D2C Food Brand Anveshan Bags ₹150 Cr In Series B Funding

The round was led by Vertex Ventures, with participation from International Finance Corporation, Swiggy cofounder Sriharsha Majety and existing investors

Anveshan plans to utilise the capital to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities, accelerate product innovation, and expand its omnichannel presence

Founded in 2020 Anveshan is a clean and premium food brand that offers products like ghee, cold-pressed oils, raw honey, and Indian superfoods

D2C food brand Anveshan has raised ₹150 Cr (around $15.8 Mn) in its Series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. The round also saw participation from World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, Swiggy cofounder Sriharsha Majety and existing investors including Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Force Ventures, and boAt founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta.

Anveshan plans to utilise the capital to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities, accelerate product innovation, and expand its omnichannel presence. The D2C startup will also invest in improving its infrastructure, procurement systems, and advanced testing capabilities. A part of the freshly raised funds will be used to deepen partnerships with procurement sources like micro entrepreneurs and traditional food producers. 

Founded in 2020 by Kuldeep Parewa, Akhil Kansal, and Aayushi Khandelwal, Anveshan is a clean and premium food brand that offers products like ghee, cold-pressed oils, raw honey, and Indian superfoods like multi-grain atta, turmeric latte mix and amlaprash. 

Anveshan claims that its products, sourced from rural micro-entrepreneurs, are processed minimally via traditional methods. The startup sells its products through its own website, ecommerce and quick commerce portals, and traditional retail outlets. 

It claimed to have achieved an annual revenue run rate of ₹280-₹300 Cr, with an aim to surpass ₹1,000 Cr over the next 24-30 months. Its key focus areas going forward will be to expand its atta portfolio, strengthen owned digital platforms, scale its offline distribution network, and invest in product innovation and consumer experience.

Prior to this, the startup had raised a total funding of $10.6 Mn from the likes of DSG Consumer Partners and Titan Capital.

The market for food ingredients like atta, ghee and cooking oil is largely dominated by traditional FMCG players like ITC, Nestle, HUL and Parle, but the $110 Bn opportunity is fast being captured by digital-native startups sourcing directly from rural producers. Most such brands claim to be cleaner, healthier and more organic, while also being priced at a more premium rate. 

Anveshan’s competitors in the food staples space include Two Brothers Organic Farm, which has raised over $21 Mn till date, including a $12.5 Mn Series B funding raised in October last year. Other competitors include Country Delight, A2, Barosi, Tata Simply Fresh, among others. 

Source: Inc42 - Startups