Reaping a rich, organic harvest

Set up in 2012, ‘I Say Organic’ (ISO), a Delhi-based organic food retailer, envisages making organic produce a norm rather than an exception in the country.

Ashmeet Kapoor, the firm’s 28-year-old founder, has been influenced by a healthy way of life. After graduating as an engineer from the University of British Columbia, he undertook entrepreneurship studies at Brown University. “I was too young to think about what I wanted to do,” quipped Kapoor when asked about his departure from engineering to agriculture.

ISO liaises with farmer groups through an established network of partner associations. Most of the 3,000 farmers across 10 States engaged with these partners practise organic farming. Generally, farmers who cultivate using generic methods aren’t approached, because there’s a considerable change management process involved. “In organic farming, farmers need to work much harder physically,” he clarifies on this decision.

Currently, ISO works with an 18-tonne cold storage capacity at Okhla. Approximately 1.5 tonnes of total stock are sold through the ISO website on a daily basis. Orders are taken on phone, or online, and deliveries are made within a few hours. Customers may choose to pay online, or on delivery, either by cash or card.

Products are shipped directly from their warehouse in refrigerated vans. ISO partners with labs such as SGS and Shriram to test for quality. Kapoor tries to ensure the product lifecycle remains clean start to finish.

Although returns aren’t much of a hassle for this nifty start-up, with complaints measuring 0.5 for every 100 orders on an average, wastage of items is a cost it has to absorb. To ensure a regular supply of produce, there are back-up suppliers in place; such supply chain redundancies help bridge any unforeseen gaps between demand and supply.

This doesn’t translate to higher prices, though. I Say Organic prices it products at par with those at local markets. A direct model connecting farmers with consumers ensures the trimming of additional margins, which usually drive up costs when procuring from hawkers – they generally sell at twice their procurement price.

An initial self-funding of ₹50 lakh got the venture off the floor. So far, ISO has steered clear of external funding. “We’re using our own money to grow; when we plan to expand to other cities, we may welcome interest from impact focussed investors,” states Kapoor. He would rather his venture, which employs about 35 full-time staff, grew ‘organically’ than in rapid spurts.

“Agriculture is both a problem and an opportunity. If made sustainable, it makes sound economic sense. Revenue through organic is much higher when compared to conventional farming. Of the revenue generated, nearly 40-45 per cent flows back to the farmer network,” says Kapoor.

About 20-30 per cent of the remainder is ploughed into logistics, handling, distribution costs, salaries and marketing initiatives.

The company clocked revenues of ₹2 crore this financial year and hopes to reach ₹10 crore by the next.

ISO plans to expand to other metros from the current Delhi-NCR belt. Kapoor’s brainchild has been able to find buyers in over 6,000 households already. The company has been able to build a stable foundation. The customer proposition quite clearly lies in the convenience of buying organic stuff in a secure manner at value-for-money prices.

A believer of “gradual growth”, Kapoor has his mind where his heart is; I Say Organic exhibits quite clearly the out-and-out organic growth path the founder has chosen to follow in his quest to make healthy living a norm rather than exception.

The author is a Mumbai-based freelance writer

COMMENT NOW