June 1, 2018

A trio of investors – venture capital firm 021 Capital, Netherlands-based impact fund Oikocredit, and existing backer Omnivore – have funded a $5 million Series B round for Bengaluru, India -based YCook, a startup that provides range of snacks and ingredients that are boiled naturally without any additives or preservatives and can be stored at room temperature without refrigeration for up to one year.

YCook’s product line of vegetables, fruits and lentils are marketed under the brand name Ta-daa and is currently available across India and in nine other countries. YCook will use the additional financing to continue expanding its reach, accelerate product growth and innovation, and invest in marketing.

“About 30% of my business is exports. The remaining 70% is through supermarkets and a few retail stores. Geographically, 40% of my business comes from north India and 15-20% from other parts of India. Around 75% of the business is corn,” YCook CEO Janardhan Linga Swahar to the Economic Times of India.

Investors Buying into India’s AgTech Sector

According to the Economic Times, this is was 021 Capital’s second investment. It was founded in 2017 with a $50M corpus. The fund is heavily backed by Flipkart group chief executive Binny Bansal and will make investments in biotechnology, agriculture, and the internet.

Existing investor Omnivore Partners recently reached the first close of its second fund, raising $46 million out of a targeted $75 million. Co-founded by Mark Kahn and Jinesh Shah in 2010, Omnivore Partners focuses on companies in agtech, IoT, Big Data, and branded food products and novel ingredients.

“Ycook has not only created innovative products, they have redefined food logistics by creating ambient shelf life products without any preservatives,” Omnivore’s Mark Kahn added.