Ugaoo Raises Pre-Series A Funding To Sell Garden Supplies

Pune-based gardening startup Ugaoo has raised INR 15 Cr ($2 Mn) in a pre-Series A funding round led by DSG Consumer Partners and RPG Ventures. 

Founded in 2015 by Siddhant Bhalinge, Ugaoo sells plants, seed and other garden supplies along with information necessary for gardening. According to the startup, it has seen 120% year-on-year growth since its inception. 

The startup offers products including live indoor plants, planters, kitchen garden seeds and plant care products through its website as well as through third-party marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart etc. It also has two brick-and-mortar experience stores in Pune.

“We plan to utilise the funds to expand our regional presence with hubs and garden centers in Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and collaborate with international plant companies to introduce a wider range of exotic plants and premium plant care products to the Indian market. In the last six years, Ugaoo has fulfilled more than a million orders and we aim to produce at least 500k plants a month by the end of next year,”said Siddhant Bhalinge, founder of Ugaoo. 

The global lawn and garden consumables market was valued at $16.8 Bn in 2020 and is projected to reach $26.3 Bn by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.5%. Gardening has become a stress relief activity thanks to the pandemic led stay-at-home schedules, social distancing and job losses as well. 

“Verticalization of cities, a large market in home and commercial décor as well as plant gifting and the company’s deep domain knowledge prompted us to partner with Ugaoo Agritech. We also see a rising trend in plant parenting among young adults,”said Kunjan Chikhlikar of RPG Ventures. 

Last week, Bengaluru-based Thrasio-style ecommerce startup 10club had acquired three gardening startups—Kraftseeds, Gate Garden and Kriti Kalash. Founded in 2020, 10club acquires ecommerce businesses and helps them scale up. 

Delhi-based Kraftseeds is an online shop that provides a variety of gardening products including seeds, pots, manure and tools. It claims to have served over 100,000 customers. Gate Garden and Kriti Kailash are Kraftseeds’s subsidiary brands for selling exotic seeds and gardening tools, and pots respectively.