Vasant Group (VG) entered the business of integrated farming with Vasant Farm Fresh (VFF) in October 2013 with the stated vision to create a brand through which the end consumer gets fresh vegetables as well as fruits at the most competitive rates. At the other end, the farmer gets his deserving share for the produce directly at his farm, saving him time and money, and most importantly affording him a comfortable life. In November 2014, VFF founded Vasant Veggie Farmer Producer Company Limited and launched its first fruits and vegetables retail store called Vasant Veggies (VV) in Ahmedabad, India. Its aims were to offer produce to the end consumer at a fair price and to increase business margins by reducing the incidental cost arising from wastage.

While VV stores had managed to increase footfall, the perishable nature of fruits and vegetables (F&V) posed various challenges for the store: the produce had a limited shelf life, and there was a large amount of wastage (up to 50 per cent of the daily procurement quantity). In June 2015, Hiten Vasant, director of VV, was reviewing data that showed the amount of produce being wasted (see Exhibit 1). He was keen to find answers to several pressing questions he was confronting related to the integrated farm-to-fork business model, in particular, how should he decide on procurement quantities to reduce wastage? How could a collection centre help in reducing food wastage and increase business profitability?