Rent a Tree, an agri-startup from Kochi, provides mango trees for lease across India

Kochi-based entrepreneur Umesh Damodaran ran an edu-tech startup in Bengaluru from 2018 to 2023, constantly shuttling between the two cities. During one of his travels, he came across a few export-quality Alphonso mangoes in Palakkad, Kerala, which he happily took to Bengaluru, distributing them to his teammates and neighbours. Impressed by its taste and texture, one of Umesh’s neighbours asked if he could bring some more after his next trip. Since he travelled frequently on this route, he agreed to fetch some more.

One day, the neighbour asked him whether they could have all the yield from a single tree. This question sparked the idea for Rent a Tree, a startup that provides mango trees for lease with ownership over the harvest. “That family became our first customer. We were not aware of the commercial viability of this idea. But we soon realised, with us, each customer had a story behind their produce, and enough fruits for themselves and to gift others,” says Umesh, who heads the 10-person operation.

Umesh Damodaran
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Managing around 250 acres of Alphonso mango farms spread across Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad, Rent a Tree serves customers who want to lease the mango tree variety, without the hassle of tending to it. Clients pay for the trees in advance via the Rent a Tree website, where they can create an account and choose trees from three categories based on production capacity: base (30 to 50 kg yield), standard (45 to 75 kg yield) and max (60 to 90 kg yield). The platform updates the customers about the tree’s status two to four times a month.

Umesh harvesting mangoes from the trees
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The harvest window lasts four months and varies according to the region. In Palakkad, mango picking begins in February, and in Tamil Nadu, the fruits are available till June. During this season, produce is harvested every two weeks, following which the fruits are parcelled to customers across the country. Currently, 160 customers have rented them, with the price of the trees starting from ₹10,300, which increases as the harvest window approaches. They have currently capped the number of rentable trees at 200.

Apart from renting the trees, the startup also supplies mangoes directly to customers, and the surplus produce is used to prepare pulp.

For farmers

“To establish a startup, it needs to address a problem. We discovered that it was impossible to bring fully mature mangoes to the market due to their perishable nature. This leads to fruit being harvested at 75% maturity. People choose artificial methods to ripen fruits, which involve the use of harmful chemicals. This affects the health of the customers, and it also means that no one gets to taste a naturally ripe mango,” says Umesh, pointing out that a fully ripe fruit poses the risk of being spoiled. The produce, once it falls, cannot be consumed as it comes into contact with organisms on the ground. “So ethically, we sell only those mangoes that are plucked.”

The company leases the land from the farmers and maintains it with the help of local labourers, mitigating farmers’ losses caused by selling their produce at lower prices to settle debts. “The first and best harvest is often acquired by the financier, who pays them in credit. The market might be down for the next yield, and the farmers convert it into pulp to preserve it. The pulp-making machinery is also under the control of the financiers, further increasing their debts,” says Umesh.

The entrepreneur believes that the farmer’s dues cannot be waived off on a single day, but they can be brought down by eliminating middlemen and brokerage by joining their team.

What lies ahead

One of the biggest challenges affecting Rent a Tree is the lack of awareness among the public about the brand. A few other companies have taken money from people in advance, promising to provide customers with the yield, but did not comply with their agreement. “We are trying to get the help of the governments to give our operations more legitimacy,” says Umesh.

“We have to build trust with the customer; that’s the only way to grow. We plan to sell other fruits too, with farmers willing to supply us with exotic fruits like rambutan and mangosteen,” Umesh says.

The mango trees are listed on rentatree.in.