Gardening-focused Hyperlocal Marketplace, Urvann Raises Pre-Series Round A Led by Inflection Point Ventures

• Urvann is India’s first hyperlocal marketplace for plants and gardening products
• The funds will be utilized to enhance the technology and facilitate expansion into different regions across the country
• Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) has so far invested over INR 550 Cr across 170+ deals

Urvann, a gardening-focused hyperlocal marketplace, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Series Round A led by Inflection Point Ventures. The funds will be utilized to enhance the technology and facilitate expansion into different regions across the country.

Akanksha Gupta & Sambhav Jain, Co-Founders of Urvann

Founded by IIM-Ahmedabad and ISB alums, a husband-wife duo who quit their consulting careers to pursue their passion for plants. Urvann began operations in Delhi-NCR in August 2021 with the goal of revolutionizing the way India purchases plants. By partnering with local nurseries in a city, Urvann provides the most variety and next-day delivery of fresh plants at the lowest prices, distinguishing itself from traditional players who courier plants from one city to another, resulting in high delivery costs and suboptimal plant quality due to long transit times.

Mitesh Shah, Co-Founder, Inflection Point Ventures, says, “Gardening as a business is an untapped market for the Indian market especially in urban areas. Urvann aims to enhance the gardening experience across cities by providing a wholesome experience with their extensive service and their collaboration with local nurseries. At IPV we look forward to extending strategic support and helping them penetrate new markets and scale their business”.

Urvann has achieved significant milestones since its establishment, including the fulfilment of over 75,000 orders and a current daily delivery volume of over 500 orders. Moreover, Urvann has successfully distributed an impressive number of 500,000 plants, specifically air purifiers, throughout Delhi NCR and Bangalore. In addition, Urvann has established India's inaugural active community of plant parents nationwide, providing a platform for regular engagement and discussion regarding plant-related inquiries. Notably, Urvann has assisted over 50,000 plant parents in their gardening journeys.

Urvann's distinct aggregator model, allows for a remarkable 10X variety of products while maintaining prices at one-fifth of those offered by other online platforms. Furthermore, Urvann's hyperlocal and eco-friendly delivery methods ensure that plants are delivered to customers in a fresh and healthy condition while minimizing harm to the environment through reduced packaging. The company’s community-oriented approach facilitates connections among plant enthusiasts nationwide. Urvann engages its users through weekly workshops, events, and community groups. Additionally, Urvann Academy initiative caters specifically to millennial plant parents by offering constant guidance and support in their plant care endeavours.

Sambhav Jain, Co-Founder of Urvann says, “IPV has been really supportive throughout our journey. With the help of IPV, we scaled Urvann from X to 10X and now with this round, we are looking to scale further from 10X to 100X across the country.”

The Indian gardening retail market is a substantial market valued at INR 25,000 crore, experiencing a rapid growth rate of 15% CAGR. The surge in demand for live plants can be attributed to three main factors. Firstly, there is a growing population of millennials who are actively embracing plant parenthood. Secondly, plants are increasingly being utilized as gifts and decorative items, replacing traditional bouquets and artificial showpieces in homes and offices. Lastly, there is a growing awareness of the positive impact plants have on mental health, with people recognizing the peace and joy they bring, particularly in the post-pandemic era.

About Urvann

Founded in 2021 by Sambhav and Akanksha, a husband-wife duo, Urvann is India’s first hyperlocal marketplace for live plants and gardening products. It provides free next-day, packaging-free delivery of fresh plants. It is leveraging the unique Content-Community-Commerce model to create a one-stop shop for live plants and gardening products and services. Its hyperlocal marketplace model provides local plant nurseries in a particular location a platform where they can sell their products online to the customers near them. The hyperlocal operations ensure that the plants reach customers the next day in fresh condition, without unnecessary packaging, and at wholesale prices.

Urvann is currently operational in Delhi NCR and Bangalore and will be commencing operations in other cities soon to forward its objective of making every Indian home “URbanVANN”.

About Inflection Point Ventures & Physis Capital

Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) is an angel investing platform with over 7400 CXOs, HNIs, and Professionals to together invest in startups. The firm supports new-age entrepreneurs by providing them with monetary & experiential capital and connecting them with a diverse group of investors. IPV has announced the launch of a $50 million CAT 2 AIF Physis Capital to invest in pre-Series A to Series B growth-stage start-ups.

