Ideas to keep afloat in the time of lockdown are likely to form the cornerstone of future strategies for growth as organisations and groups of individuals consider taking their online marketing initiatives into the future.
While the Kudumbashree Mission plans to take its idea of ‘Home Shop’ beyond the lockdown, a group of farmers at Kothamangalam have decided to use their current online presence to sell ready-to-cook vegetables in the future.
The Kothamangalam Farmer Producer Company was floated with the backing of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and has been engaged in marketing vegetable in the past. However, the lockdown period bolstered the plans for selling cut vegetables in the urban areas initially, said Shinoj Subramanian of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, attached to Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi.
The venture was successful because city-dwellers were enjoying the advantage of getting fresh vegetables, ready to be cooked, without the usual hassles of going out to shop and preparing vegetables for cooking, said Mr. Subramanian.
“This is also an opportunity to promote locally-grown vegetables in the future,” he said, pointing to the demand for fresh-cut vegetables during the lockdown.
A senior official of the Kudumbashree Mission said on Monday that Home Shops, delivering food and necessary items to homes during the lockdown, were operating in Kannur and Alappuzha districts with permission of the authorities concerned. But the activity would be extended to other districts and beyond the lockdown period.
Home Shop facilities are in place in Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kasargod districts too. The activities would be streamlined to make it a regular feature of Kudumbashree, added the official.
The Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) and Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) have also logged on to online platforms during the lockdown. Horticorp director V. Rejatha said on Monday that food delivery aggregators Swiggy and Zomato were being used to deliver fresh vegetables based on online orders. While cut vegetables are being delivered at Aanayara area in Thiruvuananthapuram, fresh vegetables are being delivered in some urban areas in Kochi. The activities would be expanded to cover new areas, she said. There are now 60 to 70 orders daily and the business looks set to grow.