Captain Fresh secures $25 million in ongoing funding round to fuel global expansion

It has raised a total of $45 million across multiple tranches in its Series C extended round with $20 million raised on Septemnber 23 led by Strategic Business Innovators (SBI) and Evolvence fund, with participation from Tiger Global, Prosus, Accel, and Matrix Partners India; earlier investors in the company include Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund.

Proceeds from this fundraise are aimed at fueling its distribution presence in the US and Europe, taking it closer to its goal of being the largest multi-species, multi-origin vertically integrated seafood platform along with building its best practices in the otherwise traditional industry.

The expansion in the distribution network will help export Indian seafood in a more productive, efficient way and hence increase incomes for local fishermen.

Captain Fresh recently completed the acquisition of a 40-year-old, Paris-based, shrimp cooker and distributor, Senecrus, as part of its EU Expansion strategy.

Senecrus is based out of one of Europe’s largest seafood markets, the Rungis market, and counts the likes of Auchan, Carrefour, Metro, and other large retailers as their customers. Captain Fresh looks to further strengthen its distribution presence in the region through a series of acquisitions and joint ventures.

The company's product portfolio encompasses over 100 species of fish and seafood, sourced from over a dozen countries globally and catering to customers in 30+ countries. Captain Fresh has offices in India, the US, Dubai, Paris, Oslo, Amsterdam, and Madrid.

“In the last 3 years, we have sharpened our playbook of aggregating high quality, processed, seafood supply in India using a technology-led asset light model. Every dollar we raise now is being deployed to forward integrate the distribution side of the value chain, particularly in the US and Europe.

We expect these moves to enrich the monetization potential for seafood on our platform. Similarly, on the supply front, we are at the cusp of replicating our aggregation playbook to other parts of the Indian Ocean Region across various fish & seafood species.

The compelling business case of combining our tech-led access to differentiated seafood supplies with the best-in-class global monetization platform reflects in the RoCE profiles of our platform," says Utham Gowda, founder and CEO of the company.

Abhinav Sinha, managing director and Head of Technology and Telecoms at BII commented: “Over 50 million people’s livelihoods rely on India’s fisheries sector. However, its supply chains are complex and fragmented, and 30% of produce is lost during fishing and post-harvesting due to a lack of adequate infrastructure.

By supporting Captain Fresh, we are delighted to be able to reach and support more fishermen with improved economic opportunities, as well as to promote sustainable production and reduce wastage. We are also keen to support India's food exports as a way to support global food security."