NinjaCart: the B2B application that digitizes the distribution of fresh produce in India!
What is the concept of Ninjacart?
The application allows restaurateurs and shopkeepers to order fresh products (fruit and vegetables, eggs, meat, etc.) directly from farmers, thus eliminating the middlemen. The exchange is carried out digitally on the platform and the logistic part (delivery and warehouse) is then carried out by Ninjacart who takes a commission on each transaction. The service is guaranteed paperless from A to Z.
Indian farmers and agriculturists, who usually suffer from uncertainty and irregularity of sales, can now count on a regular demand and a stable and higher selling price; while traders can secure and maintain their stocks as they wish.
Ninjacart was founded in Bangalore in 2015 by a team of tech engineers who wanted to revisit the Indian supply chain. In 2020, the startup was able to raise $10 million in Series C funding from Flipkart India, India’s e-commerce giant, and an additional $50 million investment was signed with Walmart.
Today, Ninjacart is able to deliver from farm to store in less than 12 hours with an efficiency rate of 99.88%. Thanks to about 50 warehouses and a fleet of ninja delivery men, more than 1,000 tons of fruit and vegetables are delivered daily to 60,000 retailers in 7 major Indian cities: Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi.
Why use the Ninjacart application?
Guaranteeing a fair selling price
In India, the current model remains very opaque between farmers and urban businesses. Middlemen, intermediaries between the two parties, are the only ones to ensure these exchanges and often take very large commissions to the detriment of farmers who have no idea of the real demand in the city.
The Ninjacart application eliminates the middleman to ensure transparency in prices and demand. This method represents an additional income of 20% for farmers and a 15% reduction in the purchase price for buyers.
Supporting smaller traders and farmers
Traders enter their requirements directly on the application and are automatically linked to the appropriate farmers. For example, a trader with a high demand for potatoes and a lower demand for lettuce will be linked to a large potato farm and a smaller farm specializing in lettuce, whereas the non-digitalized middleman method only favors very large farms that produce everything and does not provide as much choice to small traders.
Reducing waste and carbon emissions
With a zero-paper approach, Ninjacart represents a first step towards a more environmental system. With a better organization of the logistic chain (thanks to its warehouses and distribution centre) it is also a reduction of transport time and therefore CO2 emissions that is achieved.
Finally, Ninjacart makes it possible to buy fruit and vegetables at the end of their life at lower costs to avoid waste.
A secure payment in less than 24 hours
All payments are made online and secure. Merchants’ and farmers’ accounts are linked to the application for more transparency and speed.
Home delivery during covid-19
While home delivery services for fresh produce are overwhelmed by a peak in demand following the coronavirus epidemic, Ninjacart has adapted its offer and extended its delivery services to private apartments in order to meet this new demand. Thus, by placing an order on the application, where usually merchants do so, private individuals can now receive fruit and vegetables on their doorstep.
