Fruit Supply Startup Superplum Bags $15 Mn In Series A Round

Noida-based fruit supply startup Superplum has reportedly secured $15 Mn (around INR 125 Cr) in a Series A round led by Erik Ragatz, the former partner of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. 

Apart from this, Ragatz, currently senior advisor at the PE firm, will soon take on the position of the company’s chairman. 

The development was first reported by the PTI. Inc42 did not receive a response from Superplum about the funding round or how it has grown over the past year. 

The startup claimed it would use the proceeds to streamline its supply chain stack and further build out the infrastructure needed to connect fruit farmers and orchards to marketplaces.

Founded in 2019 by Shobhit Gupta, Superplum is a B2B2C platform offering a fruit supply chain and procurement platform for retailers and grocery delivery platforms that serve consumers. Currently, Superplum has a network of 1.2 Lakh farmers who claim to supply fruits to retailers and delivery platforms round the year, regardless of the season. 

The startup raised close to $7 Mn in its seed round in 2020 and 2021. Besides Ragatz, the startup is funded by global fund managers such as Menlo Ventures’ Mark Siegel, Coatue’s Dan Rose, Future Ventures’ Steve Jurvetson, SoftBank managing partner Kabir Misra, CROCS CEO Ron Snyder and Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal among others. 

According to Superplum’s FY23 audited financials, the startup earned INR 11 Cr in revenue in FY23, up from INR 7 Cr in FY22. Superplum’s losses grew marginally from INR 17 Cr in FY22 to INR 18 Cr in FY23. 

Superplum’s focus is on fruits and it claims to have the supply chain to cater to 14 fruits including mangoes, pineapples, litchis, apples, grapes, cherries, and plums. It claims to help farmers earn 30% higher income by branding their produce and using technology to link marketplaces and retailers with the farmers.

The startup’s tech platform claims to help increase traceability of the produce as well as give consumers information about the use of pesticides and other chemicals that might have been used in growing the produce. 

Besides the likes of Ninjacart, Zomato-owned Hyperpure and Waycool, Superplum competes with startups such as Freshokartz, Crofarm, Dehaat, Otipy among others. 

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