Indian meat purchases have changed as a result of online meat startups. These businesses cater to people who want to eat non-vegetarian meals at home without the hassle of chopping and cleaning, instant marinades, and ready-to-cook meat products. According to market research, India’s meat market is close to $30-35 billion in size and is expanding at a rate of roughly 18–20% annually. That suggests that in India, meat is consumed by more than 70% of the population.
The fresh meat startup ecosystem has influenced the meat-selling industry’s recent trends and taken up a sizable portion of the market for meat delivery over the past few years. The unorganized meat sellers, who hold nearly 99% of the market share, continue to rule the meat delivery industry in India. Customers have been greatly compromising on convenience and quality when purchasing meat from the neighbourhood butcher shops. Most of them are still unaware that meat purchased from butcher shops is sold unhygienically, that the products are not fresh, and that they are of poor quality.
The meat sold at conventional butcher shops is exposed to toxins and pests like flies and insects because it is openly displayed. The traditional meat-selling market has no set standards for price, quality, or freshness. They use an ineffective supply chain, which further lowers the product quality and renders it unfit for consumption. Experts claim that the amount of antibiotics in the meat sold in India is the highest. Low investment is made in the meat industry and livestock breeding for meat production. These setbacks encourage customers to order fresh chicken online.
Another significant area for concern is inadequate infrastructure. Urban consumers have gradually shifted over the past few years to buy fresh chicken or any other meat online for several reasons, including convenience and receiving fresh and hygienic meat at their doorstep. The way meat is purchased in India has changed thanks to online meat-selling startups. These businesses sell specially cut, marinated, and ready-to-cook meat products, which is excellent for people who want to eat a non-vegetarian meal at home without having to cut and clean.
Meat startups are addressing the issue of scarcity of fresh, high-quality meat. Customers can now easily order chicken online, marinated, ready-to-cook, nutrient-rich non-vegetarian food. Online startups use cold storage and other procedures to keep the meat fresh. They’ve done an excellent job of standardizing product prices and are working to create an environment of fair competition in the meat sector.
They also collaborate with governmental organizations like the National Meat and Poultry Processing Board (NMPPB) to establish standards and guidelines for offering end users safe and hygienic meat products. The online meat market is establishing supply chain management and modern, efficient methods of processing meat. Standardized storage and delivery methods for meat products are being selected for cold storage systems.
Startups are working hard to create a supply chain system to help the meat industry and the final consumers. To ensure that the product’s shelf life increases significantly, meat delivery startups also adhere to excellent packaging standards. A few packaging methods that are widely used in the modern meat industry include vacuum packing, canning, shrink wrapping, foam tray packaging, etc.
To produce and market clean meat, they are also addressing the issue of providing clean slaughterhouses. To further assist in transporting meat for dressing and selling for consumption, startups are setting up a standard hygienic transport facility with hygienically maintained closed containers.
