Dipping sauce maker Wingreens Farms Pvt Ltd has raised $17 million (Rs 124 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by Bahrain-based Investcorp. Omidyar Network India also participated in this round. Mid-market investment bank Veda Corp acted as the financial advisor to the company for this transaction.
The company plans to utilise the capital to onboard several new-age food and beverage brands on the WingreensWorld.com platform, with an online and offline presence. “We are passionate about building a new-age food and beverage company that continues to scale a social impact on the back end, while building exciting brands that resonate with the emerging millennial consumer on the front end,” said Anju C Srivastava, managing director at Wingreens Farms.
Wingreens was launched in 2011 by Arjun Srivastava and his wife Anju. It started operations with fresh dips and later expanded to spreads, sauces, pita chips and bakery products.
In January this year, Wingreens acquired Rakyan Beverages, known for retailing cold-press juices under the Raw Pressery brand, in a stock-swap transaction.
Wingreen’s current portfolio includes healthy snacks, sauces and spreads, spice mixes, specialty bakery products, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, protein shakes and a wide assortment of organic products. The company has an omni-channel distribution strategy with an offline retail footprint in over 200 cities across India. Wingreens has also launched a new direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform named WingreensWorld.com, which offers its multi-brand foods and beverages.
Swiss impact investor responsAbility Investments AG and Sequoia Capital is among its other investors, according to the company.
“With its sustainable business model and focus on delivering quality products, the company is a clear market leader across segments and enjoys a strong reputation. Over the years, it has showcased a robust market standing and strong financial metrics,” said Gaurav Sharma, partner at Investcorp India. Last month, VCCircle reported that Investcorp is planning to launch a second India-focused fund early next year.
Till date, InvestCorp has deployed $300 million across ten companies in India. Its investments include non-banking financial company (NBFC) InCred, a minority stake in ASG Eye Hospitals Pvt Ltd, apparel retain chain Citykart Retail Pvt. Ltd, co-living services provider Zolostays, online delivery platform for meat and seafood Fresh-to-Home, dialysis chain Nephroplus and logistics player Xpressbees.
Its most recent investments include US-headquartered SaaS-based ecommerce solutions provider Unilog, luggage maker Safari Industries (India) Ltd and direct-to-consumer (D2C) online apparel platform Bewakoof.
Investcorp plans to take the primary market route for as many as three portfolio companies including Nephroplus, Fresh-to-Home and XpressBees.