Farm2Fam Startup Success Story

About Farm2Fam
Microgreens Industry in India
Farm2Fam Founder
How was Farm2Fam Started
Farm2Fam - Name, Tagline and Logo
What is Farm2Fam
Farm2Fam - Revenue Model
Farm2Fam - User Acquisition
Farm2Fam - Startup Challenges
Farm2Fam - Competitors
Farm2Fam - Growth
Farm2Fam - Future Plans

With increasing income and easy access to abundant health-related information over the internet and through other media, Indians are gradually becoming health conscious. From gluten free diet to going vegan, many new health trends are catching up. Many people are opting for organic food over those grown using chemical fertilizers. Another trend that is slowly becoming popular in India is that of micro-greens. Micro-greens’ are the first leaves that grow from the seeds of herbs, vegetables or flowers, that are harvested within 14 days of germination of the seeds. Micro-greens have up to 40 times more nutrition than mature vegetables.

Farm2Fam, a Mumbai based startup delivers live micro-greens straight to your doorstep, for you to enjoy them fresh.

About Farm2Fam

Farm2Fam is a Mumbai based startup which grows micro-greens which are free from pesticides, herbicides and chemicals and delivers it straightly to the customer’s doorstep. Farm2Fam was founded in January 2019.

Farm2Fam aims to create awareness about the capacity of the human body to heal itself with natural nutrition. We intend to use technology in combination with traditional Indian agricultural methods to grow niche nutritional products.  

Microgreens Industry In India

The micro-greens industry is at a very nascent stage currently as people are unaware of microgreens, their usage and benefits. In USA and Europe, microgreens are included in diets of large sections of people to a large extent.

Research by the University Of Maryland College Of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approves that microgreens have more nutritional value than what their mature counterparts have.

Recently, there has been an increased focus on natural nutrition. With the increase in lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid, migraines, sinuses, etc., the size of this industry will only increase exponentially. Microgreens often take center stage in a gourmet recipe and are added for flavor and presentation. However, microgreens are little gems loaded with nutrients, such as beta-carotene, multi-vitamins, and lutein. Growth in demand for microgreens will also lead to a drastic increase in urban farming.  

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Farm2Fam Founder

Keya Salot is the founder of Farm2Fam.

Keya Salot is a law graduate and worked with reputed law farms prior to starting Farm2Fam.  

Keya always desired to be an entrepreneur; She chose to study law to understand entrepreneurship and the basics of it from a third perspective before taking it up. Sustainable Urban Agriculture always seemed interesting to Keya, which made her venture in that direction.  

As they say, you cannot take entrepreneurship out of a Gujarati. I think being an entrepreneur comes very naturally to me. Once I was certain about working in sustainable urban agriculture, I quit my job in the legal profession and undertook this full-time.

How was Farm2Fam Started

Keya is a vivid reader. She loves to read on various topics. She read a few write-ups on sustainable urban agriculture, which she found very interesting. Over time, with more studies on the topic, she realized that the ongoing climatic deterioration and never changing human habits will result in a world where people would have the monetary resources, but no food/water. Sustainable urban agriculture can help the urban lot get access to fresher and healthier food. Therefore, she started working on sustainable urban agriculture as a sector of preference. Keya worked with several industry experts to set up a system which would be the perfect amalgamation of the traditional Indian method of agriculture and the technology of insulation and automation.

Keya finally chose live micro-greens as a product to launch due to the following reasons:

• Live micro-greens are a perfect blend of taste and nutrition as they have up to 40 times more nutrition than the vegetables that we eat
• Live micro-greens enable people to eat the food as fresh as possible
• Live micro-greens take us close to nature as it requires plucking them from the medium before consumption
• Giving the micro-greens life enables the consumer to see the quality of our produce thereby inculcating trust for us in their minds.  

Farm2Fam - Name, Tagline and Logo

The name Farm2Fam implies the company’s motto to deliver fresh food straight from the farm to the households.  

We need our products to be available in every household so that people do not suffer from lack of micro-nutrients. We would like to provide fresh produce locally, as it is very important to eat free from pesticides healthy food by using sustainable methods of agriculture.

Farm2Fam’s tagline  – Eat Local, Think Global.  

As Farm2Fam's core business is into urban farming and agriculture, its logo  is designed with a green background

What is Farm2Fam

Farm2Fam introduced fresh and nutritious live-microgreens to Mumbai and brought the vegetable confetti concept from the west. The microgreens produce is an exceptional blend of traditional Indian agriculture methods and latest technology of insulation and automation. Farm2 Fam uses certified organic soilless potting mix, which is specially formulated for the early stages of plant growth.

