on the fresh food sector. Grocery group-buying platforms Tongcheng Shenghuo and FamilyOne decided to merge their businesses, KrASIA reported on Monday. The combined entity already raised “several tens of millions of dollars” in a Series C+ round.
Yipien runs nearly 900 fresh-food neighborhood supermarkets in 17 cities in China. It was founded in 2013 in Hefei, capital of East China’s Anhui province. The company also operates an app and a WeChat mini program called Yipien Daojia, allowing online ordering and second-day delivery.
Yipien will use the new funds for business expansion, R&D, and to build out its logistics network, Tencent Investment said in its statement.
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