Mumbai Woman’s Startup Sells 300+ Organic Foods From 10,000+ Farmers
Source - https://www.thebetterindia.com/224507/mumbai-woman-startup-organic-food-brand-empower-farmer-small-biz-ang136/
Mumbai-based entrepreneur Ruchi Jain grew up in a household that revered fresh harvest. She saw how her mother put immense thought into what ended up on her family’s plates.
This knowledge and reverence for nature, and the sensibilities of the effort of India’s farmers translated into a startup that would go on to impact over 10,000 farmers in 14+ states. Founded in 2016, Taru Naturals is the manifestation of Ruchi’s learnings.The startup sells organic produce like turmeric, jaggery, rice, pulses sourced from farmers across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, and Uttarakhand among others. It helps farmers establish market linkages and ensure a steady stream of income.
In fact, on Women’s Day, i.e. March 8 this year, this young female entrepreneur’s hard work found mention in NITI Aayog’s list of 15 women transforming India. Another feather in Ruchi’s cap was the CondΓ© Nast Brand of the Year Award in 2019.
From a Climate Change Advocate to a Successful Entrepreneur
Once she had completed her Bachelor’s in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in 2008, she joined the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) where she worked for over two years. Wanting to add to her environmental knowledge, she pursued her Master’s in Environment Change and Management from Oxford University in 2010.
Facing Failures before Cementing her Ground
She was freelancing and providing consultancy services on projects involving subjects like women’s entrepreneurship, renewable energy among others. She also continued to travel across villages in the country to understand what her subject of focus would be.Ruchi decided to start experimenting by first selling jaggery to see how people responded to the product. With an investment of Rs. 2,000 she bought 20 kgs of jaggery which she packed at home and sold to her friends and relatives via WhatsApp.Within a week, everything was sold out and this pushed her to explore this idea further. She slowly started procuring more produce like dals, rice, atta, and millets and started selling it in fairs and pop-ups in early 2015. It was successful and all the products were sold out in three days. That boosted my confidence and I felt like I was moving towards the right direction,” recalls Ruchi. Finally, she founded Taru Naturals in May 2016 which was later incubated by UnLtd India, an organization that supports social entrepreneurs.
Creating Impact and Marching Forward
It has not been a smooth ride for Ruchi but with perseverance and focus, she was able to overcome the initial challenges that paved the way for seamless operations. In all of this however, it is the farmers in association with them who have benefited greatly.
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