The Indian Agri‚ Food & Beverages sector is undergoing a transformation

The Indian Agri‚ Food & Beverages sector is undergoing a transformation. It is rapidly moving from basic foods to processed and value–added foods. New companies in technology and technology–enabled supply chain & logistics; processing; distribution; processing etc. are creating new business models and new categories.

In India‚ processed fruits and vegetables form just 2% of the total produce, which is far lower than in the developed countries (US – 65%) and developing countries (Brazil – 70% and China – 23%). Additionally‚ India's agricultural yields are among the lowest in the world‚ which will need to improve substantially over the medium and long term‚ to meet the growing food requirement of the population.

On the other end of the chain, establishments catering to the burgeoning urban populations are springing up left, right and center. Along with this, more consumers are becoming aware of the sort of produce that goes into food. Organic is the new ‘magic’ word, which in many cases is a euphemism for ‘no chemicals in my food, please!’ With the demand pointed toward healthier and safer food, and with the population needle pointed upwards, the agriculture industry must find ways to cope without using methods that were considered ‘normal’ till now. Technology, without chemicals, is probably the way forward to boost production, answering the demands of the consumers.

The above gaps and the overall macro growth story in India creates opportunities for technology innovations and technology–enabled solutions in the agri‚ foods & beverages sectors in India.

Also‚ keeping in pace with the changing demographics and consumption pattern of the Indian consumers‚ we see growth opportunities for local or regional food brands‚ value–added products like cheese and new food categories like organic foods‚ frozen foods‚ etc.

As a result of this transformation and the large size and growth in the sectors‚ a number of domestic and foreign institutional investors and industry majors are keen on investments as well as partnerships and Mergers & Acquisitions in the Indian agri‚ food & beverages sectors.

The Aurum Venture Challenge is an initiative to identify high-potential agri‚ food & beverages businesses‚ and support them with high–quality mentoring‚ access to technology & capital‚ and advice on scaling up their ventures.

Who can apply?

We are looking for innovative agriculture & food technology companies in India. Especially companies that are developing solutions to improve farm productivity‚ increase agricultural sustainability‚ modernize agribusiness supply chains‚ and promote farm–sourced food products. Companies that are innovating on business models with a view to scale‚ as well as companies that are creating new categories in the sector are also welcome. Some examples.

• Companies with innovative technologies in the agri sector – technologies that improve automation & mechanization (e.g. seed drilling‚ cultivation automation‚ spraying technologies‚ etc.)
• Companies with cloud–based and non–cloud tech solutions for the agri‚ food & beverages sector (e.g. supply chain monitoring solutions‚ ERP‚ process management solutions‚ etc.)
• Companies that help improve crop yields (currently India's crop yield is among the lowest in the world)
• Companies in the agri & food processing space which either have innovative technologies or scalable models that can help create large enterprises
• Fertilizers and pesticides technology companies
• Processed foods companies

* Source ‘India Food Service Report 2013’ by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).

Please download the Application Form here. Mail the completed form to [email protected]. 

Last date to Apply - Oct 15th.

For any queries, please call Damanjeet Kaur at +91 124 4424488