India’s horticulture FPOs are being urged to build brands and sell closer to consumers
Indian horticulture producer organisations are being told they need consumer brands, trust, and direct market presence to secure better returns.
India’s farmer producer organisations in horticulture are being urged to move beyond anonymous supply into organised retail and export channels and start building brands that speak directly to consumers. That was the main message from a conference titled “Building a global farmer-led brand in horticulture: Strategies for scale, trust, and market leadership,” reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The argument is straightforward: without brand recognition and consumer trust, FPOs will struggle to capture more value from the market.
Rajendra Srivastava, professor of marketing strategy and executive director of the ISB Centre for Business Innovation, said India’s horticulture output has become an important export contributor over the past decade but still falls short of its potential. He pointed to fragmented supply chains, weak brand visibility, and limited consumer trust as the main reasons. In his view, the next stage of growth has to be built around reputation and market identity, not only scale of production.
Srivastava cited Sahyadri Farms and Amul as examples of what strong collective organisation can achieve. He said those models show how collective strength and professional governance can transform farm-led agribusiness. He also argued that India needs 500 collectives like Sahyadri Farms to move agriculture and allied sectors to the next level. That turns the discussion from simple expansion of output to expansion of management capability and market power.
Conference participants discussed how India could shift from being mainly an exporter of commodity horticulture produce to becoming a supplier of value-added brands. The country’s agricultural diversity and its geographical indication portfolio were presented as assets that could support that transition. At the same time, the discussion made clear that better branding will require parallel improvements in logistics, processing, quality management, and commercial strategy.
Vilas Shinde, chief executive of Sahyadri Farms, said the horticulture sector should be granted industry status so it can unlock more potential in processing and exports. He noted that Sahyadri Farms already has more than 50,000 farmer members and plans to consolidate its position over the next two decades through long-term marketing work. That underlines how even advanced producer organisations see branding as a long-cycle investment rather than a quick commercial fix.
ICRISAT director general Himanshu Pathak said scale, trust, and market leadership are essential for building a farm-led brand. Around 70 delegates from FPOs, agribusinesses, policy circles, and academia attended the event. A case study titled “Sahyadri Farms – A report on Farm-led Agri-business Transformation,” prepared by ISB-CBI, was also released during the conference. For India’s horticulture economy, the message is that the fight for better returns is moving from the farm gate into branding, processing, and direct consumer access.