Loaded with nutrition and having up to 40 times more nutrition than fully grown veggies, Farm2Fam offers 40 exotic flavors which include - Swiss chard, Alfalfa, Nasturtium, Purple Kohlrabi, Sango Radish and Sunflower to name a few.

We provide extremely fresh and niche products, grown in the city, to every doorstep and restaurant in Mumbai and we focus on improving the health of the end users.

Some major USPs of Farm2Fam products are-  

• No GMOs
• No pesticides
• No herbicides
• No chemicals
• Grown in an insulated environment
• Microgreens are delivered at the customer’s doorstep live and fresh.  

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Farm2Fam - Revenue Model

For end customers, Farm2Fam has the following 3 plans –  

• 2 trays/week or 9 trays a month for Rs.3000
• 1 tray/ week or 4 trays/ month – 1500
• Wheatgrass and barley grass – 2 trays a week for Rs.2000.

For restaurants and hotels, Farm2Fam offers microgreens from the range of INR 180-400.

Farm2Fam - User Acquisition

Prior to the launch, Farm2Fam successfully conducted several samples and experiments for 12 months. The nutritional values that the company provides through its live microgreens have attracted and retained customers. As of today, the company has several customers who have subscribed microgreens.

Farm2Fam tied up with Illuminati, a restaurant-cum-bar opened up in Bandra Kurla Complex for live micro-table tops. The experience with the end consumers was so good that within 2 weeks, the orders were doubled.

Farm2Fam also showcased its products at Luke Coutinho’s Farmer Market. This helped Farm2Fam increase awareness about its brand and products.

We showcased our distinct products like Kale Microgreens, Pink Radish Microgreens, Arugula Microgreens, Broccoli Microgreens, Cress Microgreens and spread the awareness of innovative, nutritious and healthy cooking. Our products have reached beyond medicine and the footfall was 2000+ people. Similar events will help us reach our end consumers directly.

Farm2Fam - Startup Challenges

Not having anyone from the agricultural/nutritional background and getting into the field of combining agriculture with nutrition solution was one of the major challenges faced by the Farm2 Fam team, as said by Keya. It took lots of effort and yearlong research, to overcome this challenge. Besides, unstable weather conditions were always an issue which required the Farm2Fam team to develop an insulated environment for farming. Sourcing the right seeds and medium for growth was another big problem. The farm2fam team has undergone through many trial and errors in selecting the right kind of seeds to provide healthy and nutritious fresh produce.

Farm2Fam - Competitors

Currently, Farm2Fam has no major competition.  

The idea of microgreens is very new in India. There are extremely few players in India who grow microgreens and provide them live to end users and the hospitality industry so much so that most of the restaurants in Mumbai get their micros from Bangalore. In addition, most of the players in Bangalore use hydroponics or plant pads as a medium of growth, which requires the addition of organic chemicals/nutrition to the micros.

Farm2Fam is unique in its belief that plants should only be given nutrition naturally. It grows the micros in a potting medium made by using around 40+ ingredients including coco peat, vermicompost, neem powder, etc.

Farm2Fam - Growth

Farm2Fam started working since January 2019. In a very small span of time, the company has achieved and retained many customers and clients by providing high nutritional value microgreens. Farm2Fam’s products were tried and liked by famous health coach Luke Coutinho, anti-aging specialist Dr. Aalika Shah and leading cosmetologist Dr. SonaliKohli as well as many leading restaurants.

The company has also started to work with reputed restaurants like Taj Land’s End, ITC, Four Seasons, Out of the Blue, Sofitel, Foodhall Cookery Studio and Punjab Grill.

Our achievements are in terms of the responses we receive. Several of our consumers have gotten rid of their migraines, sinuses, etc. by using our products regularly. Also, we count our orders being doubled with restaurants as quite an achievement.

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Farm2Fam - Future Plans

Over the next year, Farm2Fam sees itself in every household with a target of 300+ consumers every month and around 100 restaurants. Further over the course of 5 years, it intends to launch new products like blueberries, raspberries, live saffron, etc. Farm2Fam will soon be associating with marquee brands such as Pizza Express, Bay route and White Charcoal.

I have learned most things from the people around me. My husband and my parents are my role models. Renowned chefs always inspired me and their advice were a great help in flourishing our business. Consumers are the real mentors for us, as their responses play a major role and push us to produce variant products - Keya Salot

Website: Farm2Fam