From losing his first crop in 2016 to building a technology-driven strawberry venture in Mahabaleshwar, the Mumbai entrepreneur’s journey reflects the growing potential of innovation-led agriculture.
By – Snigdha Mishra
MAHABALESHWAR, MAHARASHTRA: In an era when agricultural innovation is becoming increasingly important to India’s economic future, the journey of 57-year-old entrepreneur Ketan Sodha offers a compelling example of how determination, experimentation and technology can transform traditional farming.
With no agricultural background and an unsuccessful first harvest, Sodha entered strawberry cultivation in 2016. Nearly a decade later, his venture, Berry Fresh Agrotech LLP, has reported approximately 8,000 kilograms of strawberry production and ₹44 lakh in sales, demonstrating the commercial possibilities of protected, soilless cultivation.
An Unexpected Beginning
Born and raised in Mumbai, Sodha belonged to a business family and spent years facilitating agricultural land transactions across Maharashtra. However, the slowdown following demonetisation in 2016 encouraged him to explore alternative opportunities.
Drawn to the favourable climate and strawberry-growing tradition of Mahabaleshwar, he purchased 5,000 strawberry plants and began cultivating the crop without prior farming experience.
His first attempt ended in failure.
Rather than abandoning the venture, Sodha studied the crop, learned from his mistakes and doubled his plantation to 10,000 plants in 2017. Improved results encouraged him to expand his operations through partnerships with local farmers.
By the 2020–21 season, his conventional strawberry-growing operations had expanded to nearly 40 acres across three locations.
Turning Agricultural Challenges into Innovation
Despite his growing experience, Sodha encountered a persistent obstacle: unpredictable weather.
Unseasonal rainfall, fungal diseases and seasonal temperature fluctuations frequently affected strawberry cultivation in Mahabaleshwar. Conventional farming also limited production during the summer and monsoon months.
Recognising these constraints, he began exploring advanced cultivation techniques that could reduce exposure to adverse weather conditions.
During 2021–22, Sodha travelled to Italy, Spain, Egypt and Turkey to study international strawberry production practices. He also consulted agricultural specialists and hydroponic growers from several other countries.
These interactions helped him understand that international farming technologies needed to be adapted to India’s distinct climatic and operational conditions.
The Rise of Berry Fresh Agrotech
In October 2022, Berry Fresh Agrotech LLP was incorporated, marking an important milestone in Sodha’s entrepreneurial journey.
The venture subsequently developed a protected cultivation facility in Mahabaleshwar, where soilless strawberry production began in November 2024.
Built around a 1,500-square-metre polyhouse with an installed capacity of 19,500 plants, the facility uses cocopeat as a growing medium instead of conventional soil.
Its cultivation system incorporates automated irrigation, fertigation, misting technology and environmental controls to support more consistent crop management.
The farm also incorporates rainwater collection and water-treatment systems, reflecting an emphasis on resource management.
Unlike conventional open-field cultivation, this approach offers greater control over plant nutrition, water supply and growing conditions.
Innovation Beyond Conventional Boundaries
One of the venture’s distinguishing initiatives is its experimentation with international strawberry varieties.
Berry Fresh has been testing 19 varieties sourced from different breeding programmes, including those associated with Spain, Italy, Japan, Uruguay and the United States, while also exploring Dutch varieties.
The objective is to identify strawberry plants that can deliver desirable combinations of yield, flavour, fruit quality and disease resistance under Indian growing conditions.
These experiments could also contribute to the development of better planting-material options for other growers.
Building a Premium Strawberry Business
According to production and sales figures shared by the entrepreneur, Berry Fresh has harvested approximately 8,000 kilograms of strawberries and generated around ₹44 lakh in sales.
The venture sells its produce through both business-to-business and direct-to-consumer channels, with reported selling prices generally ranging between ₹400 and ₹600 per kilogram.
Its customer network extends beyond Maharashtra to cities including Delhi, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Indore and destinations in Goa.
Interestingly, much of the company’s customer acquisition has reportedly come through recommendations and word of mouth rather than extensive digital marketing campaigns.
The business illustrates how consistent quality, customer relationships and product differentiation can create opportunities in premium agricultural markets.
A Vision for the Future
Sodha’s ambitions now extend beyond his existing cultivation facility.
He is exploring investment opportunities for a proposed five-acre strawberry farm with a capacity of approximately 200,000 plants.
The proposed expansion aims to apply the operational lessons gained from his first protected cultivation project while exploring opportunities for longer production seasons.
Although the expansion remains at the planning and investor-discussion stage, it signals his intention to develop a scalable model for technology-enabled strawberry cultivation.
A Lesson in Resilience and Entrepreneurship
Ketan Sodha’s journey demonstrates that entrepreneurship is not restricted to conventional industries or established areas of expertise.
His transition from Mumbai’s business environment to Mahabaleshwar’s agricultural landscape involved failed experiments, technical challenges, international learning and substantial operational adjustments.
More importantly, his experience highlights the potential of combining agricultural knowledge with technological innovation to address longstanding production challenges.
As India increasingly explores precision agriculture, protected cultivation and higher-value horticulture, ventures such as Berry Fresh Agrotech offer a useful perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing modern agripreneurs.
What began with 5,000 strawberry plants and a failed harvest has evolved into a technology-driven agricultural venture — showing how persistence, adaptation and innovation can create new possibilities in Indian farming.
