Kochi entrepreneur’s ‘Rent a Tree’ startup lets customers lease mango trees

Kochi: A casual mango delivery between cities has grown into a startup that lets customers lease entire trees and claim the harvest.

Kochi-based entrepreneur Umesh Damodaran ran an ed-tech startup in Bengaluru from 2018 to 2023, constantly shuttling between the two cities. On one trip, he found export-quality Alphonso mangoes in Palakkad and took them to Bengaluru for teammates and neighbours.

Impressed by the taste, a neighbour asked if he could bring more. Since Damodaran travelled the route often, he agreed. Later, the neighbour asked if they could have the full yield from a single tree.

“That question sparked the idea for Rent a Tree,” says Damodaran. “That family became our first customer. We were not aware of the commercial viability then. But we soon realised, with us, each customer had a story behind their produce, and enough fruits for themselves and to gift others.”

The startup leases mango trees to customers, giving them ownership over the harvest. Damodaran now heads a 10-person operation based in Kochi, managing trees across Kerala. The model taps into demand for traceable, tree-to-table fruit and gifting, with customers often naming trees or sharing the yield with family and friends.