Startup Story #4: Go Green with Gouri Jadhav

August 29, 2016

The demand for organic and fresh produce is steadily gaining momentum across the country and in the city as well. But there is one lady who recognised the need and the right means to encourage organic farming before anyone else in the city did. Gouri Jadhav, founder of Earth Alliance Corporation, began cultivating her own fruits and vegetables which soon turned into her first entrepreneurial venture. The startup which commercially promotes organic farming and ensures a direct farmer consumer relation was established by Jadhav when she moved to India four years ago.

Traversing the globe for most part of her professional life, Jadhav decided to come back to her hometown Pune. The otherwise health conscious IT professional could not continue with her dietary intake which planted the seed for her venture. “When I lived abroad, I was used to eating raw, fresh fruits and vegetables. Coming to the city, I realised the market was not equipped with exotic vegetables other than broccoli or red and yellow capsicum. So I started growing them myself,” adds Jadhav. With no background in agriculture, she began growing Brussels sprouts, Zucchini, golden and red cherry tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, Chinese cabbage on a friend’s farm with the help of a consultant. Her crunchy, fresh salads were devoured by friends and family who encouraged her to turn it around into a full-fledged business. Thus, came into existence Earth Alliance Corporation. “It represents nature, teamwork and money,” explains Jadhav. One of the channels of her company is the app Mango Mango, which ensures home delivery of fresh exotic vegetables at a click of a button.

Image of Gouri Jadhav's farm — Image of Gouri Jadhav’s farm

Building her dream and network, the farmer’s market where she did almost eight per week soon put her directly into the retail chain and gain publicity. “I would personally interact with all my customers and the farmers at the neighbouring stalls. My stall would be as interactive as possible with me conducting live demos on making a salad. I even had a dietician on board create a chart about each vegetable and their health benefits and which disease it can cure with what recipe,” she says. This gained her recognition and respect from the farmer community as well, because of which she now has 600-plus farmers working with her. The trial for Jadhav was convincing the farmers, “This commodity itself was a challenge for farmers, a lot of hand holding was needed. Since they’ve only grown lady fingers, tomato or onions. To convince them to do cherry tomatoes, iceberg lettuce was a task.” Once that was under control, there was no stopping Jadhav as she has even been instrumental in introducing hydroponics technology. A system of soil less farming which is highly beneficial in solving problems such as water shortage. People will be wanting more and more commercial hydroponics stores to help grow their plants whilst helping the environment.

As her crops grew, they ripened her goals for the company did as well. Her main intention being encouraging a direct buyer-to-consumer (B2C) relation in the market by which she can make a difference in the current scenario farmers face. “Farmers are facing marketing challenges, environment and soil issues, logistics, storing and packaging problems and customers negotiate a lot with the farmers which is not good,” Jadhav points out. A crusader for farmers across the State, Jadhav makes sure her flourishing business adds value to the stakeholders in more ways than monetary compensation. “I look at the conditions present and the market availability based on that I recommend which crop they should grow. Then I tie them up with the buyer directly in case I am not procuring it from them. I also give them solutions which are implementable. Whatever the farmer is growing, it should get him a fair price and substantial yield for his efforts,” she states. Well, this could be the reason why “atleast one farmer in every village of the State knows me and will welcome me.”

Her brand Mango Mango which has multiplied the demand for exotic vegetables in the city by 10, is beneficial for people suffering from various ailments. By conducting workshops at corporates and using technology Jadhav educates people about the multiple advantages of consuming organic vegetables. “I am probably the only one in the city who grows kale, an anti-cancerous vegetable. I have received positive feedback and now we sell kale plants to people that stay for four to five months,” beams Jadhav. A woman with a passion and the drive to make a difference with her startup, firmly believes that Pune was the best place to begin. With her goals continuously evolving, Jadhav will only rest once the soil level has attained complete fertile and organic properties.