While door delivery of books and groceries are quite common in the City, with the advancement of e-commerce, Bangaloreans are now shopping for fish online.

Kedarnath, the owner of ‘Farm Fresh Prawns’, takes online orders for fish and meat and delivers them at the doorstep of the customers. He says that he is getting a great response from people and has many customers who order on a regular basis.

“I get the prawns from my prawn farm and fresh fish from fishermen on the coasts. I route these to the customers through an online portal. The customer places the order online and we deliver to their doorstep. It is best to place the order some days in advance so that we can get the required amount in good time. This also encourages the customer to plan in advance as against the routine, wherein they take decisions on the spot. The produce we deliver is fresh as the products have a shelf-life and cannot be sold to customers beyond a particular period. Since I get the fish from the fishermen, there is no intermediary involved. These are packed properly so that they don’t get damaged in transit,” says Kedarnath Reddy.

Many City dwellers say that it is more convenient this way since there is a lot to choose from. “What is different about ordering online is there is a lot more variety. I can ask for any fish or meat and I know that I will get it. On the contrary, when you go to a supermarket, you will be forced to buy what they have. One can check if the fish is fresh and if it is not, we can always return it,” says Keya, who regularly orders online.

Kedarnath adds that many people prefer placing their order online since the price is lower than the market price. “The current rate of a medium-size prawn is Rs 330 in the market and we are selling it at a cheaper rate. So there is an added advantage of low prices. I also sell it to various supermarkets where they get a particular size and the customers are forced to buy the same,” he adds.

Some of the online portals, which deliver fish and meat online, are farmfreshprawns.com, atmydoorstep.com, thefishmarket.in and seatohome.com.
Manas, who orders online, says that he prefers to do this rather than shopping at the supermarkets due to the wide variety of choices.

“I have faced this many a time. Going to the supermarket and not getting the fish or the meat of your choice is very disappointing. A friend introduced me to this concept of ordering online and I was more satisfied than buying from the supermarkets.
Supermarkets sell frozen and stale fish, I get more variety when I order online,’ he sums up.