Because Your Opinion Matters
Puneet Jhajharia and Ishira Mehta started CropConnect Enterprises (CCE) in 2013. CCE develops demand driven value chain solutions in agriculture by working closely with farmers and clients. The CCE team has been working in the agriculture value chain sector for the last three years with a focus on using market based approaches to connect farmers to markets; thereby ensuring that farmers’ production is in line with market trends and buyers get the produce they are looking for. CCE strongly believes that such customized solutions help to increase market access of the produce, provide traceability, decrease wastage and improve farmer incomes. Please visit www.cropconnect.in for more details. Original Indian Table Over the last 2 years we have travelled over 70,000 kms across 20 states to meet and work with farmers, a culmination of which is our initiative called the Original Indian Table (www.originalindiantable.com). The modern food consumer is looking for a more holistic and nutritious experience which incorporates seasonal and “terroir†products originating from different regions in India, but lacks access and knowledge of them. At the supply side, regional farmers and farmer groups have been shifting to more traditional farming practices and hardy indigenous crop varieties in order to revive their soil and survive climate changes but are struggling to market these products beyond local markets. Original Indian Table provides customized solutions to our customers based on their needs and motivations. We do this by bringing to market authentic, traditional and directly-sourced ingredients from farmers across India such as black rice from West Bengal, roasted barley from Ladakh and Barnyard Millet from Uttarakhand. Our products are an experience for our customers and come with details on the origin, nutritional benefits, uses and farmer stories. Each of our product has a story and is grown with care by farmers that believe in sustainable farming. All our products are directly sourced from 20 small-holder farmer groups including 8 women farmer groups practicing sustainable agriculture spread across 15 states, giving them access to a national market under a common umbrella. Our target social impact group is small holder farmers working at the base of the pyramid (BoP) especially women farmers practicing sustainable agriculture. Over the last 5 years we have travelled over 90,000 kilometres across 24 states to meet and develop partnerships with farmer groups across the country. We sell over 100 ingredients through retail (Amazon, our website) and wholesale (chefs, hotels & restaurants) channels. We have been covered by media such as Economic Times, Business Today, NDTV , The Hindu and Live Mint and have received a lot of love and attention from our customers. Original Indian Table is a recipient of the prestigious Millennium Alliance award in 2017 and was selected by the World Economic Forum for their New Vision for Development Program. Puneet and Ishira were featured in Fortune India's 40 Under 40 list for 2017 and 2018 and in the list of 50 people who are changing the way India eats by Conde Nast Traveller.