Technology entrepreneurs have changed the way people shop for clothing, finding vacation deals, gadgets and now they are shaking up the way you buy vegetables and fruits.
Cied (Conquering Imagination Expectation and Dreams) Technologies, a bunch of young engineering graduates (with an average age of 24 years) based out of Nasscom Startup Warehouse in the city, who are into branding, coding, marketing, electronics, industrial automation and video production, are ready to launch Farming Colors, an online vegetables-fruit shopping service.
The company, co-founded by cousins Akash Mathew and Jim George, was incorporated in 2011 while they were in college. Like most young techies they went into web and mobile apps development.
In just two years, even before their company went full steam, they managed to raise an angel investment of Rs. 70 lakh through ELOP, the Express Love App. “That became trending at top ten social apps in the country. We called it the secure private platform to convey love. ELOP was a way to express your love anonymously to your secret crush; an opportunity to interact with your special one by sending hints and song dedications. But we have discontinued with the app,” says Akash with a mischievous smile.
And they have their reasons for doing so. “That was when we had started off. We soon had developed a fabulous team of young, innovative minds. All of them were either known to me or Jim. From the dream of turning into a Mark Zuckerbeg we thought of doing something more serious; something for the society around. That’s how we struck upon Farming Colors, a SaaS (software as a service) product. Cied Labs was launched last year; we did a lot of work and we will be launching the service in December 2015.”
From Kannur, both Akash and Jim were born and brought up in families with an agriculture background. Akash graduated from Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi, while Jim completed his degree from University College of Engineering, Thodupuzha. Even as they raised investment, created machines, mobile apps and designed websites; their heart was in the green fields, the rubber estates and the burgeoning fruit trees of their villages.
“My father (Mathew Sebastian) was the inspiration and key mentor for Farming Colors. He was an agricultural officer and knew the problems in this field inside out. He is also the co-founder and executive director of INDOCERT, an indigenous certification body that offers organic certification, among other things. So he had a strong connect with organic farmers, which was of great help when we embarked on this venture,” says Akash.
A couple of trends worked in their favour. Of late there is growing awareness of buying organic produce and consumers are looking for easy, efficient ways to acquire them. And then there is this growing demand for online services even if it means shopping for vegetables. Akash, Jim and their team decided to cash in on these trends.
“We have identified a group of farmers in Coonoor, Wayand and Munnar who have more than 10 years experience in organic cultivation. They are also certified with India’s leading organic certification bodies that ensure quality of each of the farms and its yield. We provide a link between these farmers and the consumer.”
In the first phase the service will be made available only in Kochi. “We will deliver eight boxes every month based on the subscription pack the consumer chooses. There are four packs available right now: small box (Rs. 2,000), medium (Rs. 2,500), large (Rs. 3,000) and extra large (Rs. 3,500). Two days prior to the delivery, consumers will get a menu on their WhatsApp from where they can choose the week’s vegetables and fruits. Of course, the supply will be according to availability for most of them are seasonal. Our transportation and packaging system will see that the fresh farm produce reaches the consumer’s doorstep safely.”
The boxes come with a QR Code that helps the consumer track the produce to the farm from where it originates. “The attempt is to give the consumers access to more information. They can trace the vegetables and fruits to the growers, which in a way is a sort of interface with their end consumers. It will also help them identify the certification of the farmers. The boxes will also have recipes.”
A primary challenge that the team envisages is scaling the service to meet the customer demand. “For the time being we are looking at 150 members, just sufficient as a pilot case. In the next two or three years we hope to have 3,000 to 4,000 members. For this we need to work on more farmers, higher production, effective planning, and logistics management. In the next phase we want to include spices and semi-perishable goods too and then we’ll get in poultry. One thing is for certain we are into this for the next 25 years at least.”
What is good about Akash, Jim and their team is that they have their feet firmly on the ground, they realise that there is so much more for them to do than simply dream about creating another Silicon Valley.
Farming Colors can be contacted at www.farmingcolors.com or 9745250949.
