The supply and demand of fruits has increased with a high demand for exotic fruits from each region. For example, the Alphonso mango from Ratnagiri or the litchi from Bengal or even the Dragon Fruit from Vietnam. Where SaralMarket plays a key role is in developing the supply chain and packaging system.
Another important aspect to look at is the presence of a large number of middlemen in the supply chain increases the cost. Ultimately, the end consumer has to bear the cost of additional middlemen, additional logistics, and damage in transit. If a farmer sells a Watermelon for less than ten rupees, the consumer ends up paying forty rupees.
Deepam believes that this whole system can be made efficient by using technology. Data driven demand predictions, scientific grading of fruits and predicting their shelf life, research on better storage mechanisms, superior order fulfilment mechanisms, and minimizing middlemen are the way forward.
The Future:
Deepam adds, “The more we scale, the more we can go backwards in the chain, and offer retailers fresher stock at better prices. We have already done this in the exotic fruits category, where we have built relationships with importers. Today, nobody can provide fruit retailers the best quality Mangosteen at a better price than us, anywhere in India. Also, we will soon begin technology development for the front end, based on the data points we have been collecting, in order to cater to such a dynamic marketplace.”