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Agritech Startup Loopworm raises $3.4 Mn Seed Fund led by Omnivore and WaterBridge

Agritech startup Loopworm has raised $3.4 million in seed funding led by Omnivore and WaterBridge Ventures. 

The round has also seen participation from Titan Capital and angel investors including Nadir Godrej of Godrej Agrovet, Sanjiv Rangrass, a former ITC executive, and Log9 Materials’ Akshay Singhal.

Loopworm plans to use the seed funding for talent acquisition, research, and development (R&D) including building laboratories, and to launch its first factory in North Bengaluru for scaling up production.

Founded in 2019 by IIT Roorkee graduates Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, Loopworm is an insect biotechnology startup that aims to optimize insect farming for households. small scale while producing nutrients and ingredients for business-to-business (B2B) customers.

The startup said it aims to transform multiple sectors including aquaculture, pet food, and nutraceuticals using multi-species insect biotechnology.

The startup is building decentralized insect rearing facilities in partnership with smallholder farmers. It aims to produce 3,00,000 metric tons (MT) of sustainable insect-based protein per annum, creating value from 7.5 million MT of food waste and agricultural byproducts, over the next five years,

Ankit Alok Bagaria and Abhi Gawri, Co-founders of LoopWorm, said in a joint statement, “We are thrilled to have Omnivore, Waterbridge, Titan Capital, and several experienced angels, including Nadir Godrej, as investors in Loopworm. We plan to use the new funding to set up our first Loop Factory in North Bengaluru, hire talent, and accelerate R&D.”

Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Omnivore, said, “Omnivore is delighted to back Loopworm under our OmniX Bio initiative, which seeks to blaze a path forward for agrifood life sciences in India. Loopworm sees massive potential in transforming cultivated insects into value-added nutrients and ingredients.”

In December 2021, the venture capital firm launched the OmniX Bio initiative to provide additional support to agribusiness life science startups. In a statement, Loopworm said the investment is Omnivore’s second under the initiative.

Most recently, in April, Omnivore also launched a third fund with a target capital of $130 million to invest in early-stage startups developing technology for agriculture, food and business. rural economy.

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D2C Startup Farmley Secures Impressive $6 Million in Series A Investment

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Food startup-Farmley

Food startup Farmley D2C has raised $6 million in its Series A funding round, led by DSG Consumer Partners and Alkemi Growth Capital. Existing investors Omnivore, Insitor Partners, and a host of angel investors also participated in the round.

The family plans to utilize the funds for channel expansion, brand building, and team building. Encompassing current fundraising. 

Farmley has raised a total of $8 million so far. In 2020, Farmley raised $2 million in its seed round of funding from Omnivore and Insitor.

Birth of Farmley: Reolutionizing Food Startups 

Founded in 2017 by IIT graduates Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal, Farmley works with domestic and international farming communities to source quality nuts and dried fruits. It currently operates five processing units in India, follows an omnichannel distribution strategy, and sells its products through e-commerce marketplaces, quick-trade platforms, retail stores, and its website.

Farmley offers a range of over 100 nut and dried fruit products, right from trail mixes to maida-free kinds of pasta to roasted munchies.

Akash Sharma and Abhishek Agarwal, co-founders of Farmley, said, “Farmley is a consumer-focused brand. We are here to become a globally loved brand born in India, and the only way to do that is to put consumers first in our approach. We aim to incorporate them into various occasions throughout the day and make every moment special and memorable.”

Hariharan Premkumar, Head of India at DSG Consumer Partners, said, “We are excited to work with Akash and Abhishek on their mission. Full backward integration at Farmley ensures premium-quality products and the launch of innovative products such as Makhana pasta. The company is on a strong growth trajectory, and the founders have built a stellar team with a laser focus on customer pain points.”

Farmley claims to have increased its revenue 10x over the past 18 months. It currently operates in 20 Indian cities and also has a presence in the US, Middle East and Australia.

Also read about: Story about revolution of rice

In the D2C food and beverage sector, it competes with companies such as Happilo, iD Fresh Food, and Slurrp Farm, among others.

As per reports, India’s e-commerce sector is likely to become a $400 million market by 2030. Of this, the D2C segment is considered to be one of the fastest-growing sectors, having received $3.6 billion in funding since 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nutrition Startup GetSupp raises INR 9.5 crore in funding led by General Catalyst, Better Capital

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Nutrition and Supplements Startup GetSupp has raised INR 9.5 crore in funding led by General Catalyst and Better Capital.

Prominent angel investors Saurabh Garg (Founder, NoBroker), Ankit Nagori (Founder, Curefoods), Kunal Shah (Founder, Cred), Rohit Kapoor (Former Global CMO, OYO), Mohit Sud (VP, Marketing, Unilever) also participated in the funding round.

The startup will use the funds to strengthen its technology, improve customer relationships and grow further.

