Hyderabad-Based Our Food Raises $6 Mn To Increase Crop Portfolio

Hyderabad-based agritech startup Our Food has raised $6 Mn in a growth funding round led by existing investors 3Lines Venture Capital and C4D Asia Fund. With this deal, 3Lines India chairman Lalit Jalan will join the startup’s board of directors.

Founded in 2016 by Bala Reddy, Raghu Prasad Mulukoju and Shashikanth Menchu, Our Foods uses decentralised low-cost mini food processing units to procure and process raw materials and produce from local farmers. 

It claims to serve over 1,700 rural entrepreneurs across 13 states in the county with its operations concentrated in Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. It claims to have processing units of more than 15 crops including pulses, cereals, spices, and groundnuts. 

Our Food plans to deploy the freshly raised capital towards increasing its network of mini food processing units and crop portfolio.

“A majority of the value gained from pre-processing, reducing post-harvest wastage and supply chain disintermediation is shared between the franchise operator and the farmer that supplies the unprocessed harvest. To bring food processing closer to the farm is the mission Our Food team has worked tirelessly over the past five years,” said Bala Reddy, founder and CEO at Our Food. 

India is the second-largest producer of food in the world, right behind China. According to the Economic Survey of India 2020-21 Report, the total food grain production in the country was  296.65 Mn tonnes in 2019—up by 11.44 Mn tonnes compared with 285.21 Mn tonnes in FY19. For FY22, the government has set a record target for farmers to raise food grain production by 2% with 307.31 Mn tonnes of food grains. 

According to the same report, the production of horticulture crops in India reached a record 331.05 Mn tonnes in 2020–21 (an increase of 10.5 Mn tonnes over FY20). Sugar production in the country reached 26.46 Mn tonnes between October 2019 and May 2020 sugar season according to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

The post-harvest losses are estimated to be between 10% and 25% in the durables, semi-perishables and products including milk, meat, fish and eggs. The estimated losses in fruits and vegetables are higher at between 30% and 40%.

Earlier this month, fresh produce distribution startup WayCool has raised $117 Mn in a Series D funding round that is India’s biggest agritech funding round so far. 

WayCool is an omnichannel fresh produce startup that distributes farm-sourced fruits, vegetables and other products to different retail outlets.