A seed funding round led by Samved Ventures has raised over Rs 7 crore for FarmDidi, a direct-to-consumer pickle brand that empowers rural women entrepreneurs. LetsVenture, Indigram Labs, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, and angel investors from IIM Calcutta and Symbiosis also participated in the round.
In the upcoming years, the money will be utilized to grow the community of rural women entrepreneurs, or “Didis,” from 2,000 to over 5,000, improve tech-led quality systems, strengthen the team, and invest in research and development.
Manjari Sharma, Anukrit Johari, and Asmita Ghodeshwar founded FarmDidi in 2022 to empower rural women to make homemade, chemical-free condiments and pickles at the farmgate.
The company ensures clean-label products that meet today’s quality standards while capturing the authentic taste of Indian kitchens by fusing traditional recipes with contemporary food safety procedures.
“FarmDidi was built on the belief that the food from our grandmothers’ kitchens could also empower thousands of women. With this funding, we will strengthen our R&D, scale our women-led micro-units, and continue to give consumers access to traceable, tested, and authentic homemade food. Our vision is to make FarmDidi a household name while creating sustainable livelihoods at scale,” said Manjari Sharma, CEO of FarmDidi.
Shark Tank judges Vineeta Singh and Peyush Bansal offered FarmDidi, which starred in Shark Tank India Season 3, a funding deal of Rs 1 crore.
FarmDidi asserts that it has grown quickly, completing more than 30,000 orders per month at an ARR of Rs 18 crore. According to the company, it is the top pickle brand in India on Amazon, having four of the top ten best-selling items.
It uses a tech-enabled business model that involves community involvement and competes with Mother’s Recipe and Priya Pickles.
