Investcorp leads $17m investment round in India’s Wingreens Farms

Bahrain-based asset manager is an active investor in the South Asian country's mid-market companies across consumption-linked sectors

Investcorp had assets under management worth $37.6 billion as of June 30. Photo: Investcorp

Investcorp, the alternative asset manager that lists Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, led a $17 million investment round in Indian packaged food and beverage company Wingreens Farms.

The Gurugram-based Wingreens is focused on capturing changing consumer preferences towards healthier products, a segment which represents a $1 billion opportunity over the next five years, Bahrain-based Investcorp said in a statement on Monday.

Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact, also participated in the round.

“Wingreens addresses a large market that represents significant potential and headroom for growth,” said Gaurav Sharma, partner and head of private equity at Investcorp India.

“With its sustainable business model, the company is a clear market leader across segments … over the years, it has showcased a robust market standing and strong financial metrics. We look forward to working with the company and enabling them to scale further.”

Founded in 2011, Wingreens’ portfolio includes healthy snacks, sauces and spreads, spice mixes, specialty bakery, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, protein shakes and a wide assortment of organic products.

The company has an omnichannel distribution strategy – a multichannel approach to sales that seeks to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they're shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone, or in a brick-and-mortar store – with an offline retail footprint in more than 200 cities across India.

The global packaged food market is booming. It is projected to reach more than $3.4 trillion by 2030, growing at an annual rate 5.2 per cent from $1.9tn last year, according to research and advisory company Allied Market Research.

The experience and resources of Investcorp and Omidyar Network India will empower Wingreens to develop many more new age food and beverage brands, according to Anju C Srivastava, founder and managing director of Wingreens.

“We are passionate about building a new age food and beverage company that continues to scale its social impact on the back end while building exciting brands that resonate with the emerging millennial consumer on the front end,” she said.

In India, Investcorp is an active investor in mid-market companies across consumption-linked sectors and in the real estate business. It has so far invested $300m in 11 companies in the South Asian country, which include logistics start-up Xpressbees, e-commerce platform FreshToHome and healthcare company NephroPlus, among others.

Investcorp had assets under management worth $37.6bn as of June 30 and continues to boost its investments around the globe. The company’s investments in India this year included Unilog, which provides e-commerce solutions to small and medium businesses based in the US, for an undisclosed sum. It also plans to invest $10.36m in Mumbai-based luggage and bag company Safari Industries.