BENGALURU: Horticultural Producers’ Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) is looking to introduce mini auto service to sell vegetables at your doorstep which will be similar to that of regular traditional vegetable push carts.
HOPCOMS, that runs in five districts including Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Ramanagara, has 325 outlets. Of them, 286 are in Bengaluru Urban and Rural. These outlets are constructed on 300 square feet. Apart from this, they have recently introduced Horti Bazaar at Kasturinagar, Malleswaram, Electronic City and few more places which are as big as 1,000 square feet or 1,500 square feet. “We have plans to make it air-conditioned, so that vegetables and fruits can be stored for longer. To begin with it will be introduced in Horti Bazaar, later at the outlets,’’ official said.
However, with too many private players and super markets, the demand for vegetables at HOPCOMS has come down. To increase business, HOPCOMS is planning to reach to people’s door step through specially designed pushcarts. According to the sources from HOPCOMS, various models have been developed by a city-based institute to store vegetables and fruits in better condition. One of these models is to keep an ice pack below the push cart. The process is currently in its initial stage.
At present, HOPCOMS has mobile vans to sell vegetables and fruits. “These vans will be parked near big apartment complexes and remote areas where there are no commercial shops,’’B N Prasad, HOPCOMS Managing Director, said.
HOPCOMS, which is also into retailing, is planning to enter the wholesale market. “Each of our outlet sells around 60 to 70 tonnes a day. We are planning to tie up with the farmers association through which vegetables and fruits can be purchased through HOPCOMS and supplied to private individual vegetable shops,’’ Prasad said.