B2B Agritech Startup AgroStar Acquires INI Farms

B2B agri-inputs startup AgroStar has acquired 100% food value chain company INI Farms Pvt Ltd in a combination of cash and stock deal.

Through this acquisition, AgroStar will provide added value to its large network of farmers by making their products available to quality-conscious consumers across the globe, AgroStar said in a statement. This acquisition gives the company a wider presence in the USD 300B+ agricultural products market.

With this acquisition, INI Farms’ customer base of global retailers will now have access to a wide basket of F&V products. AgroStar will also provide the best quality inputs, technology-based farm interventions, and solutions to enhance yields to the INI Farm network of farmers across multiple states.

The Mumbai-based startup INI Farms was founded in 2009 by Pankaj and Purnima Khandelwal, It claims to build a business with large-scale pan India operations by contract farming, aggregation, supply chain management, and serving food retailers globally.

Kimaye is a global consumer brand of INI Farms spread across 35 countries. Simultaneously, Pankaj and Purnima will continue to work with the entire INI Farms team by adding multiple crops and developing the Kimaye brand in many other countries.

“AgroStar today is India’s largest digital network of farmers, helping them grow better by providing great content, real-time advisory and superior quality agri Inputs. As we look to provide additional value to our network of farmers, we are delighted to partner with Pankaj and Purnima. Their efforts over the years have put the Indian Farmer on the world map by making great quality Indian fruits available around the world. ‘Kimaye’ is now a well known global consumer brand out of India, synonymous with great quality and safety! This acquisition will enable us to rapidly scale our business into the domestic and international food supply chains”, said, Shardul Sheth, Co-Founder, and CEO, AgroStar.

The Pune-based AgroStar, operated by ULink AgriTech Pvt. Ltd was founded in 2013 by Shardul Sheth and Sitanshu Sheth, It leverages data and technology to help farmers obtain agricultural inputs and transact on its platform. It currently serves over five million farmers in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.

“The agriculture story in India is poised for a multi-fold growth. We believe that large platforms providing end-to-end services to the farmers from advisory and inputs to output offtake is going to drive this transformation. AgroStar partnership provides us with a great opportunity to grow multi-fold with expansion into the entire agriculture output business and leveraging our strong supply chain capabilities. AgroStar’s mission of ensuring better farmer incomes through improved productivity and quality are the cornerstones of INI Farms’ philosophy as well. With AgroStar serving farmers across a diverse range of crops, INI Farms will have access to a much wider and diverse crop base to offer to our global customers”, said, Pankaj Khandelwal, Chairman & Managing Director, INI Farms.