Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Nalini M: In the year 2004, Tsunami hit most of the agricultural costal lands of Tamil Nadu. In the same year, after completing my post graduation in Agriculture, I worked as a volunteer in a Tsunami Rehabilitation project. This project helped me to understand about natural farming as well as real time problems faced by farmers. Support to sell their produce, assured price for their produce, sustainable market throughout the year; these are all the three major support needed by farmers. The Fractal Entrepreneurship Foundation’s incubation helped me to transit my passion towards pesticide free/poison free farming into an innovative and sustainable business model. Here we used ‘’IDEIN’’ Innovation Process and made an innovative, sustainable and highly scalable business model.
We at FarmFreshBangalore.com designed ‘’Doctor Recommended Whole Food Nutritional Packages’’ for our urban clients. These packages include pesticide free vegetables, fruits, greens and groceries based on per person consumption rate. These packages come with fixed quantities and costs which in turn help the farmers to follow need-based production. Need-based production would reduce marketing stress to the farmers and help them to get sustainable income.
Great Companies: What are the various Services provided by Farm Fresh Bangalore
Nalini M: ‘’Doctor Recommended Whole Food Nutritional Packages’’, is our innovation. We designed packages which includes chemical free vegetables, fruits, greens and groceries. These packages are designed based on per person consumption ratio. That is each person should consume 400grams of Fruits, 150 grams of vegetables and 120 grams of Leafy greens per day to meet out their daily nutritional needs. We have packages starting from a single person upto 10 members family size. We also have packages for people with special needs like diabetic, weight loss, Pregnancy, recovery from major surgeries etc. We give priority for locally grown, seasonal vegetables and fruits. These subscription-based packages help consumers to get the right quantity of vegetables, fruits, greens and groceries on a daily basis, at fixed nominal prices. This also helps farmers to go with need-based production. Need-based production gives sustainable income for them and restres their marketing stress.
Great Companies: What makes Farm Fresh Bangalore different from hundreds of other online stores?
Nalini M:
We are providing whole nutritional solution to the consumers in a very cost effective manner. Our consumers will get the additional benefits of fixed subscription cost throughout the season, irrespective of market fluctuations. This also helps to save time as it is done through a digital process for consumers and their purchase is door-delivered.
On the other side, this model helps farmers to follow need-based production which reduces marketing stress to the farmers. In the whole process, we are empowering agricultural diploma holders and skilled workers to become social entrepreneurs as well.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Nalini M:
1. As a young startup, it’s a challenge to bootstrap our idea with our own resources and funds. Further financial support and grants might help us to scale up further, as educating farmers needs time and resources and changing soil fertility of already damaged soils costs money. Through grants we would be able to help more and more neighborhood small and marginal farmers to get sustainable income. Finding markets is relatively simpler.
2. We uphold sustainability at all costs. We have the idea and knowledge to use renewable energy in the processes of cold storage and transport, which needs more initial investment.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for Farm Fresh Bangalore?
Nalini M: In 5 years time, Farm Fresh Bangalore will provide direct marketing support to 500 small and marginal farmers to sell their produce. 5 fractal units will be started in Bangalore city to provide food to 12000 subscribers. We also hope to start a Foundation, which would help small and marginal farmers to shift to Natural farming from chemical farming.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Nalini M: Your business should be a Fractal, Social enterprise which solves problems in the society, elegantly and effectively.
Website : https://www.farmfreshbangalore.com/