Pravash Pradhan
Mayank Aquaculture Pvt Ltd, Surat-based shrimp farming company, has started home delivery of farm-fresh shrimps since last Tuesday under the ‘Zhingalala Fresh’ brand. The company, to start with, targets to sell 1000kg of shrimps per day at 100 selling points in 15 districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The company had last year forayed into restaurant business serving exclusive farmed shrimp delicacies under the ‘Zhingalala’ brand. No sooner had the business picked up, than the business got a setback due to the spread of the global pandemic Covid 19.
Speaking to Aqua Post, Dr. Manoj Sharma, Founder & Managing Director, MAPL, explaining the idea behind launching ‘Zhingalala Fresh’ during the COVID period, said, ‘I believe there is a very small domestic market segment of shrimps in India. We have a high dependency on the export market. When there is a crisis, we do not have any alternative. In this background, I started Zhingala last year to promote the domestic consumption of shrimp. But the lockdown threw cold water on my plan. I do not see the HORECA industry will be normalized in the next one year. Taking advantage of the network of 3000 customers of Zhingalala that we had created in the last nine months, I SMSed to them seeking their suggestions about delivering farm-fresh prawns at their doorsteps. I got a very good response. I have my own farms. We have our own Zhingalala brand. Then I thought to have 250g, 500g and 1kg shrimp packs and supply at a very reasonable rate”.
Dr Sharma further said, “If you study the peeled deveined and tail on (PDTO) market today, the 250g of the smallest 80 counts will cost you Rs300. It means 1200 rupees per Kg. That’s why no one is buying shrimp. For the same product, I have kept only Rs650 per kg”.
The company plans to launch an online app and will create a market channel for home delivery of farmed shrimps. The company has launched three varieties of Head on- shell on (HOSO- small, medium, and jumbo sizes and three varieties of PDTO – small, medium, and jumbo.
Talking about the company’s investment plan, Dr. Sharma said, “We plan to invest around one crore rupees in 2020-21 financial year. We will start with 100 selling points across 15 districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Later we will expand to major tourist locations of Rajasthan. We will provide one 100kg display fridge at each point. Apart from that, we plan to buy one 5 ton refrigerator truck and build one 10 ton cold storage facility”.
Giving an idea about his sales strategy, Dr. Sharma said, “We ask each vendor/retailor to sell 10 kg shrimp per day. We give them a retail margin of 12%. I do not want to have any intermediary, thereby reducing the channel cost and passing on the price benefit to consumers”.
The company plans to give employment opportunities to college-going or pass out local youths. The company will handhold and impart training to them.
The company provides a brochure portraying 10 good prawn recipes along with the shrimp pack. The company also wants to further add value by providing marination and ready masala inside the packet. “It will certainly help those who do not know how to cook shrimp,” added Dr. Sharma.
MAPL is one of the leading shrimp farming companies in Gujarat with 250 hectors of the shrimp farm.
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