Gardening-focused Hyperlocal Marketplace Urvann Raises Rs 3 Cr in Seed Round Led by Inflection Point Ventures

Akanksha Gupta & Sambhav Jain, Co-Founders of Urvann

• Since its inception, Urvann has serviced more than 15,000 orders and has delivered over 100,000 plants in Delhi NCR. It currently services more than 100 orders per day
• Urvann has created India’s first active community of 25000+ plant parents across India who engage regularly to discuss their plant-related questions
• IPV has announced the launch of $50 million AIF Fund Physis Capital to invest in Series A and B growth-stage start-up
• IPV has so far invested over Rs. 400 Cr in 128+ deals

Gardening-focused hyperlocal marketplace Urvann has raised Rs.3 crore in a seed round led by the angel investment platform, Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The funds raised will be utilized for the expansion of operations across the country.

Founded by IIM-Ahmedabad and ISB alums, a husband-wife duo who quit their consulting careers to pursue their passion for plants, Urvann is India’s first hyperlocal marketplace for plants and gardening products. Urvann launched operations in Delhi-NCR in August 2021 to revolutionize the way India buys plants. Urvann provides the largest variety and next-day delivery of fresh plants at the lowest prices by partnering with local nurseries in a city- setting it apart from traditional players who courier plants from one city to another- leading to high delivery costs and suboptimal plant quality due to long transit times.

Within a year of its inception, Urvann has already catered to 15,000+ orders, delivered 100,000 plants in Delhi, and served more than 6,000 happy customers. It is now aiming to expand its operations in major Indian cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai by the end of this year. The company is planning a 10X increase in the monthly GMV by the year-end.

Mitesh Shah, Co-Founder, Inflection Point Ventures says, “Nurturing plants in our homes has been a way of life for all of us. The gardening market is very fragmented, due to which consumers find it difficult and time-consuming to attend to their plants given their busy lives. Urvann offers people a platform for all the gardening requirements from seed to décor at the click of a button, enhancing the whole customer experience. This is a largely untapped market opportunity, especially in the urban pockets.”

Urvann is India's first hyperlocal gardening marketplace, creating a one-stop store for all gardening products and services by utilizing the unique Content-Community-Commerce concept. Its hyperlocal marketplace approach provides a platform for local plant nurseries to sell their products online and cater to their specific area. The hyperlocal operations ensure that the plants arrive in an excellent state when delivered to customers, without superfluous packing, and at the same pricing as they would be found in a local store. Urvann is currently functioning in Delhi-NCR and will soon expand to other cities in order to achieve its goal of creating true "URBAN VANN."

Urvann’s unique aggregator model enables them to provide a 10x variety of products at one-fifth the price as compared to other online players. Their hyperlocal and zero packaging deliveries ensure plants reach the customers fresh and healthy, and with minimum harm to the environment. The company has a community-first approach that helps plant lovers across India connect with each other. They have an active and growing community of 25000+ plant parents, who interact with Urvann via their weekly workshops, events, and community groups.

Sambhav Jain, Co-Founder of Urvann says, “Understanding the sheer need to make the entire gardening process seamless for our passionate plant parents who may find it difficult to purchase due to time constraints, proximity to marketplace etc. Urvann has established a one stop online store to cater to all the requirements right from buying fresh plants to gardening products and services. The platform onboards the local vendors/nurserymen who can extend their service through Urvann, thus enabling them to scale their business quickly.

He further added, “With the funds raised, Urvann will be utilizing this to rapidly expand operations to other Indian metros and support our next phase of growth. By 2025, we aspire to be present in all Indian cities and take our services to all plant lovers across India. We look forward to IPV support to help us strategically grow.”

The Indian gardening retail market is an INR 20,000 crore market and is growing rapidly at a CAGR of 15%. The primary reasons for this growth are an increasing number of millennials becoming active plant parents; and secondly, the use of plants in the gifting and décor industry. Plants have replaced bouquets and artificial showpieces at homes and offices. People are actively realizing the benefits of having plants around them, as it also has a positive impact on our mental health.