Lightrock-backed agritech platform WayCool said on April 21 that it had created a wholly-owned subsidiary for its FMCG business BrandsNext to focus on the segment and strengthen its profitability.

At a media briefing, WayCool managing director Karthik Jayaraman said the new corporate entity is created to attract the right talent and skills to help the sector grow.

“After realising that our consumers did not realise the value created by WayCool’s entire supply chain, we created a separate entity. It is more important and urgent to create this entity in the current situation,” Jayaraman said in response to said when creating a subsidiary in a difficult macro environment.

Chennai-based WayCool is a social enterprise and agtech company founded in 2015 by auto industry veterans Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, the son of former Ashok Leyland chief Vinod Dasari. Later, it diversified into agricultural products.

WayCool entered the consumer goods business in 2018 through brands such as rice brand Madhuram, staple food brand Kitchenji and Freshey’s ready-to-cook products from batter to value-added products. The new entity, BrandsNext, will continue to add more brands that make up South Indian thali, Waycool said.

In a statement, the company also said it had appointed BP Ravindran as CEO of BrandsNext. He will lead BrandsNext’s actions and long-term plans, from product innovation to category expansion.

“Since BrandsNext will focus on different business types from WayCool’s main business, we need different heads, including sales, marketing and product development, to run the FMCG business. BrandsNext is a wholly-owned subsidiary, and the shareholding structure will not change. WayCool will internally fund the company,” Ravindran said.

Last June, the company raised $40 million in an investment round led by global investment firm 57 Stars LLC amid a dismal start-up funding climate.

This follows a few months after the company closed a $117 million Series D funding round earlier this year led by existing and new investors, including LightRock, LightBox, and FMO.

Since its last equity round, the company has also raised venture debt funds from Trifecta Capital and Stride Ventures.