The Vegetable Market’s Newest Fanboy

Once upon a time, in the bustling metropolis of Mumbai, a 28-year-old named Karan Gaba had never graced a vegetable market with his presence. Imagine that! A man of the modern age, completely unaware of the allure of dirt and produce. You might say his life was more “apples and oranges” than “farm-to-table.” But fast forward to today, and Gaba is the proud captain of a grocery chain aiming for a whooping Rs 6 crore turnover next fiscal. Because nothing says adventure quite like spending your days smelling vegetables.

Gaba took the plunge into the world of retail after a mild panic attack instigated by his mother. One fateful day, she dragged him to a vegetable market to pick up groceries for a party—a life-altering experience, indeed! Gaba recalls, “It was an eye-opening experience for me; the vegetables were all so dirty. I asked my mother, ‘Is this what we eat?’” One can only imagine his horror—what a way to lose faith in food!

After this shocking revelation, he leaped into the family import business, a sector where at least the products aren’t all covered in layers of mud. However, Gaba found himself daydreaming about starting a venture in food, specifically organic farming. And what a charming dream it was, until reality hit him like a rogue tomato: he lacked the necessary skills. So, what’s a budding entrepreneur to do? Build a food purifier, of course! After all, if you can’t grow it, why not try to clean it?

Thus, Waltro Technologies was born. Having watched his family buy a water purifier, Gaba decided, “Why not add veggies to the mix?” After two years of toiling away in the world of Home Cleaning Technology (yes, it’s a thing), he finally devised a machine that could blast your greens with ozone. Yes, the same stuff that hovers over our heads, you know, in a harmless, atmospheric way. He marketed this marvel in 2010 and, surprise, surprise, sold about 500 units without a massive ad budget. Because nothing says ‘I trust this’ like the ozone layer.

However, Gaba soon faced a harsh truth: building a brand required cash—lots of it. He decided to pivot, shifting focus to selling the cleaned produce directly to the customer. Imagine this revelation: you mean to tell me people prefer clean veggies over dirt-smeared ones? Shocking! Using profits from his machine sales and a loan from his father—a classic parent-child financial transaction—he established a central purification center in Santa Cruz and a dazzling retail store in Bandra.

Every day starts at a crack-of-dawn 4:30 AM when the produce arrives at their 2,000-square-foot purification center, looking like a very tired group of vegetables. They get weighed, sorted, and scrubbed clean in what can only be described as a vegetable spa day. After a thorough washing, they bask in a ten-minute ozone treatment—talk about exposure therapy! By 8:45 AM, they are neatly packaged and ready for delivery. Because who wouldn’t want their carrots sprouting emotions post-ozone treatment?

Interestingly, the ozone method has caught on internationally for food processing because it zaps away impurities without leaving behind toxins—think of it as nature’s magic trick! But alas, in the retail world, it seems everyone is still catching on to this avant-garde approach. Brijesh Tiwari, a professor from Manchester Metropolitan University, points out, “Ozone will be the future for ensuring food safety, especially for fresh produce.” And there you have it—future-proof veggies!

Learning the art of sourcing and stocking was an uphill battle for Gaba. Initially, he made all the rookie mistakes—choosing only vegetables he liked, like a picky toddler. He wound up with cauliflowers no one wanted, and ordering too much or too little was just another day in the life of a veggie savior. Yet, with perseverance and a little bit of growing pains, he figured it all out.

Now, Fresco has expanded into home deliveries and even supplies two restaurants, a school, and a temple—because if you can’t feed the faithful, can you really call yourself a grocery chain? With a net margin of around 20 percent, Gaba dreams big. “I want to cover Mumbai first and then I will expand nationally.” One can only hope the rest of the country is ready for his ambitious veggie crusade—because if Mumbai metro can’t handle it, who can?