Raízs, Brazilian e-commerce for organic products that connects small farmers to consumers, secured a BRL 20 million Series A round led by Solum Capital and followed by KPTL. The funds will be invested in technology, geographic expansion beyond the state of São Paulo, where it currently operates, and to expand the portfolio of vegan, vegetarian, clean label, healthy and small producer products with certified origin.
Founded in 2014 by Tomás Abrahão, Raízs built an online grocery store to bring fresh and healthy products from small producers to consumers’ plates. Besides individual purchases through the site, the startup also offers a subscription service for both individual consumers and establishments such as restaurants.
As demand for supermarket delivery increased, Raízs saw its operation grow in early 2020 and has not slowed down since: today, the startup offers products from more than 400 small producers in its e-commerce, which serves about 7,500 consumers per month (among individual customers and subscribers) and sells something close to 10 tons of organic products per day. Last year, the food tech company reached the mark of 40,000 registered customers in its base.
Having grown in recent years kind of bootstrap – so far the startup had raised only $720,000 from the WeWork Creator Fund in 2018 – Raízs has benefited from two recent macro trends, the digitization of supermarket shopping and the search for healthier eating.
The startup‘s sustainable approach also has good appeal with consumers: Raízs platform uses technology not only for deliveries and inventory, but also to minimize food waste by operating an on-demand service, a model in which only the products that the customer will consume are taken, reducing the possibility of food being wasted.
“Raízs was born to change the food chain in Brazil. We offer fair remuneration to the small producer, we sell food on average 20% cheaper than supermarkets, we connect people to healthier food, and we reduce the environmental impact,” said Abrahão, also Raízs CEO.
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According to Renato Ramalho, CEO of KPTL, the startup’s expertise in the particularities of each producer, the relationship with partners, and the experience in logistics were decisive for the investment. “Raízs has logistical expertise that goes from which product to find to where to find to meet the demand. Besides shipping, warehousing, and delivery. On the other side, we have the user experience and the concern with quality, product origin, and conscious consumption.”
