IIT-Bombay graduates Amit Kumar and Abhay Singh’s Kota-based startup, Eeki Foods, grows high-quality, residue-free Indian staple vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, cucumbers, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, chilies, and eggplants using hydroponics — growing of plants using nutrient-rich water.
Unlike the plethora of business ventures engaged in hydroponics, Eeki Foods is not primarily focused on growing leafy vegetables, particularly of the exotic variety like arugula, lettuce, or kale. Their focus is on traditional Indian staples. Going further, the startup does not use coco-peat (husk) or any other growing medium. Instead, they employ what they call “an [Internet of Things] IoT-enabled, completely medium-less growing chamber’s technology.”
“Most startups engaged in the business of hydroponics in India are focussed primarily on growing leafy vegetables, particularly the exotic kind. There are a lot of hydroponic kits available online, and leafy vegetables grown from them can fetch you good prices. However, most of these ventures have been relegated to boutique businesses. They haven’t been able to scale up because the demand for exotic vegetables is not as high as traditional Indian staples like tomato, cucumber, eggplant, and chilies. A company that can grow high-quality Indian staples, as well as exotics, is more likely to scale up and have a much larger market,” says Abhay Singh, co-founder of Eeki Foods.
To facilitate the scaling-up process, the startup has developed their soon-to-be patented ‘Growing Chambers,’ which, they claim, offer better control over taste and nutrition value, and the produce is cheaper than hydroponic companies that use mediums like coco-peat.
Read more at thebetterindia.com