Founded by Arpit Gupta and Deven Vyas, GetSupp is a nutrition and supplement marketplace where users can learn, discover and buy supplements. It offers a personalized post-purchase experience built on AI.

Arpit Gupta, Co-founder of GetSupp, said, “Our mission is to help everyone discover the power of nutrition and how the right supplementation can help overcome fears and greatly enhance the quality of life.”

He futher added, “At this point, the path from discovery to proper use to compliance is broken. This is why supplement use is minimal compared to other countries.” 

Anand Chandrasekaran, Partner at General Catalyst, said, “Today’s consumer is demanding and demanding more. As they look after their well-being and the well-being of their family, they choose a high-quality service that combines the simplicity of a health concierge with the trust and quality of products. GetSupp has a first-class founding team that is building this service and we are excited to work closely with them cooperate.”

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Actress Nora Fatehi follows Varun Dhawan; Invests an undisclosed amount in Curefoods

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Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi has invested an undisclosed amount in cloud kitchen startup Curefoods and became the brand ambassador of Curefoods CakeZone.

With the brand’s support, Fatehi intends to take CakeZone to more cities, in line with its expansion plans to set up 125 stores by the end of 2022.

Founded in 2020 by Ankit Nagori, Curefoods includes various brands including EatFit, Sharief Bhai, Aligarh House Biryani and CakeZone. It operates more than 150 cloud kitchens across 15 cities in India and is looking to expand in India, especially the North Indian market.

Curefoods also recently partnered with Hrithik Roshan’s HRX. In June, Curefoods secured $50 million in its Series C funding round from a group of investors. While in Series A and Series B funding rounds, it has raised more than $80 million in equity and venture debt.

At the beginning of this year, it acquired five D2C food brands and also then announced that it will acquire a total of 35 brands by the end of the calendar year 2022.

In the cloud kitchen segment, it faces competition from Rebel Foods, which operates more than 450 cloud kitchens across the country. According to Tofler’s report, it reported revenue from operations of INR 1.96 crore, while its consolidated losses stood at INR 1.33 crore in FY21.

Nora Fatehi, Actor & Investor, said, “I strongly believe in the promise of CureFoods and am excited to invest in them and support CakeZone. Together we hope to create a lasting impression; both on human lives and taste.”

Ankit Nagori, Founder of Curefoods, said, “Having Nora as an investor in Curefoods is a close integration and connection with her. Her belief in our abilities encourages us to further expand to greater heights.”

This is the second time a Bollywood celebrity has endorsed Curefoods. Earlier, Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan made an undisclosed investment in the cloud kitchen aggregator and also became the brand ambassador of its spin-off company EatFit.

According to the report, India’s cloud kitchen market is projected to touch $2.5 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 17.5% during 2024-2028.

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Burger Singh raises INR 30 Cr Series A Funding; plans to open 120 new outlets

The homegrown quick service restaurant(QSR) chain, Burger Singh, raised INR 30 in its Series A funding round led by Negen Capital along with Lets Ventures, Mumbai Angels, Old World Hospitality and musician Jasleen Royal. The SALGAOCAR family office also participated in the round.

Existing investors including RB Investments, Rukam Capital, KCT Family Office and V.M. Burger Singh plans to use the fresh capital to open 120 more food court outlets by the financial year 2023.

Burger Singh, founded in 2012 by Kabir Jeet Singh, is a domestic food chain. It operates an asset-based franchise model and in 2014 launched its first branch in Gurugram, Haryana. They are currently looking to expand their business as well as support their existing franchise owners. 

Currently, Burger Singh has more than 80 exclusive food outlets and 12 franchisees across India, including Delhi NCR, Lucknow, Jaipur, Dehradun, Jammu, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and more. The restaurant chain claims to have seen 223% growth in the past year (2020).

In 2019, the grocery chain secured money from a slew of investors including RB Investments, Ashish Dhavan and Sanjeev Bhikchandani of Info Edge, among others.

Earlier also in 2016, it raised $1 million from investors like Ashvin Chadda of Beer Café, Dheeraj Jain of Redcliffe Capital), and TV anchor Rannvijay Singh. In the QSR space, Burger Singh competes with Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Domino’s and KFC.

Kabir Jeet Singh, Founder of Burger Singh, said, “Our ideology has always been to ensure sustainable growth for our investors. Our compelling business model has weathered two unprecedented global events – the pandemic and inflation. In this round, existing and new investors have again endorsed our mantra.” 

Neil Bahal, founder and CEO of Negen Capital, said, “Kabir and his team have built Burger Singh with excellent unit-level economics that is at par, if not better, than some MNC burger chains.” 

Currently, QSR occupies an important role in the Indian food chain market. The QSR food market in the country pegged at INR 188 billion in FY2020, is likely to cross the INR 500 billion mark by 2025, according to a Statistical report.

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