Plant-based protein brand GREENEST has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round from Better Bite Ventures, and former chief executive for fresh fruits and vegetables and frozen foods vertical at ITC, Sachid Madan.
The first company in the nation to have executed a variety of B2B partnerships, GREENEST with top food service providers like Burgrill, Wat a Burger, Chocolate Room, Biggies Burger, Freshmenu, Eatfit, and others, which is known for its Indianized and reasonably priced range of plant protein products.
GREENEST presently has restaurant agreements with 200 stores, with ambitions to quickly expand with the fresh injection. When the firm, in partnership with Burgrill, introduced the nation’s first plant-based meat burger, The Green Meat Pounder, across all of the Burger chain’s outlets last year, it caused a stir.
Better Bite Ventures is the first venture capital fund of its sort in Asia Pacific that invests only on alternative proteins. The fund is focused on utilising plant-based and cellular agriculture technology to produce meat, dairy, egg, and other products that are climate-friendly.
“At Better Bite we strongly believe in the long-term potential of the alternative protein sector in India. We are honoured to support Gaurav and his team at GREENEST, one of the pioneering plant-based meat startups in the country. They have been introducing consumers to their products by partnering with many progressive restaurants and chains. Building more sustainable ‘smart protein’ market in India has started and we cannot wait to see GREENEST’s contribution,” said, Michal Klar, General Partner, Better Bite Ventures.
Sachid Madan, said, “Unlocking the potential of plant-based protein in India is going to be the biggest and most rewarding challenge in the foods and agriculture space. Achieving this requires focused hard and smart work and a long-term horizon. In Greenest I saw a shared understanding of this opportunity, a focus on unit economics and an ever-learning and patient approach. I am delighted to be a part of GREENEST’s journey to success.”
As the previous CEO of ITC’s Fresh F&V and Frozen Foods Business, Sachid Madan brings to the table unmatched industry knowledge. He is renowned for founding and growing companies including ITC Masterchef, Act II Popcorn for Conagra India, and Wheel powder for Hindustan Unilever. Having held distinguished positions as Chair of FICCI’s National Agri Committee, he still takes an active part in the creation of policy.
GREENEST
“We are elated to have closed our pre-seed funding with a brilliant set of investors. Better Bite Ventures is backing some of the most phenomenal startups in this space and we are delighted that they have chosen GREENEST to be a part of their international portfolio. With Sachid’s deep understanding of the Indian consumer and his solid track record of building profitable businesses in the past, we are geared to unlock the Indian alt protein opportunity and expand the market with our unique strategy,” said Gaurav Sharma, Founder and CEO, GREENEST.
About GREENEST
New Delhi headquartered Leading plant protein business GREENEST (greenestfoods.com) is developing hyper-realistic meats utilising cutting-edge science. Launched in 2017 by Dinesh Jain, Gaurav Sharma and Kannan Krishnamoorthy, the startup has a significant presence in both online and offline distribution channels, serves a growing number of environmentally concerned consumers who want to replace their favourite animal dishes with plant-based alternatives.
GREENEST™ seems to be an interesting startup with spurring new development on food and beverage services platform. Congratulations on your startup. May this new business bring you huge success and fulfillment.
Shishir Gupta, Founder and CEO, StartupLanes
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