Handpickd Raises $15 Mn To Optimise Fruits & Vegetables Supply Chain

Milkbasket founder Anant Goel’s fresh commerce startup Handpickd (erstwhile Sorted) has raised $15 Mn (around INR 133 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), with participation from Titan Capital Winners Fund (TCWF) and its existing investors.

The Delhi NCR-based startup plans to deploy the capital for talent acquisition, expanding services in existing geographies, and building technology to optimise the supply chain. 

Founded in 2024 by Goel, Nitin Gupta and Sahil Madan, Handpickd sells fruits and vegetables via its platform, facilitating users to purchase fresh edibles as per their customised quantity. The startup follows a zero-inventory model, picking up fresh fruits and vegetables from the farms and delivering them to the consumer without storing it in a warehouse. From purchase to delivery, the process is completed under a time span of 6-7 hours.

“We have to buy the produce which is being harvested right now and deliver it to you tomorrow. We have removed dark stores. We don’t keep anything with us. Once the supply is done to you, everything is empty,” Goel told Inc42, explaining the business model.

Handpickd is currently operational in three cities — Gurugram, Noida and Bengaluru. 

Prior to this, the startup, which was initially registered as Sorted, raised $5 Mn in its seed funding round in 2023. Back then, Sorted focussed on offline distribution of fruits and vegetables.

In 2024, the startup rolled out its mobile application for iOS and Android and rebranded to Handpickd by the end of the year. At the time, it said that it aimed to leverage AI and enhance online shopping experience.

Currently, Handpickd is using AI for customer support and predicting demand to help the procurement team. 

Goel said the startup is currently working on another AI feature which will analyse users’ buying behaviour on its app and suggest what to cook next. 

The Indian fruits and vegetables market generated a revenue of $44.75 Bn in 2024 and this is expected to zoom to $62.4 Bn by 2030. 

India is also the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. However, the country’s estimated annual food wastage is at 78 Mn Tonnes, which primarily takes place in transit and in storage, underscoring the need for better supply chain management. 

Startups such as Fresh From Farm, MyMandi, Handpickd, among others, are working to address this problem by taking care of procurement, grading, sorting, and delivery in collaboration with farmers.