Palakkad: When two young BTech graduates are spotted by the roadside selling mangoes instead of chasing corporate careers, curiosity is only natural.

For Vishnu Vardhan and his friend P V Shilpa, however, the roadside stall is not merely about selling fruit, but a smart marketing strategy to bring their venture closer to the people. Their initiative, ‘Aam Tree’, is a mango brand that is steadily building an online presence.

Though the market is flooded with countless mango varieties, the duo wanted to explore a fresh and distinctive way of selling the fruit. The idea of ‘Aam Tree’ gradually took shape in the mind of Vishnuvardhan, who was born and raised in Muthalamada, popularly known as Kerala’s mango city.

Mangoes harvested from the farm owned by his father, Kushakumar, had been sold only on a wholesale basis since 1996. The new venture, therefore, marks the family’s first step into retail sales, and it was during this transition that Vishnu decided to brand the mangoes.

The farm grows 17 varieties of mangoes, and to reach Malayalis both within and outside Kerala, the team has also started accepting online orders.

Although orders soon began pouring in from outside the state, Vishnu felt the brand needed stronger visibility locally as well. That thought eventually led to the idea of a roadside mango outlet. Thus, Vishnu and Shilpa launched a roadside stall under the name ‘Aam Tree’ on the Malampuzha-Nooradi Road in Palakkad town. Every evening from 3 pm to 7 pm, they sell mangoes along with freshly prepared mango shakes. According to Vishnu, the response from passersby has significantly contributed to the brand's growth.

The duo is also planning to preserve mango pulp during the off-season so that mango shakes can be served year-round. Vishnuvardhan runs a business in Kodaikanal, too.