November 29, 2015

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Our Story:
I started a distribution company in 2014 for vegetables & fruits that are not regularly available here in Chennai. The idea was born out of my own frustration of not having access to a regular supply of salads and greens in the local markets. 


The fruits, flowers & vegetables that I offer are all farmed in India. They are 
grown in professionally managed farms, owned by my family, who have been in the business for the last 45+ years.


Only minimum quantities of approved pesticides are used responsibly whilst growing the vegetables. In other words, we take care to make sure there are no traces of fertilizers or chemicals on the products by the time they are harvested. Wherever appropriate, the produce is washed after harvesting, before packaging and shipping. The produce is also chilled on harvesting which ensures freshness for a longer period.

The vegetables & fruits are packed in standardized  bio-packs, and you will find the size and quantity of each pack mentioned on our website. Today we also sell cut-flowers.

How to Get your Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers:
Order any day of the week, but latest by Mondays. Create a profile/account on our website and make your order.

You can place your orders at any time. However, Orders received by the end of the day on Mondays can be picked-up on Thursdays the same week.

We deliver home (in Chennai) against a delivery charge.  

Alternatively, you can choose to pick-up your orders on Thursdays from the following pick-up locations in Chennai:

(i) ECR/Neelankarai, (ii) City/Cathedral Road

Pick-up Timings:

a. Between 9:30 am – 11:00 am from ECR/Neelankarai at 
          #6, Casuarina Drive
          Neelangkarai, ECR.
          Chennai 600 041

b. Between 12:30 pm – 14:00 pm from Cathedral Road in the City:
           #6, Cathedral Road, c/o Mrs. Stina Vasu
          (Inside TTK Office Compound (Opposite Music Academy)
   
       Chennai 600 086

c. Between 12:30 pm – 13.30 pm at AISC (Drop for School Staff Only):
    (this service is not available at present) 
         American International School

         100 Feet Road, Taramani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600113
         (At High-School Security - Please leave payment with Security)

Payment Options:
Our payment options are as follows:

  • Home Deliveries: UPI or Online Transfers
  • Pick-up at our Collection points: UPI, Bank Transfers or Cash.
  • Bank Transfer:  Please make your payment to the following bank account by NEFT/RTGS:
    Account Number: 9150 2000 9825 632
    Account Name: Green Goblin
    IFSC Code: UTIB0003331
    Bank Name: Axis Bank Limited, Branch: Neelangarai, Chennai

Cooler/Ice Bag during Pick-up & Storage of your Greens:
We recommend that you bring/send a cooler bag/ice bag with ice-packs so that your veggies stay fresh on their way home. Once home, store your greens in the fridge right away. We recommend that you wash the veggies only just before you cook your meal or make your salad.

Retail Outlets:
You can also get some of our vegetables and greens from the following retail outlets in the City:

  • Nilgiris, Neelangarai - Contact Harish: 90940 23335

Please contact your nearest store at the numbers above and let them know if there is anything you would like them to get for you. Please note that the prices at these stores may vary from our online prices.

In case you need directions or information, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Yours Sincerely,

Aditi Vasu
aditi@green-goblin.in
Proprietor, 
Green Goblin.

Mob: 87544 80310


Article in the New Indian Express, Saturday 7th November 2015

Chennai Express to Exotic Edibles

By Uma Balasubramaniam

Photo by: A Raja Chidambaram.
Aditi Vasu displays a basket of vegetables and herbs

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. And when a little more variety comes to vegetables, especially the exotic ones, it is always a pleasure. Those who love a crunchy bite of fried kale as side dish or a piece of dragon fruit to nibble upon after meal, Aditi Vasu’s Green Goblin is the place to head for.

Green Goblin, a home-based venture started by entrepreneur Vasu in Chennai, sells exotic vegetables, fruits and herbs in the city. One can choose from a wide assortment of farm produce of the rare type like American kale, Thai brinjal, garlic chives, lavender, nasturtium, calendula, palm heart, dragon fruit, pomelo, avocado, strawberry, wide varieties of lettuce and many more.

Vasu, a graduate in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College in Chennai, has always shared her passion for gardening with her father and she even did the landscaping of their home garden. Later, when based in Sweden, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, she learnt about the benefits of the wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits grown in these countries that could be used to make delicious and nutritious salads. She used her stay overseas to learn about these produce and used this knowledge after she returned to Chennai in 2010.

“In India, ingredients are overcooked killing all the nutrients. Being a person who loves variety, it was very frustrating for me to cook with the same vegetables grown here day after day. So I decided to come up with a store that would provide exotic and rare vegetables, fruits and herbs to help discerning housewives hone their culinary skills and promote the health of her family,” says Vasu.

Started January this year, Green Goblin sources the produce from Trikaya, a 200-acre farm near Mumbai owned by Aditi’s cousin. The farm is managed very professionally as the family who owns it has been in the business for the last two decades. Only a minimum quantity of pesticides is used and no chemicals remain on the produce by the time they are harvested. “Wherever appropriate, the produce is washed effectively after harvesting and before packing and shipping. These are also chilled immediately to ensure freshness for a longer period. The vegetables and fruits are packed in standardised bio-packs with the size and quantity mentioned in the catalogues. The produce from the farms reach Chennai packed in thermocol boxes and are air freighted or sometimes ferried by trains too,” says she.

On being asked if it’s organic farming, she replies emphatically, “No. Definitely not.” She prefers to call it ‘gentleman farming’. “Most of the produce sold as organic are not really organic. Only three per cent is what it claims to be as a certain amount of chemicals go into farming which is unavoidable. Ours is what you would call ‘gentleman farming’ where no indiscriminate spraying of insecticides is used and farming is carried out in a responsible and proper manner.”  

The 49-year-old entrepreneur, who manages the venture with massive help from her husband Arvind Vasu, considers the growth of her venture as amazing compared to the initial lukewarm response—just a group of friends were keen on buying the produce. She now receives orders close to 100 kgs of vegetables every week. “My clients are generally expatriates and those who have returned to India after living abroad for a length of time. An Italian couple who visited the store recently actually gaped at the display and exclaimed ‘Bellissima! you have changed our lives.’ For me that was the greatest reward for my efforts,” says Vasu.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/food/Chennai-Express-to-Exotic-Edibles/2015/11/07/article3115213.ece


Arvind Vasu
Arvind Vasu

Author



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