Simply Fresh – India’s largest precision farm in the making. Raising awareness of Affordable Food safety. Simply Fresh Private Limited was founded in 2010 by two Indian software engineers, based in Australia, Sachin Darbarwar (CEO) and Shweta Darbarwar (CMO) who were studying the modern Agri tech, i.e., plant-profiling, and R&D.
With a strong understanding of the technical processes associated with farming techniques, the duo shifted back to their hometown Hyderabad, where they started implementing the latest farming techniques that are inspired by the Australian and New Zealand farm practices. It all started in 2013 at Shamirpet in a 9-acre farm that catered to Retail and HoReCa segments in local markets.
In 2014, Simply fresh commenced its export operations. It’s then that the team realized the demand for fresh products and the need for safe and traceable agricultural produce.
Next in 2018, the company raised close to USD 30 million through private equity investors. Soon after, Simplyfresh expanded its farming with a 150-acre facility in Arjunpatla, Siddipet. Simply fresh was started with the aim of making available nutritious food that’s also free of chemicals and pesticides. Using soil-less farming technology, the farm presents inventory readiness, consistent quality and freshness of produce.
Simply fresh uses global technology in farming based on European standards using precision farming techniques. The farm uses AI technology in farming for growing, nourishing, picking and processing. Farming uses sustainable practices that don’t exhaust natural resources. Simply Fresh Farms produces a full line of Medicinal plants and fresh produce year-round at our greenhouses located in Hyderabad. They are a grower-owned processor adhering to industry-leading food safety and quality standards.
With a motto Affordable Food safety, Simply Fresh’s mission is to bring fresh, clean, traceable and technologically assisted produce through sustainable farming, adhering to the best standards of food safety.
Their farm is digitally controlled by an AI Platform called ‘Farm in A Box’ (FiAB), which determines and detects climate conditions and requirements for the plants and alters the environment to suit their needs.
Sachin spent three years learning the process in Australia and later developing the technique.
To make sure that their customers have confidence in their produce, each package has a QR code. When scanned, this code will showcase the whole history of the product including when the seed was sown, who harvested it, how many days it was in the system, and so on. Their Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) employ Trust and Transparency in consumers with this unique QR code printed on each product package. Simply Fresh also sources the highest quality Non-GMO seeds from across the globe. They nurture and harvest using precision farming techniques.
The final design selected for this project can produce crops cost-effectively and sustainably year-round by optimizing the growing environment by:
- Taking advantage of the natural outdoor growing environment during the late fall, winter and early
- Being able to grow during the hot dry
- Being able to grow during the hot and humid monsoon season when traditional cooling systems do not work efficiently.
- Growing in a completely screened environment when
- Using less than 5-10 kW hours of electricity per hectare per
- Using minimal water for cooling.
- Harvesting rainwater to ensure a continuous supply of fresh clear
Simply Fresh shared the most important element of the facility design is that each of the greenhouse structures is adaptable to grow nutraceuticals, vegetables, herbs, and berries so that the business is nimble and can quickly react to market changes or opportunities. All the greenhouses constructed are retractable peaked roof greenhouses with secondary retractable cooling curtains underneath. Equipment are controlled by an AI-based computer system which has been specially designed to control retractable roofs. In addition to the production greenhouses, a world-class R&D lab, tissue culture lab, and automated nursery are being constructed.
Simply Fresh have been cultivating medicinal plants, vegetables, and leafy greens through hydroponic farming in their 9 Acre farm and now with their new 150 Acre facility at Siddipet, they are one of the largest suppliers of all salad leaves, exotic berries, salad veggies, and edible flowers to leading retail outlets and almost all leading star hotels in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
