Connedit Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates nuts and dry fruit startup Farmley, has secured $6 million (around Rs 45 crore) as a part of its Series A funding round co-led by Singapore-based venture capital firm DSG Consumer Partners and Alkemi Ventures, with existing investors Omnivore, Insitor Partners and other angel investors.
The New Delhi-based startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds for channel expansion as well as for building its team and brand.
Founded by IIT graduates Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal in 2017, Farmley claims to have built backend linkages over the years with domestic and global farming communities to source nuts and dry fruits. The startup has scaled its revenues by 10X in the one and a half year, it said in a statement.
“Nuts & dry fruit have become synonymous with festivities and health awareness. We aim to blend them into the various eating occasions throughout the day,” said Sharma and Agarwal.
“This segment is large and 95% of the market is unorganized. The products from the unorganized market lack quality, hygiene and have adulteration issues.
The full backward integration at Farmley ensures quality produce. The company is on a strong growth trajectory and the founders have built a team with focus on customer pain points,” said Hariharan Premkumar, head of India at DSG Consumer Partners.
DSG Consumer Partners is an investment company focusing on investing in growing consumer businesses in India & Southeast Asia. In January, VCCircle had reported that the firm is planning to raise its fourth consumer-focussed fund targeting nearly double the quantum it raised for its last fund over two years ago.
New Delhi-based Alkemi Growth Capital is an early growth investment firm focused on the healthcare and consumer wellness industry. The firm’s portfolio includes the likes of Redcliffe Lifetech, Docquity, Doceree, Meddo, Medkart, Pee Safe and Healthcube, among others.
The snacks segment in the ecosystem has seen some traction in 2022 even as VCs get on the defensive amid a prevailing funding winter.
Earlier in July, VCCircle reported that nutritional snacks brand Yoga Bar was in discussions to raise up to $20 million in a fresh round.
Matrix-backed healthy snacks platform Open Secret, in June, snagged $10 million in a Series B round led by Ananta Capital.
In February this year, Happilo raised $25 million in a fresh round from private equity major, Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE).
As per a report released by Avendus Capital earlier this year, Indian households are likely to double their spends on health-focused foods and beverages in the next five years, as consumers increasingly shift to healthier food alternatives.
India is the fastest growing health food market expanding at 20% CAGR and the category will assume a market size of $30 billion in the next five years, as per the report.
