Spice tech company Growcoms has raised $ 3.5 million from JSW Ventures and Arali Ventures, marking their first investment in the agritech space. Existing investor InfoEdge Ventures also participated in the fundraise. 

The company will utilise the funds to bolster its product portfolio and technology stack to build key capabilities in enabling traceability for exports and value-added spices.  

India is the world’s largest producer of spices and accounts for almost a third of all global trade. It holds a 70 per cent share in global spice production, and the industry is pegged to grow at a 10 per cent CAGR to touch $27 billion by 2027. 

George Kurian, co-founder and chief executive officer of Growcoms, said that the company is on a mission to improve the spices value chain by optimising 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,” he added.

Commenting on its investment in Growcoms, Sachin Tagra, managing partner at JSW Ventures, said, “Growcoms’ full-stack approach to managing the entire spices value chain with a tech-led intervention can create value for all stakeholders. This organisation of the industry will also directly lead to an increase in realizations at the farmer level. This investment will further enhance Growcom's capability to capitalize on the spice’s opportunity with traceability solutions at the forefront of this business.”

Rajiv Raghunandan, managing partner at Arali Ventures, said that Growcoms full-stack business model is digitising the spices value chain, capitalising on some market tailwinds and internal capabilities. “Significant excess processing capacity across the country, the need for providing full traceability & transparency to food-safe markets such as EU and the US to be a credible export player and the experience of the team in adding value to the supply side of the business across farmers & processors,” he added. 

Incubated by Indigram Labs and founded by George Kurian, Bibin Mathews and Narendranath P in Kochi in 2021, Growcoms currently has sourcing hubs across all the major spices-producing regions, vetted suppliers for carrying out transformation into value-added spices as well as demand from markets across the globe. They currently cater to a variety of customers, spanning food companies, flavor houses, FMCG companies and seasoning brands.