New Delhi: Agri-tech firm WayCool has launched an entity called BrandsNext to power its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business. B P Ravindran will lead the entity as its CEO.
The Lightrock-backed startup will use BrandsNext to fuel its consumer products business by taking forward its ‘soil to sale’ strategy, said the company in a statement. The strategy refers to the practice of purchasing products from farmers and selling them in cities and urban areas through the FMCG channel. BrandsNext will focus on the South India market, WayCool said in the statement.
Founded in 2015, WayCool started as a supply chain business for agricultural products. It ventured into the consumer packaged goods space in 2018 through brands such as Madhuram (rice brand sourced from farms), Kitchenji (staples brand), and Freshey’s (ready-to-cook products). BrandsNext will take WayCool’s consumer goods portfolio a step further, read the statement. Over the years, WayCool has pivoted from a B2C to a B2B model to capitalise on scale. In 2019, it acquired Benani Foods to enter the ready-to-cook segment.
WayCool has raised about $310 million in funding so far from investors such as Lightrock, Trifecta Capital, InnoVen Capital, and Stride Ventures. Its recent fundraise was a $25-million equity round led by 57 Stars LLC.
“We intend to be closer to the consumption occasions of our consumers by mapping their need states and addressing their pain points,” said B P Ravindran, CEO of BrandsNext. “I am confident that the transformation to be carried out by BrandsNext will help us in the journey of building super brands in the commodity space that benefits every stakeholder in the ecosystem,” he added.
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