Agritech startup: B2B marketplace for spices Growcoms, on Thursday, announced it has raised $3.5 million from venture capital JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures with participation from existing investor InfoEdge Ventures. The company plans to utilise the funds to expand its product portfolio and technology stack to enable traceability for exports and value-added spices.
The deal marked the first investment in agritech for both JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures. Growcoms is a full stack managed B2B commerce platform for spices. The platform provides other features such as quality inspection, product development, and traceability for enabling exports. Other than spices, the platform offers powders, oil & oleoresins, and seasonings.
George Kurian, Co-Founder and chief executive officer, Growcoms, said, “Growcoms has a clear mission to improve the spices value chain by optimizing 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.”
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Spice exports from India have doubled in the last nine years, reaching the value of Rs 3,995 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23 from Rs 1,778 crore in 2013-14, according to the data from the commerce ministry. Spices from India were exported to over 165 countries in FY23. India has been the world’s leading producer of spices, producing 15.31 lakh tons of spices in the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, according to the Spice Board of India, a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce.
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According to Growcoms, India holds a 70 per cent share in global spice production, with the industry pegged to grow at a 10 per cent CAGR to $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 organization of the industry will also directly lead to an increase in realizations at the farmer level.”