In a pre-seed funding round, Croft Beverages, a farmer-focused sustainable tea startup, raised $125,000 using a mix of debt and equity. Prominent angel investors from the biotech, IT, sustainability, and tea sectors spearheaded the investment round.
According to a press release from Croft, the new funding will be utilized for its farmer-owned FPC model, beginning with its first mini-factory in Billicombai, close to Kotagiri.
Croft Beverages was established by Harish Kannan with the goal of developing a sustainable model to raise the standard of living for small-scale tea growers. Producing tea that is ethically sourced, traceable to its origins, transparent in trade, and transformative for farmers is the platform’s goal.
It intends to empower over 3,000 small farmers in the Nilgiris region and build a network of more than 100 farmer-owned mini factories by 2030.
The Tamil Nadu-based company claims that it has established important alliances with some of the top brands in the nation under its “direct from origin” model thanks to strategic initiatives like 100% “farm-to-cup” traceability and best-in-class agronomy. Croft is currently working on establishing three more farmer-owned factories in 2025 after the first batch of tea produced by the farmers’ factory was entirely sold out.
According to Croft, each mini-factory directly transforms 25 small farmers into business owners, resulting in a threefold increase in their income.
