Nov 23, 2021

Organic garden seeds startup raises $15M for innovation, growth

A startup brand for retail organic garden seeds, Back to the Roots, recently said it has raised $15 million in new funding to accelerate product innovation and support new distribution growth.

Major investors in the round include S2G Ventures, Loft Growth Partners, Fenwick Brands, Echo Capital, and lawn & garden leaders Steve Hill & Jim Feinson. Current investors in the fast-growing brand include Ayesha Curry, Carmelo Anthony, Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, and Tony Robbins & Peter Guber (via their fund AoT).

Back to the Roots began as a college kitchen experiment when Back to the Roots Co-Founder and Co-CEO Nikhil Arora and Co-CEO Alejandro Velez were seniors at the University of California, Berkeley, according to a news release from the company. Today, Back to the Roots products can be found in more than 10,000 retail locations nationwide, including The Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart, Cost Plus, Albertsons, HEB, Amazon and Costco.

Over the past two years, Back to the Roots – which first became known for its small-space, indoor grow kits – has expanded its offerings to include outdoor gardening products that range from a line of organic, 100% USA-grown seeds to raised beds to organic peat-free potting soil, all while retaining the brand’s core focus on sustainability and ease of use for new gardeners. Back to the Roots now offers products for every type of home gardener — from those with little space using Grow Kits to those who are using the company’s soil & seeds in their outdoor garden beds.

“We are honored to have the continued support of our current investors and many new investors as we write this next chapter for Back to the Roots, expanding our offerings for our customers and deepening our partnerships with our core retail partners,” Velez said in the news release. “We want to bring Back to the Roots gardening products into every home & classroom in America, and this funding will help us get one step closer to that.”

When customers share a photo of their Back to the Roots garden on social media the company donates an organic grow kit and STEM curriculum to an elementary school classroom of the customer’s choice, according to the news release

For more information about Back to the Roots and this round of funding, please visit www.backtotheroots.com.

Photo: Back to the Roots