What TruTrade does

TruTrade is a Bangalore-headquartered not-for-profit social enterprise (legally TruTrade Foods Pvt. Ltd.) that operates an integrated model for the financial upliftment of small and marginalized farmers. The organization's commercial core is an e-commerce storefront (trutrade.org/shop) selling certified organic produce across four categories — vegetables (38 varieties), fruits (9 varieties), greens (5 varieties), and flowers (5 varieties) — with a stated commitment that 60% of every consumer payment is routed directly to farmers' bank accounts, compared with approximately 22% in traditional supply chains. Complementing the storefront are five service programs: market linkages, the Organic Thelawala push-cart last-mile distribution initiative (which provides urban poor vendors with livelihoods and soft-skills training), farmer training (priced at Rs 50 per participant), organic certification services meeting India (NPOP, PGS-India), US (USDA NOP), and EU (EC 834/2007) standards, and a dedicated agricultural research division developing organic package-of-practices and raw material specifications.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; operations rely on a WordPress-based website, a WooCommerce-style storefront, email, and organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X). Quality assurance combines peer review, 2-3 internal inspections per year, third-party certification audits, and pesticide residue testing against 300+ chemicals. Revenue streams are deliberately micro-priced and explicitly not cost-recoverable in the case of training, with primary financial support coming from donations that qualify for 80G tax exemption under the Indian IT Act. The organization employs 51-100 staff, operates primarily in Karnataka with a UK contact office, and is governed with a pro-bono CEO whose expenses are audited and publicly published — a transparency mechanism that doubles as a trust signal to donors and consumers. No external investors, funding rounds, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

TruTrade

Legal name

TruTrade Foods Pvt. Ltd.

Website

https://trutrade.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

TruTrade is a Bangalore-based not-for-profit social enterprise that sells certified organic produce through an e-commerce storefront and runs farmer training, organic certification, and push-cart distribution programs to ensure 60% of consumer payments reach small and marginalized farmers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Agricultural Produce

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (42448), Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (424)

SIC

Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural/Organic Grocery E-commerce & Delivery-Only Retail (CRAHAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organic Produce Wholesale (AFAIACAE), Fresh Food Subscription/CSA & Produce Box Retail (CRAHAHAG)

Keywords

• Organic produce sales
• Agricultural market linkages
• Organic certification services
• Farmer training programs
• Sustainable agriculture

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangalore

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Sales of Organic Produce: TruTrade sells organic produce (vegetables, fruits, greens, flowers) through their e-commerce platform, with 60% of revenue going directly to farmers' bank accounts.
2. Organic Certification Services: Charges certification fees: Rs 600 per year for small/marginal farmers, Rs 1200 per year for farmers with land holding greater than 2 acres. These fees are minimal to ensure farmers take certification seriously.
3. Farmer Training Programs: On-farm organic farming training at Rs 50 per participant (approximately 70 US cents). Classroom-based advanced training is also provided.
4. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a not-for-profit organization, TruTrade accepts donations. All donations receive exemptions under section 80G of the IT Act (1961).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TruTrade is a not-for-profit social enterprise that sells certified organic produce (vegetables, fruits, greens, flowers) through its own e-commerce storefront and provides supporting services to small and marginalized farmers — including market linkage facilitation (with 60% of consumer payment routed directly to farmer bank accounts), organic farming training, organic certification assistance across India/US/EU standards, and agricultural research. Last-mile sales are conducted via the Organic Thelawala push-cart vendor network.

Product overview

TruTrade is a not-for-profit social enterprise operating as an e-commerce platform for organic produce, with a mission focused on the financial upliftment of small and marginalized farmers. The company sells four main product categories—Organic Vegetables (38 varieties), Organic Fruits (9 varieties), Organic Greens (5 varieties), and Organic Flowers (5 varieties)—through its online shop. Beyond e-commerce, TruTrade offers complementary services including Market Linkages (connecting farmers to markets), Organic Thelawala (last-mile sales via push-cart vendors), Organic Farmer Training, Organic Certification Services, and Agricultural Research. The model ensures 60% of consumer payments go directly to farmers' bank accounts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Organic Thelawala: Organic push-cart vendor initiative that provides livelihoods to the urban poor while making organic food affordable to consumers.

