Farm Rented Rent a Tree | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Kochi-based entrepreneur Umesh Damodaran ran an edu-tech startup in Bengaluru between 2018 and 2023, constantly commuting between the two cities. During one of his travels, he came across some export-quality Alphonso mangoes in Palakkad, Kerala, which he happily took to Bengaluru and distributed to his teammates and neighbors. Intrigued by its taste and texture, one of Umesh’s neighbors asked if he could bring some more on his next trip. Since he traveled this route often, he agreed to bring more.
One day a neighbor asked him if they could have all the produce from a single tree. This question sparked the idea to start Rent a Tree, a startup that provides mango trees for rent with ownership of the harvest. “This family became our first customer. We were not aware of the commercial viability of the idea. But we soon realized that with us, every customer has a story behind their produce and enough fruit for themselves and to gift others,” says Umesh, who runs the 10-person operation.
Umesh Damodaran | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Rent a Tree, which manages around 250 acres of Alphonso mango farms spread across Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Dindigul in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad, caters to customers who want to rent the mango variety without having to take care of it. Clients pay for trees in advance through the Rent a Tree website, where they can create an account and choose trees from three categories based on production capacity: basic (yield 30 to 50 kg), standard (yield 45 to 75 kg) and max (yield 60 to 90 kg). The platform informs customers about the status of the tree two to four times a month.
Umesh harvests mangoes from trees | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The harvest window lasts four months and varies by region. In Palakkad, mango harvesting begins in February and in Tamil Nadu the fruit is available till June. During this season, produce is harvested every two weeks, after which the fruit is packed to customers across the country. Currently, 160 customers have rented them, with the price of the trees starting from ₹10,300, which increases as the harvest season approaches. They have currently limited the number of rentable trees to 200.
In addition to renting saplings, the startup supplies mangoes directly to customers, and pulp is prepared from the surplus.
For farmers
“If you want to start a startup, you have to solve a problem. We found that it was not possible to market fully ripe mangoes due to their perishable nature. This leads to harvesting the fruit at 75% ripeness. People choose artificial methods of ripening the fruit, which involve the use of harmful chemicals. This affects the health of customers and also means that no one can taste the naturally ripe fruit, which the ripe, sacred fruit risks spoiling. Once the product falls, it cannot be consumed because it comes into contact with organisms on the ground. “So we only sell mangoes that are picked ethically.”
The company leases land from farmers and maintains it with the help of local laborers, mitigating farmers’ losses caused by selling their produce at lower prices to settle debts. “The first and best crop is often taken by the financier who pays them on credit. The market may go down for the next yield and farmers turn it into pulp to preserve it. The pulping machine is also under the control of the financiers, which further increases their debt,” says Umesh.
The entrepreneur believes that farm fees cannot be waived in a single day, but can be reduced by cutting out middlemen and brokerage by joining their team.
What lies ahead
One of the biggest challenges affecting Rent a Tree is the lack of public awareness of the brand. Several other companies have taken people’s money up front and promised to give customers a return, but have not followed through on their agreement. “We are trying to get help from governments to give more legitimacy to our operations,” says Umesh.
“We have to build trust with the customer; that’s the only way to grow. We plan to sell other fruits as well, with farmers willing to supply us with exotic fruits like rambutan and mangosteen,” says Umesh.
Mango trees are listed on rentatree.in.
Published – March 3, 2026 09:41 IST
