In Startup50 2017: Aspada-backed WayCool Foods was one of the winners of the award under the Agriculture and agri-technology category due to the quality and robustness of its supply chain and a revenue run rate of Rs. 2 crore a month in August 2017.

Founders: Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari 

Founded in July 2015, Waycool Foods is a supply chain company that connects perishable produce directly from farms to consumers, through a technology-enabled, mechanised and partially automated physical supply chain. The company operates both in B2C and B2B segments.

What differentiates it from the rest of the players in the industry is that the company uses a combination of physical and digital technology for operating the supply chain. It also has a careful selection of digital technologies, to suit operations and cost structures for this industry.  

Working on partnerships

WayCool has partnerships with Government Agriculture bodies, NGOs and social impact NBFCs to create trust with the farmer community, to develop appropriate technology solutions for post harvest storage and handling and to remove working capital burden on everyone concerned in the supply chain – farmers, transporters and intermediaries.

It also offers an offline retail experience through its physical stores and home delivery model from bright stores, using electric bikes.

 Social impact

Apart from the other factors that differentiate the company, WayCool also has a significant impact on the farmers by increasing their crop realisation, conversion of hobby crops to cash crops, faster payment cycles and lower working capital lockups and lower wastage of produce. It impacts the transporters through high vehicle utilizations due to usage of technology, low cost working capital due to targeted financial solutions – several individual entrepreneurs converted to fleet owners.

Quick facts

• Operates both in B2C and B2B segments
• Investors – Aspada Advisors and 9 angel investors invested US $ 2.7 million on March 30th, 2017; Rs 7.2 crore in 2 tranches in January 2016 and May 2016

Numbers:

200 – Number of employees (including indirect staffing)

12  – Fixed and mobiles stores in its b2c business

2000 – Daily customer walkins  

300 –B2B clients