Agritech startup Superplum raises $15 Mn in Series A round

Agritech startup Superplum has raised $15 million in its Series A financing round led by Erik Ragatz, former partner and current senior advisor of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.

Ragatz joins a group of Superplum’s current investors including Mark Siegel, Dan Rose, Steve Jurvetson, Rick Kimball, Binny Bansal, and Kabir Misra.

The Noida-based startup closed its pre-Series A round of $3.8 million in June 2021 and has raised close to $22 million to date.

The funds will enable Superplum to continue to build out its infrastructure and accelerate its journey to transform produce supply chains in India, the company said in a press release.

Started in 2019 by Shobhit Gupta, Superplum has built a direct-from-farm produce supply chain, using proprietary technology and cold-chain infrastructure to improve how produce is grown and brought to market. The company extends shelf lives and enhances fruit quality, reducing food waste and improving farmer incomes.

It claims to be India’s first premium fruit brand that provides consumers with superior quality and healthier produce—across mangoes, litchis, apples, grapes, cherries, and plums, among others.

The company works with farmers across 22 states in India including Bihar, Kashmir and Karnataka and runs modern sourcing and supply chains for 25 fruits across the year.

Superplum sells its produce through Amazon Fresh, Zepto, Swiggy, and Blinkit. Its premium fruits are also available at major retailers such as Spar, Metro, Lulu, Modern Bazaar, More, and Trent as well as grocery stores in NCR and Bengaluru.

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, agritech startups saw a sharp fall in investment to $182 million in 2023 from $773 million in 2022 and $635 million in 2021.