Agtech start-up DeHaat, a full stack platform, has entered into a business transfer agreement with Nashik-based Freshtrop Fruits, one of the leading exporters of grapes in the country, for an undisclosed sum.

The agreement will pave the way for the Gurugram-based agtech start-up to absorb the Nashik firm’s export network, grading, packing and precooling centres as well as manpower including its top leadership into its ecosystem.

Shashank Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, DeHaat, told businessline that Freshtrop, founded in 1992, has direct relations with over 50 retail outlets across 20 countries and its 74-year-old promoter Ashok Motiani has 25 years experience in exporting grapes to these outlets. 

Valuable buy

For DeHaat, which had exported 70 containers of grapes last fiscal, the purchase of Freshtrop is considered valuable as the latter shipped 550 containers of the fruit during the same period. 

This is the seventh company that DeHaat is buying and is by far the biggest strategic investment, Kumar said, adding that Motiani has come forward for the pact as his firm’s business has stagnated over the last decade or so despite earning 20-25 per cent profit before tax, interest and depreciation. “We are paying a major part of the cost now and the rest will be paid in two-and-a-half years,” Kumar said. 

Ashok Motiani, Managing Director, Freshtrop Fruit, was quoted in a statement released on the occasion as saying, “There is a fundamental alignment of value systems in both organisations of farmer-first approach, respect for everyone in the value chain, maintaining integrity and investing in innovation for further value creation. Hence, we feel that this association would be beneficial to all stakeholders.” 

Investments in innovative tech

The investment aligns with the company’s vision to not only provide impetus to grape exports from India to the globe but also build research and development capabilities to grow new varieties of grapes, offering improved value propositions to farmers across western parts of the country, the DeHaat co-founder and CEO said. 

Pointing out that DeHaat established its exports business 18 months ago and is today exporting over 20 agri-produce to the Middle East, United Kingdom and the European Union, he said Freshtrop also exports other fruits such as mangoes and pomegranates.  

Freshtrop Fruits has continuously invested in innovative technology and was the first to bring in transformative punnet packaging and certifications such as Global GAP and BRC for exports of grapes.

Freshtrop operates 2 state-of-the-art packhouse facilities in Maharashtra. Its partnership with DeHaat will be operationalised from the upcoming grapes harvesting season. 

2 million farmers’ network

Homegrown DeHaat is one of India’s largest agtech platforms serving over 2 million farmers across 11 Indian States through its exclusive digitised network of 11,000-plus “DeHaat Centers”, run by micro-entrepreneurs for last-mile delivery as well as aggregation. 

Till now, DeHaat has over 1,500 product stock keeping units from over 250 agri-input companies in its basket and is executing over 15,000 orders for inputs a day. 

On the output front, DeHaat manages 5,000 tonnes of harvest a day across 32 commodities, with distribution spread over 15 countries. The partnership will enable DeHaat to offer its full stack agri services to Freshtrop’s farmer network. 

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