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B2B Fresh Produce Supply Chain Platform Ninjacart is receiving investment overtures from e-commerce giant Amazon, according to Economic Times (ET). The investment talks are still claimed to be in very initial stage and may take well over a month before the discussion enters the final stage.
Sources told ET that the talks began way back in April when Ninjacart was busy in concluding the $100 million equity funding round that was being spearheaded by Tiger Global Management.
Speculations are rife that, apart from Amazon, other retail conglomerates have also expressed investment interest in the Bengaluru based startup. However, names of these potential investors are yet to be identified.
The news of Amazon’s interest in Ninjacart doesn’t really carry any element of surprise given that the retail behemoth has been trying hard to make a breakthrough in the fresh produce space. The company has already infused Rs 240 crore in this space that today is enabling it to sell groceries and other packaged food products on its e-commerce market place. The online retail major operates in the fresh produce segment through its brand Amazon Now and Amazon Pantry.
However, the fresh produce segment is not proving to be a cakewalk either for Amazon or Flipkart. The segment faces wide-range of complex issues including the undeniable problem of wafer-thin profit margin.
Ninjacart – Journey from B2C marketplace to B2B platform
Ninjacart actually started its journey as a B2C hyperlocal grocery delivery platform in 2015. Its business model was almost similar to BigBasket and Groffers, today both of whom are unicorn players. But the problem of wafer thin profit margins and complex inventory issues proved to be too perplexing for the new startup. The startup later spotted the opportunity in fragmented and placid supply chain network between farmers and retailers
Therefore, it decided to pivot into B2B agritech firm to resolve supply chain issues crippling India’s archaic food sector for over decades.
Ninjacart basically aims for streamlining the supply chain network with its cost-effective and robust infrastructure that helps every important stakeholder in making profit – from retailers and merchants to farmers.
Today Ninjacart serves more than 12,000 farmers across seven cities where the startup also operates its fulfillment centers, collection centers and distribution centers. The company claims that its operation is helping farmers to earn more income while helping to serve fresh and quality food for final consumers.
