IPV invests in Urvann, a Gardening-focused hyperlocal marketplace

Urvann is a gardening-focused marketplace providing a platform for local plant nurseries to sell their products online and cater to their specific area. Since its inception, Urvann has serviced more than 15,000 orders and has delivered over 100,000 plants in Delhi NCR.

The startup has now raised Rs 3 crore in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures as it is now aiming to expand operations in other parts of the country, including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai by this year-end. It is also planning a 10x increase in the monthly GMV by the year-end.

“With the funds raised, Urvann will be utilizing this to rapidly expand operations to other Indian metros and support our next phase of growth. By 2025, we aspire to be present in all Indian cities and take our services to all plant lovers across India,” says Sambhav Jain, Co-founder & CEO of Urvann.

Founded by Sambhav Jain (IIM-Ahmedabad) and Akanksha Gupta (ISB alumnus), a husband-wife duo who quit their consulting careers to pursue their passion for plants, Urvann says it is India’s first hyperlocal marketplace for plants and gardening products.

The platform has a large variety and offers next-day delivery of fresh plants by partnering with local nurseries in a city-setting it apart from traditional players who courier plants from one city to another-leading to high delivery costs and suboptimal plants quality due to long transit times.

With the hyperlocal approach, Urvann claims that the plants arrive in an excellent state when delivered to customers, without superfluous packing, and at the same pricing as they would be found in a local store.

Currently, The startup is operational in Delhi-NCR and plans to expand to other cities in order to achieve its goal of creating a true "URBAN VANN.", the startup says.

“Understanding the sheer need to make the entire gardening process seamless for our passionate plant parents who may find it difficult to purchase due to time constraints, proximity to marketplace etc. Urvann has established a one-stop online store to cater to all the requirements right from buying fresh plants to gardening products and services. The platform onboards the local vendors/nurserymen who can extend their service through Urvann, thus enabling them to scale their business quickly," Sambhav adds.

Urvann’s unique aggregator model enables them to provide a 10x variety of products at one-fifth the price as compared to other online players. Their hyperlocal and zero packaging deliveries ensure plants reach the customers fresh and healthy, and with minimum harm to the environment.

The startup has a community-first approach that helps plant lovers across India connect with each other. They have an active and growing community of 25000+ plant parents, who interact with Urvann via their weekly workshops, events, and community groups, it said.

Speaking on the investment, Mitesh Shah, Co-founder of Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Nurturing plants in our homes has been a way of life for all of us. The gardening market is very fragmented, due to which consumers find it difficult and time-consuming to attend to their plants given their busy lives. Urvann offers people a platform for all the gardening requirements from seed to décor at the click of a button, enhancing the whole customer experience. This is a largely untapped market opportunity, especially in the urban pockets.”

According to the company's statement, The Indian gardening retail market is a Rs 20,000 crore market and is growing rapidly at a CAGR of 15%. The startup believes the primary reasons for this growth are an increasing number of millennials becoming active plant parents; and secondly, the use of plants in the gifting and décor industry. 

Plants have replaced bouquets and artificial showpieces at homes and offices. People are actively realizing the benefits of having plants around them, as it also has a positive impact on our mental health, it adds.

Also Read:

• Humanitive: Making buying gifts change lives

Follow IndianStartupNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for the latest updates from the startup ecosystem.