Fraazo, a direct to customer brand in the fresh fruit and vegetables space, said it has closed $11 million (Rs 82 crore) in a Series A financing round led by consumer-focused venture fund Sixth Sense Ventures.
The Mumbai based company said Nabard backed Nabventures and existing investors Equanimity Ventures; Manish Choksi, vice chairman and board member of Asian Paints Ltd; and Apar Group participated in this round.
It also received interest from development finance institutions and others for an additional $5 million funding to expand its procurement base with farmers in north and northeast.
With the current round of funding, Fraazo is set to expand operations across India, it said.
“Targeting 1,000 centres across the country, Fraazo aims to become India’s leading fruit and vegetables player, with a capability to deliver fresh produce to a customer’s doorstep within 15 minutes of ordering,” Atul Kumar, co-founder and CEO, Fraazo, said.
The fruit and vegetables market has been seeing an increasing shift to digital, in tandem with global trends mainly due to the lockdowns triggered by the pandemic.
“The direct to customer fresh food market is one of the most challenging and nascent spaces in India with limited penetration by horizontal direct to customer players. Fraazo has been able to build a differentiated business model and has achieved a leadership position in Mumbai, a key market.”, Gills John, vice president of Nabventures, said.
Operated by VnF Ideas Private Ltd, Fraazo is a fresh food brand operating in the vegetables and fruit category. It delivers close to 2,000 tonnes of fresh produce to its customers across Mumbai every month.
Sixth Sense Ventures manages over $350 million across three funds. Its portfolio includes Hindustan Foods, LEAP India, Soothe Healthcare, Veeba, and Nobel Hygiene.
Last month, Delhi-based investment firm Egreens launched a Rs 15 crore fund to back early stage agritech startups last month.
This came after VegEase, the in-house food retail brand of Egreens, received an investment of Rs 15 crore.
