Rocery is a Guwahati-based online store dealing with fresh produce like chicken, mutton, fish, ready to cook items and more.
Buying meat and fish online was almost unheard-of in Guwahati till recently.
The lockdown from March 24 dramatically changed the way of life in Guwahati and people soon started buying meat and fish online.
Scarcity of fish and meat during the first few weeks of lockdown led to the mushrooming of online platforms for fish and meat. But, assuring quality delivery was the biggest challenge.
While the consumers were facing problems with the quality of refrigerated fish and meat, two young entrepreneurs launched Rocery in Guwahati.
The founders of Rocery – Anjanjyoti Phukan, a marketing professional, and Nilotpal Baruah, a former journalist – decided to take up the task of delivering fresh meat and fish at the doorstep.
Since its inception, quality assurance has been Rocery’s USP, and the entire team is committed to its customers.
Since the launch in the month of May, Rocery is constantly working to deliver on a farm-to-fork model to its customers in Guwahati.
Rocery is also working with the small and marginalized farmers of Central Assam by creating an ecosystem whereby they can sell their products directly at a better price, thereby eliminating the nuisance of middle-man.
For fish, Team Rocery is closely working with a large group of fishermen, who catch fresh live fish daily. It is cut and cleaned, and delivered to the customers’ doorsteps.
“At Rocery, we ensure that all the small fish is hygienically cut, cleaned, and packed at our small unit in Guwahati,” Nilotpal Baruah said, adding that the packages are ‘ready to cook’.
Customers’ response for the small fish segment is very encouraging and the team is working round the clock to add more small fish varieties to its online offerings.
The Android Rocery app is available in Google Playstore and they also have a web version (rocery.in). Very soon they are planning to launch it on iOS platform.
The app is beautifully designed and all the products of fish and meat are categorically displayed for a hassle-free experience.
The meat and fish industry in Assam is an unorganized sector with major challenges with quality and hygiene. And, more than 90 percent of the population is non-vegetarian.
At present, more than 50 percent of Rocery’s customers are housewives and senior citizens. They are the ones who avoid going to the unhygienic wet markets for buying meat and fish.
Now with a click, they can order their preferred meat or fish and get it delivered at home.
“Our ultimate goal is to make Rocery synonymous with fresh meat and fish in Guwahati, with 100 percent assurance on quality,” Anjanjyoti Phukan, co-founder of the startup, said.