After routing fresh produce from the farm gate to retailers, agri-tech startup Crofarm has forayed into the business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) space with the launch of the Otipy platform.
Co-founder and Chief Executive of Crofarm Varun Khurana told BusinessLine that Otipy was powered by social media to strengthen the supply chain of the fresh produce.
The model works closely with reseller partners (mostly women) for taking the fresh produce to the customers’ doorstep.
Founded in 2016, Crofarm has since inception been supplying fruits and vegetables to over 5000+ retailers in around Delhi- NCR region, sourcing from farmers across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
“The pandemic and subsequent lock down did impact our business as well, albeit marginally. We are getting used to the new normal,” he said in reply to a question.
The start-up focuses on on-demand harvesting using tech-tools like AI for demand prediction.
Focus
“Perishable wastage volumes generally hover around 50 to 60 per cent. By leveraging technology, we’ve now made the supply chain process – “supply driven” and reduced wastage by 30 – 40 per cent.
The company has identified 500+ new age reseller partners to facilitate delivery of vegetables and fruits – farm fresh - at the customers’ doorstep, serving over 50000 consumers.
“The Otipy platform is scalable. We are looking at a 10-fold increase in our reseller partner network in the next 2 -3 months. Some of these women (reseller partners) earn between Rs 30000 and Rs 60000 a month. They sell the produce within their community
“We are working with 300+ farmer groups, dealing with 60 to 70 fruits and vegetables, receiving 10 to 15 orders a day,” Khurana said, before adding that the closure of hotels and hostels did not impact Crofarm’s business during the lock down period as we are focused on B2B2C.”
Expansion plans
The startup recently raised Pre-Series A funding of $1 million led by Smile Group. “This would take care of our expansion plans. We are looking to expand only within Delhi – NCR for now by strengthening our social commerce network via Otipy platform.”
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