IAN-Backed Farmers Fresh Zone Acquires AM Needs

Farmers Fresh Zone, an IAN-backed D2C fresh food and vegetables online marketplace in South India, has acquired AM Needs, a milk subscription delivery platforms, for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Farmers Fresh Zone adds country milk and value-added products to its portfolio and moves one step closer to being a good food culture brand. It will provide adulteration-free country milk to its huge quality-conscious consumer base.

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"Farm to fork, traceability and healthy diets are the clear trends in the food sector. With this acquisition, we add locally sourced pure country milk offerings to our portfolio. The companies together are set to serve one of the largest consumer markets in India. The move puts us ahead of the market by offering its customers subscription-based milk, vegetables, and other fresh products. Using the AI-based demand-driven production planning module, Captain Farm, we can ensure food safety and traceability for the fresh category. With this, we will be further expanding our portfolio," said Pradeep PS, founder and CEO, Farmers Fresh Zone.

The AM Needs is present in four cities in Kerala and excels in offering products like milk, vegetables, and breakfast essentials. This acquisition provides a scaled presence to Farmers Fresh Zone in the $144 billion milk market. In September 2021, Farmers Fresh Zone announced INR 6 crore pre-Series A funding led by IAN. The organization is currently growing at 3 times Y-o-Y and targets to hit INR 1000 crore revenue in the next five years, claimed by the company in a statement.

"We see tremendous scope after the collaboration. We, along with Farmers Fresh Zone, can bring a lot of value to our customers," said Sujith Sudhakaran, co-founder and CEO of AM Needs.

Founded in 2019 by Sujith Sudhakaran and Ranjith Balan, AM Needs have successfully built a technology stack and platform to ensure the delivery of fresh items to customers before 7 am every day.

Farmers Fresh Zone has built that for fresh produce and now is extending to fresh milk category through this acquisition. This will give access to consumers to get milk, breakfast essentials along with fruits and vegetables. Since the process is data driven, it will create a trust in the brand which stands for 100 per cent fresh, zero per cent added residue," said Padmaja Ruparel, co-founder of IAN and founding partner of IAN Fund.