Nutrifresh, a startup that uses hydroponics to grow fresh produce, has secured $5 million in pre-series seed funding. The round was Theodore Cleary of Archer Investments, Sandiip Bhammer, Managing Partner - Green Frontier Capital, Sky Kurtz (Pure Harvest, UAE) and Mathew Cyriac, Florintree Advisors & ex-MD of Blackstone India.

Sandiip Bhammer, Managing Partner, Green Frontier Capital told VCCircle, “Agri and food tech are both big focus areas for our climate mitigation-focused venture fund and we are constantly looking to explore and invest in innovative businesses with compelling models. Nutrifresh is all of these and more.”

He also added that what struck them as being most unique about Nutrifresh was that it was building out an extensive knowledge repository on a wide variety of products through its proprietary agricultural operating system at the largest single-location controlled-environment agricultural facility in the western region of India.

The funding would be used to scale up operations, implement fast-growing processes, expand brand presence and hire talent to supplement the growth. 

Founded in 2012 by Sanket Mehta and Ganesh Nikam, Nutrifresh aims at providing pesticide-free hydroponic produce to Indian consumers all year. The company produces nutrient-rich organic produce catered by clients like Nature’s Basket, Big Basket, Kissan Konnect, Venky’s Amazon Fresh and more.

Sanket Mehta, Co-Founder, Nutrifresh, said, “Nutrifresh is committed to bringing focused hydroponic farming which is robust, tech-enabled, IOT based and gives consistent production. The funding in the agritech space is proof of the concept encircling the fact that residue-free and quality veggies are most critical in an urban lifestyle and Nutrifresh is focused on bringing quality food security.”