The Hindu Business Line : Tokens for ‘vegetables in van’

Coimbatore, June 1 The token system is commonly seen in clinics and banks, but Mr Abdul Kather, a vegetable vendor, has one for his business too. And the idea appears to be a hit as can be seen from the queue of people lining up at the sight of the vegetable van entering their street.

The tokens on offer here have a special feature. It offers the buyer ‘3.5 kg of (assorted) vegetables for Rs 20’. Can one imagine buying 3.5 kg of vegetables for this price, especially now with prices ruling high?

Can Mr Kather afford it? “It is difficult. At times, we end up booking a loss. But we have vowed to make the purchase of vegetables affordable to all.”

Mr Kather started his business in a small way at Valparai near Pollachi 15 years ago. In the early days he procured vegetables from the Mettupalayam Vegetable mandi, loaded them in his van and sold them on Valparai streets.

Two years later, the mobile vegetable outlet entered the streets of Pollachi. Today, Mr Kather runs a fleet of eight vegetable vans and does business in Coimbatore as well.

Each of the vans is loaded with three tonnes of vegetables. “Besides buying at the Mettupalayam mandy, I have contracted with some farmers for procuring vegetables from their farm gate. We sort the vegetables and pack eight different items in each bag. Each pack weighs 3.5 kg and is sold for Rs 20. The buyer can also opt for individual items. The rate of vegetables such as carrot, brinjal, beans, radish, onions, cabbage etc would be displayed,” he said.

He ends up selling 300 to 400 packs a day, he says, apart from the sale of loose vegetables.

The ‘tokens’ are issued the previous evening. The packs are handed in the order of tokens and on payment of Rs 20 the following day. “This is to ensure that we do not run out of packs and all the token-holders get it,” Mr Kather explained.

Queried about the viability of this business model, he says “vegetable is a perishable commodity. Prices do fluctuate, so we try and balance the items we pack to avoid huge loss. At times we do book loss but, eventually, all items are sold. The loss due to decay of vegetables (left unsold) is minimal.”

More Stories on : Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables | Strategy | Tamil Nadu

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