“People have the financial capacity for a normal lifestyle, but there’s a major shortage of fresh and healthy greens, says Hiren Barot, co-founder of VNurture Farms. According to Hiren, there’s a huge shortage of fresh food in Mumbai and other large Indian.
“Most farms are too remotely located from the city and it takes too long before reaching clients post-harvest. This process destroys the value and health benefits of produce which is one of the key elements. Therefore we believe that vertical farming is the best way to deliver fresh produce in India.”
Mumbai-based VNurture Farms aims to supply a large part of the 20,7 million people living in the city. The farm has a current plant capacity of 6000. “We have major expansion plans, but we want to get our basics right first. Once we are through with our initial stage then there’s more potential for expansion,” says Hiren.
The co-founders
Personal touch
The slogan “We Deliver Health” is one of the marketing tricks the company has on its sleeves. Hiren says that VNurture Farms would like to eventually be present in every city and every corner of India as a brand. Although the farm does barely use any human interaction, Hiren says that “we are giving our own touch to all our works, making it a personal experience for our clients.”
The company would like every Indian individual to have these greens as part of their daily diet plan. “Mainly because they’re now more accessible, more healthy and fresh, whereas we can deliver from farm-to-home. “We also want to create more awareness amongst people in India about a healthy lifestyle,” Hiren adds. The company’s goal is to directly deliver its freshly harvested produce within a few hours to clients.
Adding more variety to Indian cuisine
The company mainly delivers consumers that are, according to Hiren, “willing to invest in their own health, who knows the importance of a healthy lifestyle and at the same time who would like to contribute towards the environment by being a part of our startup.” As of now, VNurture Farms mainly grows a variety of lettuces, greens and herbs. As the Indian palette is completely different from the products supplied, there are some people that don’t know what to do with the produce as it hasn’t been a part of the Indian cuisine on a regular basis.
Hiren initially imported a vertical farming system, however, he threw the whole system around. “We changed a lot of things on the farm and designed it to the way we wanted, making it more accessible. We’ve invested 12 months to complete our farm setup, finetuning it to our preferences.”
For more information:
Hiren Barot, co-founder
VNurture Farms
+91 97691 38912
vnurturefarms@gmail.com