October 2, 2016

Mahindra Univeg – a 60:40 joint venture between Mahindra Agri Solutions and Belgium’s Univeg (Greenyard Foods) – announced an unspecified minority investment in Mera Kisan, an e-commerce startup that sources fresh fruit and vegetables for sale to consumers.

“Our investment in Mera Kisan will enable the farmers and the consumers to connect digitally and create a win-win situation for both farmers and consumers,” said Ashok Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd.

Mera Kisan’s online platform will not only help advance the development of India’s fresh food supply chain, it will help farmers, who will have greater access to a lucrative market and who will see better returns for their crops.

“With this platform, farmers will be benefitting as payments are done to the farmers upfront through online payment gateways,” said Prashanth Patil, CEO-Designate of Mera Kisan.

Global online sales of fresh produce, fruits and vegetables have been steadily gaining adoption by consumers. In China, e-commerce sales of fresh fruits and vegetables reached a market penetration of one percent as of December 2015, and the market is expected to grow to a value of 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion) by 2017 and 150 billion yuan (US$22.4 billion) by 2018 reports Fresh Plaza.

Funding rounds are beginning to reflect this potential for growth in both monetary value and investor prominence. Last year, FruitDay, the largest fresh produce e-tailer in China by revenue, raised US$70 million in a round of fundraising led by JD.com and include the Susquehanna International Group and ClearVue.

More recently, in the last week of September 2016, New York-based FreshDirect announced it had raised $189 million in a round led by J.P Morgan Asset Management through its PG Digital Growth Fund, and including W Capital Partners and the AARP Innovation Fund.

The new capital will be used by FreshDirect, which currently ships fresh produce, meats, and groceries to addresses in regions of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, to “open up some new geographies,” company co-founder and CEO, Jason Ackerman told Tech Crunch.

The funding will also be allocated to supporting the expansion of the company’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and to launch new businesses that are designed to meet consumers’ shifting needs and preferences.

—

Lynda Kiernan