Bengaluru: Agritech firm DeHaat has carved out its consumer food brand Honest Farms into a separate company and raised Rs 35 crore from external investors as it looks to nearly triple the brand’s annualised sales over the next 15–18 months.The pre-Series A funding round in the new entity, DeHaat Consumer Products, was led by OTP Ventures. Sadev Capital and Maiuni Ventures also participated. DeHaat remains the majority shareholder, co-founder Adarsh Srivastava told TOI. The valuation and equity dilution were not disclosed.The new company, incorporated on April 1, houses the Honest Farms brand, intellectual property, employees and procurement operations. It has around 70 employees, largely based in Bengaluru, with Srivastava taking charge as CEO.“B2C and B2B are two totally different businesses. The intent was to carve out this business so that we could have a dedicated focus on the consumer business,” Srivastava said.He described the funding as external validation for a brand that had so far been built within the larger DeHaat organisation.The fresh capital will be used to expand into new markets, strengthen distribution, build awareness around pesticide-free food and launch new products.Srivastava said Honest Farms currently records monthly sales of about Rs 6 crore, implying an annualised run rate of around Rs 70 crore. The company is targeting Rs 200 crore over the next 15–18 months.The brand sells more than 100 products across staples, superfoods and other daily-use food categories. Pulses are its largest category, while makhana and jaggery powder are among its best-selling products.Honest Farms is available in over 3,000 stores across more than 120 cities, besides ecommerce and quick-commerce platforms. The company plans to expand its retail presence to over 10,000 stores.“We ran the brand for the last three years in a very frugal way, almost silently. First, we wanted to gain experience of the consumer business and work on the back-end integration with DeHaat,” Srivastava said.Around 10,000–10,500 farmers from DeHaat’s network supply produce to Honest Farms. Srivastava said they receive 5–10% higher prices than those for conventionally grown crops, depending on the product.Honest Farms markets its products as pesticide-free. Srivastava said finished products are tested for residues of around 230–235 pesticides, which must fall within the non-detectable range. Consumers can scan a QR code on product packs to access the test certificate.
