India is the second-biggest fruit and vegetable producer globally, right after China. The country’s fresh retail market is also substantial and has been growing at a significant rate. However, a concerning issue plagues the industry, as approximately 40% of the food produced in India goes to waste. Every year, India faces significant losses due to post-harvest food wastage. Addressing this challenge, qZense Labs, founded by Dr Srishti Batra and Rubal Chib, has emerged with a dynamic IoT-driven solution aimed at minimizing food losses and optimizing fresh produce quality.
A company called qZense Labs in Bengaluru is changing how fresh food gets to people in India with the use of technology. qZense Labs is using technologies like NIR spectroscopy and artificial olfaction to help retailers sell good fresh food. This helps them increase their profit by about 30-40%, and minimize losses by 40-50%. With the support from its investors, qZense is doing really well in the industry.
Today on The Inspiring Chapters we are sharing the story of qZense Labs.
The Genesis of qZense Labs
At the heart of qZense Labs’ mission are the visionary founders, Dr Srishti Batra and Rubal Chib. Their common goal was to address the significant post-harvest food wastage in India.
Dr Srishti Batra comes from computational biology and chemical ecology background. She has expertise in biosensors and olfaction.
Rubal Chib is an electronics engineer with expertise in building IoT products. She worked with top companies like Havells and developed India’s first smart bulb, IOTA.
A Revolutionary IoT Solution
qZense Labs uses special sensors and the internet (IoT) to look closely at fruits and vegetables. They use sensors that can see how things look and even smell to check if the food is good. With this special mix of sensors, qZense can figure out if fruits and veggies are bad inside, how ripe and sweet they are, and how long they will stay good. This helps stores and groups that sell food to know exactly what they have and make sure it’s all really good for people to eat.
Targeting Indian Fresh Retailers
While qZense has a grand vision to deploy its technology throughout the entire supply chain, it initially focuses on Indian fresh retailers. This means big stores, online shops, and online retailers can all use this smart solution to make things easier and better.
The deployment extends to retailers’ warehouses, collection houses, and stores, ensuring that the grading and quality assessment process is streamlined and effective.
Overcoming Initial Challenges
Just like any new and creative startup, qZense had its share of problems as it started. One big challenge was finding the perfect co-founder with a common interest. They say thanks to Entrepreneur First as it introduced them to many skilled people who became a great team. This helped the startup to overcome the early challenge.
Funding and Growth Story
The startup got help from JioGenNext, a place that helps new companies grow. They gave the startup important support and advice to help it get bigger.
Till date, qZense Labs has been backed by 10 investors which include the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, SOSV, HAX, 9Unicorns, Entrepreneur First, Lumis Partners, The Chennai Angels, Venture Catalysts and Manish Modi.
The founders also appeared on the Shark Tank India platform. They pitched for funding of Rs. 1 crore for a 0.25% equity in their company. The judges felt that the percentage of equity that the founders of qZense Labs were offering was much less considering the amount they were asking. Although the founder duo were not successful in raising funds from any of the judges, they, however, got a lot of attention and popularity.
qZense got noticed for being really creative. Union Miniter Ravi Shankar Prasad gave honors to the founders for their hard work.
In a very less span of operations, qZense Labs has managed to build a strong clientele. Big companies like Udaan, Country Delight, and Captain Fresh are part of their client list.
Future Growth and Expansion
As a pioneering player in fresh food agri supply chain quality management, qZense competes globally with companies like Giki, Zeto, QC4U, and Wektoo. As India gets ready to sell more farming products abroad, qZense’s success is guaranteed. They want to make sure that farmers make more money from selling agri products to other countries.
Having achieved significant milestones in a short span, qZense is now set on a path of expansion and impact. The startup wants to be in all the big stores and storage places in the main cities of India. To achieve this ambitious vision, the company is strategizing partnerships with prominent retail chains, establishing a robust distribution channel, and growing its team further.
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
As an innovative team of all women, qZense Labs shows how talented women can be in India. With help from groups like Entrepreneur First, who support women-led companies, qZense shows how important it is to have both men and women working together.
Using smart technology and the internet, qZense is changing how fresh food is delivered in India.
