From 100 coconuts bought for 8,000 taka to 25 lakh of sales a month

Two friends who had been selling various goods online started an online business in early 2022 delivering cut and packaged green coconuts across Dhaka. After a Facebook advertisement drew orders, they bought 100 coconuts at Karwan Bazar for 8,000 taka and delivered them on their own motorbikes - that was the whole starting capital. Cutting by hand left the packaging looking rough, so they spent about 6 lakh taka importing a cutting machine from China, and put another 8 lakh into a wholesale shop at Karwan Bazar to control the size and quality of what they bought. When about 600 of 1,000 coconuts brought from Noakhali went unsold in heavy rain, they turned them into coconut pudding, which became a product in its own right. The business now has 12 staff, about 10 lakh taka invested and average sales of 25 lakh taka a month - 24,000 to 25,000 coconuts, at 840 taka for a carton of six, 960 for the larger size, plus a 100-taka delivery charge. Clubs, gymnasiums, hospital canteens and pharmaceutical companies are now among the buyers.