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§ Private Profile · Oakland, CA, USA
Organic gardening company providing easy-to-use organic grow kits, seeds, and soils for families to grow food at home.
Based in Oakland, California, Back to the Roots is an organic gardening company that produces indoor grow kits, seeds, soils, and plant food to help consumers cultivate their own produce at home. The business initially launched with mushroom growing kits made from recycled coffee grounds before expanding into a broader consumer packaged goods portfolio that includes peat-free organic potting soils. The company distributes its physical gardening products through direct-to-consumer e-commerce channels and wholesale retail partnerships, reaching over 10,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, Target, and The Home Depot. Back to the Roots has raised over $25 million in total equity funding to date, which includes a $15 million Series D round backed by investors such as S2G Ventures and Acre Venture Partners. The organization was founded in 2009 by co-founders Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora.
Back to the Roots has raised $35.0M across 5 funding rounds.
Back to the Roots has raised $35.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Back to the Roots has raised $35.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Back to the Roots's investors include 040 Capital, 75 & Sunny, Black Jays Investments, Casa Verde Capital, Chingona Ventures, General Atlantic, L'ATTITUDE Ventures, LightShed Ventures, MaC Venture Capital, Math Capital, Melo7 Tech Partners, LLC, Precursor Ventures.
# Back to the Roots: Clarifying the Business Model
Back to the Roots is not a technology company—it is an organic food and gardening company.[1] The premise of your query contains an inaccuracy that's important to correct before proceeding with analysis.
Back to the Roots is an organic gardening and food company founded in 2009 and based in Oakland, California.[1] The company's mission is to "reconnect every family and kid back to where food comes from by helping them experience the magic of growing it themselves."[3]
The company serves families, children, educators, and home gardeners through a product line that includes ready-to-grow indoor gardening kits, organic seed packets, and raised beds designed for balcony or patio gardening.[2] Back to the Roots solves the problem of food disconnection—helping people understand food origins and engage in hands-on cultivation—while positioning gardening as an accessible, educational activity that requires "no green thumb or big backyard."[3]
The company experienced significant growth momentum during the pandemic, when stay-at-home guidelines created demand for engaging indoor activities.[2] As of the latest available data, Back to the Roots has raised $36.3 million across eight funding rounds, with fewer than 25 employees and revenue under $5 million.[1]
Back to the Roots emerged from a college classroom moment. Co-founders Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora met during their senior year business ethics class when their professor mentioned that gourmet mushrooms could grow on spent coffee grounds.[3] Intrigued by this sustainability fact, both founders reached out to their professor and were connected to each other, sparking a collaboration that began as a "college kitchen experiment."[3] This organic origin—literally growing mushrooms on coffee waste—became the foundation for their broader mission around sustainable food production and reconnecting people to agriculture.
Back to the Roots rides the convergence of several consumer trends: the pandemic-accelerated interest in home-based activities, growing consumer demand for organic and locally-sourced food, and increasing focus on STEM and environmental education for children. The company benefits from broader cultural shifts toward sustainability, food transparency, and reconnecting with nature—trends that have sustained momentum well beyond the pandemic period.
The company's success in scaling through major retail partnerships demonstrates how mission-driven consumer brands can achieve distribution at scale while maintaining their educational and sustainability focus. Their use of fulfillment and logistics technology shows how even non-tech companies leverage operational infrastructure to support growth.
Back to the Roots is positioned to continue capitalizing on sustained consumer interest in home gardening, organic products, and educational activities for children. The company's challenge will be balancing rapid scaling through retail partnerships with maintaining the authentic, educational mission that differentiates it in a crowded gardening market. As sustainability and food literacy become increasingly mainstream consumer values, Back to the Roots' positioning as both a product company and an educational platform gives it multiple growth vectors—whether through expanded product lines, deeper retail penetration, or school-based curriculum partnerships.
Back to the Roots has raised $35.0M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $15.0M Series D in November 2021.