Kochi: Digital or virtual currency, popular known as cryptocurrency, is gaining traction, with India even considering its own version. A food start-up in Kochi has adopted cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange to buy its product — pickles.
Cryptocurrency option is available for buying pickles made by a startup "atheynallatha.com" launched by two youths who have done their MBA. One can purchase pickles using seven cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin.
The fare on offer
As in the case of the company name and currency adopted, the partners R Akshay and Hafiz Rahman behid the venture have maintained the uniqueness in their pickle products as well.
Ther company sells four non-vegetarian pickles and three vegetarian pickles in fusion (combo) form.
The non-veg-veg combo pickles are buffalo and carrot, fish and mango, chicken and beetroot, prawns and papaya. The three solely veg combo pickles are: grapes and mango, dry grapes and gooseberry, lemon and dates.
The pickle products too have been given unique and interesting names. Buffalo-carrot pickle is known as "sadanam kaiyil ond", fish-mango combo is "jal pushp". In Bengal fish is known as jal pushp and that is what prompted them to use this name.
The start-up venture was started in June 2020 during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides online sales, the pickles are available in 30 shops. These are also being exported to Germany.
Currency notes are not used for transactions.
The transactions take place only through Google app, UPI, credit/debit cards and cryptocurrency.
As the partners have adopted block chain technical knowhow in business, they decided to introduce cryptocurrency.
Though three days have passed since the new payment mode was introduced, no one has used cryptocurrency to buy pickles.
Akshay, a resident of Peroorkada in Thiruvananthapuram, and Kakkanad native Hafiz got acquainted with each other while doing MBA at the SCMS Cochin School of Business in Aluva.
The pickle kitchen is located in Kakkanad.