Arboreal raises Rs 230 crore Series A for India-made food ingredients
What's the deal? Arboreal Bioinnovations, an Indian specialty food and nutraceutical ingredients company, has raised Rs 230 crore (about $24 million) in a Series A round. Omnivore and EAAA AlternativesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the alternatives arm of EdelweissDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, co-led the round, with continued backing from existing investor Rainmatter by Zerodha.
What's the endgame? Arboreal builds "better-for-you" ingredients — from sweetener alternatives to yeast proteins and collagens — tailored to Indian consumers and brands. It says the model has supported more than 300 product launches across over 1,100 consumer brands and nutraceutical manufacturers in the past 18 months.
Why now? The company plans to deploy the capital to expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen research and development, and speed commercialisation of its next generation of functional ingredients. Arboreal says it has more than doubled its growth year-on-year.
For EAAA, this is the first investment from its Discovery Fund II. "We are particularly excited at the long term growth prospects of Arboreal's next-generation yeast protein products," said Ashish Agarwal, managing director of private equity at EAAA Alternatives.
The signal: Investors are betting that clean-label and functional foods need engineered ingredients built for local tastes and margins. "Arboreal fills a critical market gap with locally developed formulations," said Jinesh Shah, managing partner at Omnivore — a bet that ranks among the larger Series A rounds in India's specialty food ingredients sector.
Read more: BW Disrupt
