This startup lets you harvest your own mangoes, without owning a mango tree

Mango season is almost upon us and it’s time to enjoy the freshly harvested “king of fruits”. India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes, accounting for more than 45% of global production, with an annual production of approximately 20-22 million tonnes. India is also home to 1000 varieties of mango grown across the country.

While we all love our mangoes, not everyone has the luxury of picking fresh, juicy fruit from their own backyard. A Kerala-based startup is trying to change this by allowing people to pick their own mangoes even if they don’t own a tree.

Rent your own mango tree

Rent A Tree is an agricultural startup founded by mechanical engineer-turned-entrepreneur Umesh Damodaran. As the name suggests, Rent A Tree allows users to “rent” mango trees for a season and harvest the fruit when they are ready, while the startup takes care of the maintenance of the facility.

Umesh, who grew up on a farm in Kottayam District, was running an education technology startup in Bengaluru between 2018 and 2023. According to him, the idea of ​​renting mango trees emerged from a random conversation with a neighbour.

“Once, while traveling to Bengaluru, I bought some Alfonso mangoes from Dindigal, Tamil Nadu. I shared some with my friends and team-mates in Bengaluru. I also gave one to my neighbours. He liked it very much and asked me if I could buy more next time. He then asked me if he could pick the entire fruit from one tree. It was this question that opened my eyes to a new business idea,” said Umesh. Live Mint.

It started with five acres

This is how Rent A Tree was born in 2023, with the aim of allowing non-farmers to rent a mango tree for a season and enjoy its harvest.

Rent A Tree started with a small, rented five-acre farm in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, and sees its first harvest season in 2024. According to Umesh, the first season was successful and this encouraged him to lease another 100 acres the following year. Today, Rent A Tree’s Alphonso mango farms are spread over 250 acres in Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Dindigul (Tamil Nadu) and Palakkad (Kerala).

Naturally ripe mangoes all over India

“We have started listing healthy trees online for individual tree rental. Anyone can rent a single tree for a season and the entire harvest of that tree will be theirs. What we are offering is the promise of fresh, tree-ripened mangoes. Unlike large farms where mangoes are picked at 70-75 percent maturity and ripened using chemicals, we pick them fully ripe. We also allow our customers to harvest the mangoes themselves or we can ship the fruits to them anywhere in India,” he said.

30 kg mango guaranteed

Umesh said Rent A Tree guarantees a minimum of 30 kg of mangoes from one tree per season, which is the basic package. Customers can also choose seasonal packages ranging from 45-75 kg to 60-90 kg of mangoes, depending on their needs. Packages start on: ₹7,500 for a season.

Rent A Tree also provides customers with free delivery and regular updates, including videos showing the condition of the trees they rent. For those who cannot harvest the mangoes themselves, the startup undertakes the transportation.

“The mango harvest period is a 45-day period between April and May. We expect a harvest of 3-4 slices this season and the harvest will be shipped to customers at two-week intervals,” he said.

Plans to expand across India

Currently, Rent A Tree has around 200 customers and Umesh says they receive dozens of inquiries every day. Working with a 10-member team, Umesh is optimistic about the future of the model and is on track to expand the startup’s footprint to more parts of the country.

“We currently have a vision board for 2029. We are also receiving a lot of requests from farmers, especially from Maharashtra and Gujarat, who want to join us. In the last few months alone, we have received offers for over 2,000 acres of mango orchards,” he said.

Benefits for farmers

According to him, such initiatives help local farmers get better, guaranteed prices while offering customers the best, naturally ripe mangoes available.

“Farmers see what we have to offer and are ready to join hands with us. We plan to travel around India from July to December and meet farmers, testing their products for quality before offering them to our customers. And our promise to our customers will always be fresh, tree-ripened mangoes,” he said.