Agritech Startup SuperPlum raises $3.8 million in pre-Series A round
Superplum, an agritech startup based in Noida, has raised $3.8 million in pre-Series A funding from a group of new and existing investors valuating to $6.8 million (roughly Rs 50 crore) since its inception in 2019.
The new funds will be used to improve farm infrastructure, strengthen the management team, and expand the company's distribution capabilities.
Investors include Steve Jurvetson of Future and former partner of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Dan Rose of Coatue Ventures and earlier Facebook; Mark Siegel of Menlo Ventures (Uber); Kabir Misra of Softbank, RPS Ventures; Curtis Macnguyen of Ivory Capital; Ron Snyder (Flextronics, Crocs, Codigo); and Binny Bansal of Flipkart.
Shobhit Gupta, Founder and CEO, Superplum, said, "India is the world's second-largest agriculture market and we produce more than 110 million tons of fruits every year. However, we see broken supply chains, massive wastage gluts, and shortages both geographically and over time."
"We plan to fix this broken channel with a low-cost, modern supply-chain solution that can ensure fresher and higher quality products across the country,” he added.
Superplum aims to address supply chain bottlenecks in Indian agriculture by digitising a farm-to-store network. Consumers will receive fresh, pesticide-free food that is fully traceable. Farmers also benefit from a better deal.
Superplum, which was launched in 2019, began operations in 2020 and currently employs 70 people. It has both online and offline distribution, and its products are available at a variety of retail outlets, including Spar, Metro, Reliance Retail, Starbazaar, and Future.
The startup claims to have a distribution network of over 320 stores in the Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru areas.
Superplum intends to expand its footprint in the next two to three years, aiming to reach the top 12 cities in the country and eventually leverage its brand internationally.
It has delivered over 1,000 tonnes of fresh produce through COVID-induced shutdowns in the last year. Its container systems have travelled over 150,000 kilometres. Going forward, it intends to expand further into India and, eventually, into international markets as well.
Superplum claims to have created a modern alternative for how agriculture supply works in India. "This involves reimagining just about every piece of the agriculture value chain," the company said in a statement.
To address India's acute shortage of refrigerated transport, it developed FresheratorTM, a solution that converts any truck into a refrigerated vehicle.
FreshManager TM, Superplum's technology platform, ensures that every fruit can be traced back to the farm, and consumers can even view lab test reports and product parameters.
"FreshManager is uniquely designed for Indian conditions and small farms. Besides this, Superplum has a modular farm infrastructure, including a fast-setup cold room for remote rural farms, analytics to assess regional supply/demand mismatches, and multi-channel city distribution, including getting neighbourhood fruit shops online," the company.
The new funds will be used to improve farm infrastructure, strengthen the management team, and expand the company's distribution capabilities.
Investors include Steve Jurvetson of Future and former partner of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Dan Rose of Coatue Ventures and earlier Facebook; Mark Siegel of Menlo Ventures (Uber); Kabir Misra of Softbank, RPS Ventures; Curtis Macnguyen of Ivory Capital; Ron Snyder (Flextronics, Crocs, Codigo); and Binny Bansal of Flipkart.
Shobhit Gupta, Founder and CEO, Superplum, said, "India is the world's second-largest agriculture market and we produce more than 110 million tons of fruits every year. However, we see broken supply chains, massive wastage gluts, and shortages both geographically and over time."
"We plan to fix this broken channel with a low-cost, modern supply-chain solution that can ensure fresher and higher quality products across the country,” he added.
Superplum aims to address supply chain bottlenecks in Indian agriculture by digitising a farm-to-store network. Consumers will receive fresh, pesticide-free food that is fully traceable. Farmers also benefit from a better deal.
Superplum, which was launched in 2019, began operations in 2020 and currently employs 70 people. It has both online and offline distribution, and its products are available at a variety of retail outlets, including Spar, Metro, Reliance Retail, Starbazaar, and Future.
The startup claims to have a distribution network of over 320 stores in the Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru areas.
Superplum intends to expand its footprint in the next two to three years, aiming to reach the top 12 cities in the country and eventually leverage its brand internationally.
It has delivered over 1,000 tonnes of fresh produce through COVID-induced shutdowns in the last year. Its container systems have travelled over 150,000 kilometres. Going forward, it intends to expand further into India and, eventually, into international markets as well.
Superplum claims to have created a modern alternative for how agriculture supply works in India. "This involves reimagining just about every piece of the agriculture value chain," the company said in a statement.
To address India's acute shortage of refrigerated transport, it developed FresheratorTM, a solution that converts any truck into a refrigerated vehicle.
FreshManager TM, Superplum's technology platform, ensures that every fruit can be traced back to the farm, and consumers can even view lab test reports and product parameters.
"FreshManager is uniquely designed for Indian conditions and small farms. Besides this, Superplum has a modular farm infrastructure, including a fast-setup cold room for remote rural farms, analytics to assess regional supply/demand mismatches, and multi-channel city distribution, including getting neighbourhood fruit shops online," the company.
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