Bengaluru-based Yeshoda Rose Bazaar Pvt. Ltd, which runs floral startup Hoovu Fresh, on Wednesday said it has secured pre-Series A funding of Rs 6.45 crore (around $850,000) led by early-stage venture capital firm Sauce.vc.
The round also saw participation from Sangeet Agrawal (Mokobara), Akshay Dujodwala (Mangalam Organics) and Nikhil Bhandarkar (Panthera Peak Capital), among others.
Founded by Yeshoda and Rhea Karuturi in 2019, Hoovu Fresh is a platform which delivers fresh flowers by shortening the supply chain and leveraging technology in packaging and innovation.
Currently, it has operations in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai and flowers can be ordered via Big Basket, Zepto, Milk Basket and other grocery apps, the firm said in a statement.
“With our processing and packaging technology, our flowers stay fresh for 15 days as compared to the average 2-3 days, something that is unheard of in the industry. This way we have been able to create value both for the farmer as well as the end customer,” said the Karuturis in a statement.
“We view Hoovu as a breakthrough brand in the enormous and unorganised space of puja consumables,” said Manu Chandra, founder and managing partner, Sauce.vc.
Founded in early 2019, Mumbai-based Sauce.vc invests in consumer sectors within the food and beverages, personal care, apparel and lifestyle segments.
In April, VCCircle had reported that the firm has marked the final close of its second India-focused fund with an oversubscription and is planning to raise a larger annex fund.