Products and services

• Organic Vegetables Fresh organic vegetables (38 varieties including Pumpkin, Tomato, Onion, Potato, Mushroom, Carrot) sold directly to consumers via TruTrade's e-commerce shop, sourced from certified small and marginalized farmers.
• Organic Fruits Fresh organic fruits (9 varieties including Pomegranate, Watermelon, Pineapple, Papaya, Sapota, Orange, Muskmelon, Guava, Banana Yellaki) sold directly to consumers via TruTrade's e-commerce shop.
• Organic Greens Fresh organic greens and leafy vegetables (5 varieties including Drum Stick Leaves, Palak, Amaranth Leaves, Curry Leaves, Coriander Leaves) sold directly to consumers via TruTrade's e-commerce shop.
• Organic Flowers Fresh organic flowers (5 varieties including Lotus, Rose Red, Sevanthige Yellow, Sevanthige White, Chanduva) sold directly to consumers via TruTrade's e-commerce shop.
• Market Linkages Coordination service that connects small and marginalized farmers to consumer markets, ensuring farmers receive 60% of the consumer payment directly into their bank accounts rather than the typical ~22% in traditional channels.
• Organic Thelawala Last-mile sales initiative that recruits and trains urban poor push-cart vendors to distribute certified organic produce in dense urban neighborhoods, providing livelihoods and soft-skills training to vendors.
• Organic Farmer Training Training program for farmers on organic cultivation practices, covering seed selection, soil nutrition management, crop management, pest management, and organic certification standards. On-farm training is priced at Rs 50 per participant, with classroom-based advanced training also offered.
• Organic Certification Services Assistance for farmers in obtaining organic certification via Third Party Certification or Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), covering Indian (NPOP, PGS-India), US (USDA NOP), and EU (EC 834/2007) standards. Pricing is Rs 600/year for small/marginal farmers and Rs 1200/year for farmers with land holdings greater than 2 acres.
• Agricultural Research Research division that develops organic package-of-practice specifications, organic raw material specifications, and works to demystify organic standards for farmer adoption.

Quantifiable outcome

• Farmers receive 60% share-of-the-pie vs ~22% in traditional markets
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Crofarm: India-based agritech platform connecting farmers with retailers via farm-to-business supply chain. Comparable as an Indian fresh-produce market-linkage operator, though B2B rather than direct-to-consumer.
• Akshayakalpa Organic: India-based organic dairy and food brand working with small farmer cooperatives. Comparable for its smallholder-farmer organic sourcing model, though focused on dairy rather than fresh produce.
• Sahaja Organic: Indian organic farmer producer organization marketing organic produce domestically and internationally. Comparable as a smallholder-organic-produce collective, though structurally different from TruTrade's e-commerce + non-profit model.

Direct peers

• WayCool Foods: India-based food distribution and agri-commerce platform moving produce from farmers to retailers and HORECA. Comparable for its farmer-to-market supply chain, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• Otipy: India-based social-commerce platform connecting farmers directly to consumers for fresh produce. Operates a similar farmer-to-consumer model with community/reseller-led last-mile distribution, closely comparable to TruTrade's Organic Thelawala push-cart network.
• Organic India: India-based organic food and wellness brand working with smallholder farmers. Comparable for the organic farmer-sourcing and certification mission, but focused on packaged organic products rather than fresh produce.
• 24 Mantra Organic: One of India's largest organic food brands sourcing from a contracted farmer base. Comparable for its organic-produce sourcing model and farmer-network certification, though it operates as a mainstream packaged-organic brand.
• Ninjacart: India's largest B2B fresh-produce supply-chain platform moving farm produce to retailers and restaurants. Comparable as an Indian fresh-produce market-linkage operator, though Ninjacart is B2B and tech-led rather than e-commerce/non-profit.
• DeHaat: Full-stack agritech platform serving Indian farmers with inputs, advisory, and market linkages. Comparable for its farmer-services-plus-market-access model, though substantially larger and tech-enabled.

Broad incumbents

• Bigbasket: India's largest online grocery retailer, including organic produce. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering organic produce via e-commerce, but operating at vastly larger scale and not focused exclusively on smallholder farmers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tradetru
• Facebookfacebook.com/TruTradeOrg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trutrade-india

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TruTrade