CN Fruitday and JD.com

Fresh fruit e-tailer Fruitday has announced the completion of its Series C funding round, raising US$70m to expand its infrastructure and management team.

China’s leading online direct sales company JD.com was the lead investor in the funding round, which also saw investments by Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and ClearVue.

As part of the investment, Fruitday has also announced that it will be entering a strategic cooperation with JD.com, leveraging the company’s nationwide distribution network to expand to markets across China.

“The financing announced [25 May] will allow us to continue strengthening Fruitday’s market leadership as we build a world class management team and further expand our cold chain logistics and upstream supply chain capabilities,” Fruitday founder and CEO Wei Wang said in a company statement.

“With a shared commitment to providing consumers with the best online shopping experience, Fruitday and JD.com are natural partners as Chinese consumers increasingly shift to purchasing fresh produce online,” JD Mall CEO Haoyu Shen said. 'By combining JD.com's online e-commerce platform and nationwide logistics infrastructure with FruitDay's vertical leadership, more and more Chinese consumers nationwide will have the ability to purchase safe and healthy fresh produce online with confidence.'

Fruitday has posted an annual sales growth of 150 per cent over the past six years, with more than 80 per cent of its fruit imported from across the globe.