Started in 2016, Transitioned from production services to market catalyst, extending to modern trade supplies from 2019; and in 2020, established retail outlet; currently serving retail customers across Bangalore. There is huge unmet demand for Fresh Lamb & Chevon in India, especially in cities like Bangalore; we have grown organically and immensely through customer referrals.
Muzammil Shaik – the Founder, is a Bio-Tech Engineer holding a PG in Meat Sciences and also a member of “The Association of Meat Scientists & Technologists” & “The Indian Society for Sheep & Goat Production & Utilization”; he has a lot to talk about the brand “FarmSmart” and Fresh Meat.
Sayeed ur Rahman – the Co-Founder, comes from sales acumen and has 25+ years of extensive expertise in western countries & also has been associated with the livestock trade for 5 years.
Our journey commenced over 10 years ago, while we have seen the entire value chain in the agricultural space for small ruminants, wherein we have worked in the fields with the shepherds, advising them on scientific management and veterinary practices, selection of breeds and have advised multiple clients in setting up and running sheep and goat farming enterprise. As a natural progression, we moved on to being a market catalyst as the majority of the produce gets consumed for meat purposes. We acted as a catalyst to provide quality mutton to the market, i.e. we consciously chose to supply to the organized sector.
In the past years, our annual revenue (year-to-year) stood at Rs 4cr, including retail & institutional sales – B2B, B2C & HoReCa. Apart from meat, we have been able to successfully aggregate and deliver about 500 ltrs of goat milk per week for institutional supplies, and goat milk is a niche product by itself.
Butchery is one of the world’s oldest professions, with traditions and practices dating back to the first humans to ever use tools. Of course, modern commercial slaughter and butchering are radically different from the first hunters and their stone knives. In fact, the sheer volume of meat required to supply supermarkets has led to the wide usage of practices that reduce the overall quality. A supermarket butcher has likely never met the person who slaughters their meat, let alone the animal.
But we at “FarmSmart®” is a traditional style modern store, aiming to work closely with our suppliers, ensuring animals receive humane and ethical treatment– sourced locally and organically through our networks whenever possible. At FarmSmart, our journey starts from animals, while with most of the brands, the journey is from the carcass. We have the shortest value chain in terms of procurement processing and consumption, and we create a better value proposition for farmers as well as consumers.
At FarmSmart, there are a lot of processes involved in pre & post-slaughter, which is why our meat quality is consistently fresh & flavoursome every day at every delivery. At FarmSmart, we have been successful in standardizing the product as “lamb & chevon”. Over the years, with tremendous efforts and hard work, we have been able to create a very strong product presence which is accepted and appreciated by all segments of consumers.
Chicken, Fish & Mutton are the 3 standard products sold across the trade cycle. While chicken and fish are almost organized due to the inherent simplicity in their trade, it’s not the case with Mutton. Mutton, as a product, is very complicated! For instance: Firstly, we have Sheep & Goats. Then breed, creed, size of the carcass etc., and the quality differs at each and every parameter listed above. Hence, this criterion for meeting quality mandates that we use the best of our expertise to standardize the product before getting it for sale. This is the key differentiator that has made us successful as we are today.
Currently, the value lies in the last mile, i.e., in the retail segment, and we want to capitalize on the hard work, the in-depth knowledge acquired from fields to the last point of sale & mainly consumer preference in this segment, the first mover advantage, our learning’s in the consumer space to grow and create value for ourselves and our investors. It takes time for others to catch up and build this ecosystem to scale up. Knowledge can be sourced, but building the ecosystem is difficult as butchery is a highly skilled profession.
We strive to lead into the organized sector with “MUTTON” – people would know us for mutton, and there are none who have made a mark in this space. In the organized meat segment today, mutton consumption is low since the availability of good-quality mutton is also low. We want to give a convenient and consistent customer experience in the market, eventually contributing to an increased share in the organized sector.
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