Agrifood Tech Accelerator Gastrotope Announces 5 Startups for its 1st Cohort

Gastrotope, the agrifood tech accelerator launched in September last year by Taizo Son’s Mistletoe, GSF, and Infobridge, today announced the names of five startups in the very first cohort of its program.

Over 150 applications were received for the program, and the following five startups have been shortlisted :

1. Brown Foods by Lifenectar Health Care Pvt. Ltd.

Founded in 2017 by Stanford, IIT Delhi and IIT Roorkee Alumni, Brown Foods is creating next-generation packaged food products. Using data analytics and AI, they make personalized packaged food products, using the healthiest ingredients sourced directly from farmers and deliver fresh at doorsteps, with complete transparency across the supply chain. 

2. Credible by Agzaken Risk Management (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.

Established in 2018, Credible has created agriculture specific risk management tools (AI-driven) for financial institutions and policy makers. It combines various data sources such as remote sensing, Agri-commodities pricing and transactions data to provide unique insights at a farm or farmer level. Its innovative approach was acknowledged and awarded the special jury prize at the Mumbai FinTech festival, and as one of the top25 InsureTech startups by HDFC Ergo.

3. Fasal by Wolkus Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd.:

Established in January 2018, Fasal is an agri-tech platform, developed by Wolkus Technology Solutions. It is an AI-powered IoT platform for agriculture ecosystem that records a variety of growing conditions on the farms, makes on-farm predictions and delivers actionable insights and recommendations to farmers, thereby helping them in increasing productivity.

4. Occipital Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Occipital Tech automates the grading and sorting process of fruits and vegetables by using computer vision. Occipital Tech's technology grades fruits and vegetables based on shape, size, color and surface patterns. The startup was established in the year 2017 with an aim to redefine the grading processes, to increase the transparency in trade and improve the marketability of the produce. 

5. Triton Foodworks Pvt. Ltd.

Founded in 2014, Triton Foodworks is a new age, precision farming company, which creates ideal conditions for growing pesticide free fruits and vegetables. Precise monitoring and adjustments of every input from light intensity to individual ions in nutrient mixes allows Triton to grow up to 15 times more produce in the same footprint, using almost 95% less water and absolutely zero chemical pesticides. Triton grows food that demands less and delivers more.



The Gastrotope accelerator program has helped these start-ups to optimise their business model, achieve product-market fit, and execute a scalable growth strategy. The program included 1 on 1 mentoring session with 30 mentors, provided networking opportunity, funding investment advice, strategy-and-skill development.

Gastrotope is a catalyst in the formation of ‘Farm to Fork’ ecosystem that is not only sustainable but also enriches the lives of billions.

Rajesh Sawhney, CEO and founder of GSF India said, “The five shortlisted startups embody our intent to create and nurture a true ‘Farm to Fork’ ecosystem in India. All of them share two common threads: an exceptional leadership team and a focused and scalable business idea, which we believe are vital ingredients necessary to make a meaningful impact in a sector as huge and diverse as agriculture.” Naho Shigeta, CEO of Infobridge Holdings said, “The overwhelming response to our accelerator program demonstrates the keen interest of Indian startup community in making a difference to agriculture in the country. The Gastrotope team is now looking forward to working with and enabling these five startups in building a strong and sustainable business."

InnerChef Raises ₹ 43 Crores in a Pre-Series B Funding from Mistletoe, Das Capital, Others

Shared Cloud-kitchen Platform, InnerChef, today announced that it has successfully completed its Pre-Series B funding round, raising $6.5 million (INR 43 crore) to further solidify its position in the fast-growing food tech space. Multiple investors including Mistletoe, Das Capital, Saha Capital, M&S Partners and Brand Capital participated in this financing round.

Since its launch in 2015, InnerChef InnerChef has raised a total of over $10M in funding so far. Its lead investor is Mistletoe, a Japanese investment firm by serial entrepreneur Taizo Son.

As a brand InnerChef has emerged as the pioneer of shared cloud kitchen platform and operates multiple brands namely Healthie, YumYumDilli, YumYumSouth, Bombay Sandwich Company and Thalis of India under its umbrella. InnerChef operates a network of 25 kitchens across 6 cities in India: Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon.

InnerChef has emerged as a leader in the shared cloud kitchens space. Under its multi-brand strategy, InnerChef has built a portfolio of fast-growing brands like Healthie, Bombay Sandwich Company, Thalis of India, YumYumDilli and YumYumSouth.

InnerChef’s healthy food brand, Healthie, is a pioneer in the healthy food delivery space and the market leader in its category.

Rajesh Sawhney, Founder and CEO, InnerChef, says, “InnerChef’s multi-brand strategy has delivered outstanding results in 2018. The fresh funding will be used to strengthen the brand portfolio. Healthie, for instance, has become a category-defining brand in 2018. We are also using the fresh round of funding to further strengthen our shared kitchen platform across India."

InnerChef competes with the likes of Freshmenu, HolaChef and Faasos. In July last year, food tech startups which raised funds include HungerBox that raised $4.5 million in a Series A funding round led by South Korean investment firm Neoplux and India’s private equity fund Sabre Partners.

CCube Angels Network, a Singapore based angel investing network has invested Rs.3.5 crore in Inner Being,a Nutri-food start up based out of Hyderabad

In 2017, at time when food tech startup like Yumist had shutdown, InnerChef has found a place in India’s top 5 food-tech startups in terms of traction.

About Mistletoe, the Japenese investment firm had led the $2.5 M funding round of InnerChef in 2016 and at that time it was Mistletoe's first investment in India.