The State Plate (TSP) is a Bengaluru-linked Indian regional food and grocery marketplace and private-label brand founded by Muskaan Sancheti and Raghav Jhawar, acquired by JustMyRoots in September 2023.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what The State Plate does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

The State Plate in Brief

• What it is: The State Plate is an Indian Regional packaged food marketplace company based in Bengaluru.
• Who it serves: online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners.
• Sells about 500 state-specific snacks, sweets, spices, staples, pickles and chutneys
• Examples include Gujarat khakhra, Bengaluru nippattu, Rajasthani khichiya and Kerala kuzhalappam
• Sources from brands, dealers and home chefs and ships across India
• Funding: Not disclosed in amounts; a $180K seed (Oct 2021) is listed by one aggregator.

The State Plate Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is The State Plate?

The State Plate operates in the Regional packaged food marketplace space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to The State Plate.

• Sells about 500 state-specific snacks, sweets, spices, staples, pickles and chutneys
• Examples include Gujarat khakhra, Bengaluru nippattu, Rajasthani khichiya and Kerala kuzhalappam
• Sources from brands, dealers and home chefs and ships across India
• Also runs a private-label line

The Origin Story of The State Plate

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Muskaan Sancheti, Raghav Jhawar.
• Founders met at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi
• Idea came in the 2020 lockdown when Muskaan ran out of Rajasthani papad and shipping from a Bengaluru shop cost more than the product
• Started as a bootstrapped venture with Rs 5,000 per one profile; Raghav later moved to Bengaluru

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Regional packaged food marketplace sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• Aug 2020: Founded per most sources
• Pre-seed from Antler India
• Oct 2021: Seed of about $180K listed by an aggregator
• Shark Tank India Season 1: investment from Peyush Bansal
• Jul 2023: Funding from Sourav Ganguly reported
• Sept 2023: JustMyRoots acquires TSP; founders continue to run the brand

The State Plate Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• Pre-seed: Antler India, amount not stated
• Shark Tank India S1: Peyush Bansal, terms not stated in sources read
• Jul 2023: Sourav Ganguly invested, amount not stated
• Acquisition terms by JustMyRoots not disclosed

How Does The State Plate Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• Earns a fixed percentage of sales on products sold at MRP
• Hybrid of curated marketplace and private label
• Products tested for quality and delisted on negative feedback

The Numbers: The State Plate Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY22: revenue about Rs 4.3 crore
• FY23: revenue about Rs 3.0 crore (down 32%); net loss about Rs 1.1 crore
• No FY24 or FY25 figures found

Market Opportunity for The State Plate

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising internet and smartphone use, growing online retail, digital payments, quick commerce and a younger consumer base that is open to new brands. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Regional food is dominated by traditional unorganised sellers with few focused online players

Technology and Product at The State Plate

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are supply-chain reliability, brand trust, product quality, data on customer behaviour and the efficiency of fulfilment.

• Core capability: Public detail on The State Plate’s technology stack is limited beyond company-stated descriptions.
• Assessment lens: supply-chain reliability, brand trust, product quality, data on customer behaviour and the efficiency of fulfilment.

Team and Culture at The State Plate

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Founders were 23 at the time of the acquisition; about 10 team members at an earlier profile

The State Plate Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for The State Plate

• Revenue fell in FY23 with continued losses
• Small scale relative to mainstream grocery platforms
• Founding year and funding details differ across sources
• Competition: low barriers to entry and large marketplaces make it hard for a brand to stay differentiated.
• Customer acquisition cost: paid marketing can become expensive and erode margins as a brand scales.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations.

The State Plate Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• Integration with JustMyRoots gives access to intercity delivery
• Key indicators: repeat purchase rate, average order value, gross margin, contribution margin and customer acquisition cost.
• Funding position: Whether The State Plate can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations.

Industry Context: Where The State Plate Fits

India's consumer market is large, young and increasingly online. Rising smartphone and internet use, digital payments and faster delivery have helped direct-to-consumer brands, marketplaces and quick-commerce platforms reach customers who once relied on local shops. Established companies, marketplaces and new brands now compete for the same shoppers.

Success in consumer businesses usually depends on a clear brand promise, repeat customers and healthy unit economics, not on sales volume alone. Companies that control quality, understand customer needs and manage marketing costs tend to build more durable brands than those that grow mainly by discounting.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for The State Plate

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for The State Plate.

Bull case

• A growing base of online shoppers expands the potential market.
• Strong brands can earn repeat purchases and pricing power.
• Distribution through marketplaces, quick commerce and stores widens reach.

Bear case

• Heavy competition and discounting can hurt margins.
• Rising marketing costs can slow profitable growth.
• Supply-chain or quality problems can quickly damage trust.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from The State Plate

Studying a company in the Regional packaged food marketplace space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about The State Plate.

• A clear brand identity and consistent product quality matter more than short-term sales spikes.
• Repeat customers lower acquisition costs and make growth more profitable.
• Controlling the supply chain helps protect quality and margins as volumes grow.
• Selling across several channels, such as own website, marketplaces, quick commerce and stores, reduces dependence on one platform.
• Healthy contribution margins are a better sign of progress than revenue growth alone.

How to Evaluate The State Plate as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can The State Plate name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

The State Plate is part of India’s growing Regional packaged food marketplace ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

The State Plate FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is The State Plate?

The State Plate (TSP) is a Bengaluru-linked Indian regional food and grocery marketplace and private-label brand founded by Muskaan Sancheti and Raghav Jhawar, acquired by JustMyRoots in September 2023. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded The State Plate?

The State Plate was founded by Muskaan Sancheti, Raghav Jhawar, and the company reports a founding year of 2020 (reports differ: 2021 on one source).

How much funding has The State Plate raised?

Not disclosed in amounts; a $180K seed (Oct 2021) is listed by one aggregator. Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does The State Plate make money?

The State Plate earns revenue from its Regional packaged food marketplace products and services sold to online shoppers, retail customers, marketplaces and distribution partners. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of The State Plate?

Reported rivals include Tastes2Plate, Zomato. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for The State Plate?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and large marketplaces make it hard for a brand to stay differentiated, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by consumer protection rules, FSSAI and BIS standards where relevant, the Legal Metrology rules and e-commerce regulations. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Related Startup Deep Dives: Biomoneta Research — Biomoneta: Bengaluru germicidal tech startup raised seed in 2020 | Astrogate Labs — Bengaluru startup building laser links for satellites. Browse the full Startup Deep Dive series.

Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.