Fragaria Fruits, a high-tech farming company, has raised $2 million in seed funding and project finance to expand its vision of revolutionising the fruit-eating experience in India. The funding round was led by WEH Ventures, with participation from Rainmatter, Spiral Ventures, and angel investors such as Sashi Kumar, CEO of Akshayakalpa Organic.
Fragaria Fruits was founded in 2024 by Harish Varadharajan, Damian Lopez-Salazar, and Timothy Van Niekerk, who collectively bring 25 years of agriculture experience across six countries, with the aim of solving a critical problem in India’s fruit industry. Despite being one of the largest producers of fruits in the world, India faces a serious gap in delivering premium-quality, consistent fruit to consumers year-round. Fragaria was created to address this gap by offering world-class, fresh berries throughout the year, using sustainable farming techniques. The company’s flagship brand, Oh! Fruits, offers European strawberries that are 2x sweeter than Indian varieties and have a shelf life three 3x longer than conventional options.
India produces 14.8 million tonnes of fruit annually and is the second-largest fruit producer in the world. However, except for a few crops like mangoes, pomegranates, papaya, and bananas, most fruits fail to meet global class-one quality standards. Consumers face inconsistent quality, limited variety, and seasonal availability, creating a significant gap in the market. Fragaria was started to bridge this gap, producing premium-quality, sustainably grown fruits year-round under its Oh! Fruits brand.
By using Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) and vertical farming, Fragaria has built a sustainable and scalable model to grow premium strawberries year-round. Their pilot farm in Chennai demonstrated that it was possible to grow world-class produce, even in a tropical country like India, where traditional farming methods struggle with seasonality. With the investment, Fragaria is set to expand production in Bengaluru, increasing daily output from 2-3 kg to 120-150 kg.
Timothy Van Niekerk, Co-founder, Fragaria Fruits, said: “This funding will allow us to scale our operations and reach a larger consumer base with consistently high-quality fruit. It’s a key step forward in our mission to build India’s most trusted and beloved fruit brand, providing fresh, year-round produce to millions of people across the country.”
Rohit Krishna, Partner, WEH Ventures, said: “We believe Fragaria is addressing a critical inefficiency in India’s fruit supply chain. Their model blends cutting-edge farming technology with sustainable practices, which is a game-changer for India’s premium fruit market. We are supporting them in providing consumers with fresh, year-round fruit, without compromising on quality or sustainability.”
The funding will help Fragaria to scale its operations in
Bengaluru, expand its premium fruit portfolio to blueberries and raspberries
National, October 15, 2025
