Agritech firm Growcoms, the Kochi-based start-up which is digitising the spices value chain has raised $ 3.5 million from JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures. Existing investor InfoEdge Ventures also participated in the fundraise.

The funds raised by the company will be primarily used for bolstering product portfolio and technology stack to build key capabilities in enabling traceability for exports and value-added spices, the company said in a statement. The investment is the first one in the agritech space for both JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures.

Growcoms is a full stack managed B2B commerce model for the spices vertical enabling supply-side integrations and leveraging existing excess manufacturing capacity to drive complete control on quality inspection, product development and traceability for enabling exports. Apart from sourcing and trading whole spices, they are also present across other transformative segments like powders, oils and oleoresins as well as seasonings.

Expansion

Incubated by Indigram Labs in 2021, Growcoms has significantly expanded the scale and scope of its operations during the last two years catering to a variety of customers spanning food companies, flavour houses, FMCG companies and seasoning brands. Today, they have sourcing hubs across all the major spices-producing regions, vetted suppliers for carrying out transformation into value-added spices as well and demand from markets across the globe. “Growcoms has a clear mission to improve the spices value chain by optimising production capacities, empowering farmers, and supplying traceable spices to global markets through a digital route. The investment and partnership with like-minded investors will surely help Growcoms strengthen its global presence and enhance efficiencies throughout the value chain,” said George Kurian, Co-founder and CEO, Growcoms.

India is the world’s largest producer of spices and accounts for almost a third of all global trade. India holds a 70 per cent share in global spice production, with the industry pegged to grow at a 10 per cent CAGR and touch $27 billion by 2027.

Sachin Tagra, Managing Partner at JSW Ventures, said, “Growcoms’ full stack approach to manage the entire spices value chain with a tech-led intervention can create value for all stakeholders. This organisation of the industry will also directly lead to an increase in realisations at the farmer level. This investment will further enhance Growcoms’ capability to capitalise on the spice’s opportunity with traceability solutions at the forefront of this business.”

Rajiv Raghunandan, Managing Partner, Arali Ventures said, “The Growcoms full stack business model is digitising the spices value chain capitalising on some market tailwinds and internal capabilities — significant excess processing capacity across the country, the need for providing full traceability and transparency to markets such as EU and the US to be a credible export player and the experience of the team in adding value to the supply side of the business across farmers and processors. Our investment is consistent with Arali’s focus on creating deep business value in traditional industries leveraging technology.”

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