From fruits to vaccines: How Celcius is fixing India’s cold supply chain

When 30 to 40 percent of India’s fruits and vegetables go to waste because of broken cold chains, someone has to fix the problem. “The problem of cold supply chain got highlighted during the pandemic… that was the birth of the idea of Celcius,” recalls Swarup Bose, Founder & CEO of Celcius Logistics Solutions.

In this interview, Bose takes us through Celcius’ journey—from designing its logo during the lockdown to raising ₹390 crore, building a network of 4,500+ vehicles, 107 cold storages and 700 clients. “We wanted to digitise the entire ecosystem in such a way that we could connect all the touch points,” he says.

From launching the Vahan Vikas Yojana to encourage small transporters, to introducing hyper-local deliveries with phase-change-material technology bags, to building a compliance-ready pharma vertical with digital locks and live driver monitoring, Celcius is reimagining India’s cold chain.

And Bose is clear about the future: “Over the next year, you will see us expand from 600 cities to 1,000 cities. Beyond that, we will foray into rail corridors, air cargo and international expansion.”

Watch the full conversation to understand how Celcius is building what it calls the “Unbroken Cold Chain.”