We ship from our packhouse at Kotla Fruit Market, Shimla. Fresh berries leave the orchard and go straight into a cold chain, and everything about how we ship is designed around one thing: getting the fruit to you before it knows it's left the hill.

1. Where we ship

Enter your pin code on any product page to check availability before you order. If fresh berries aren't serviceable at your address, the option won't appear at checkout.

2. Processing and dispatch

We don't hold fresh stock. Berries are picked to order, which means dispatch follows the harvest, not the clock.

• Fresh orders: picked and packed the morning after your order, dispatched the same day
• Order cutoff for next-day dispatch: 6pm IST
• Fresh dispatch days: [Monday to Thursday]. Orders placed after the Thursday cutoff are picked and dispatched the following [Monday], so the fruit never sits in a warehouse over a weekend.
• Dried and packaged orders: dispatched within 1–2 business days, any day Monday to Saturday
• Gift hampers: allow 2–3 business days for assembly

You'll get a dispatch confirmation with tracking as soon as the parcel leaves us.

Peak harvest

During peak season ([May–July] for most varieties), demand can outrun what the orchard gives us in a day. If your order will be delayed beyond the times above, we'll email you before we charge or ship — and you can cancel for a full refund at that point.

3. Delivery timelines

Delivery time is counted from dispatch, not from when you place the order.

Fresh berries

Fresh berries are not serviceable to the North East, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, or remote hill and rural pin codes where transit exceeds 72 hours. We'd rather not take your money than send you a box of mush.

Dried, packaged, and hampers

• Metro cities: 2–4 business days
• Tier 2 and 3 cities: 4–6 business days
• Remote, hill, and island pin codes: 7–10 business days

4. How we pack fresh fruit

Every fresh order ships in an insulated liner with food-grade gel packs, in ventilated punnets that stop the fruit crushing under its own weight, inside a rigid outer carton. Parcels are pre-chilled before dispatch and move by air on Zone 3 and 4 routes.

Gel packs are designed to keep the box cold for roughly 36–48 hours. They may arrive partly or fully thawed — that's normal and expected. What matters is the condition of the fruit, not the ice.

Refrigerate your berries as soon as they arrive. Don't wash them until you're ready to eat them; surface moisture is what turns a good punnet bad. If you won't be home, please use the delivery instructions field at checkout.

5. Shipping charges

Exact charges are calculated at checkout once you enter your pin code. Cold-chain shipping genuinely costs us more than standard parcels — we keep it as low as we can rather than building it into inflated product prices.

6. Tracking your order

You'll receive tracking by email and SMS at dispatch. Tracking can take 6–12 hours to activate after you receive the link, so don't worry if it shows nothing at first.

Our delivery partners include [Delhivery, Blue Dart, Shiprocket, and local cold-chain couriers]. We choose the carrier based on your zone and what will get fresh fruit to you fastest.

7. Delivery attempts and availability

Fresh food deliveries are time-sensitive, so please be reachable.

• Couriers make up to [3] delivery attempts for packaged goods
• Couriers typically make [1–2] attempts for fresh perishables before returning the parcel
• Keep your phone reachable on the delivery date — couriers usually call before arriving
• If nobody is available, use the delivery instructions field to name a neighbour, gate, or reception desk

Please note: fresh orders that fail delivery because nobody was available, the address was incorrect, or the parcel was refused cannot be refunded. The fruit is unsalvageable by the time it comes back to us. Packaged orders in the same situation can be re-shipped at your cost, or refunded less shipping charges. Full details are in our Return & Refund Policy.

8. Address accuracy

Please check your address and phone number carefully before paying. We can usually amend an address before dispatch — email or WhatsApp us immediately and we'll try.

Once a parcel is with the courier, we can request a redirect but cannot guarantee it, and additional charges may apply. We aren't responsible for orders delivered to an incorrect address supplied at checkout.

9. Delays outside our control

We ship from the Himalayas, and the mountain has opinions. Delivery may be delayed by:

• Monsoon, landslides, and road closures on the Shimla–Chandigarh corridor
• Heavy snowfall or extreme heat affecting cold-chain routing
• Flight delays and cancellations on air freight routes
• Strikes, bandhs, curfews, and public holidays
• Courier network backlogs during festival periods

We'll keep you informed if we know your order is affected. For fresh orders delayed beyond the guaranteed transit window through no fault of yours, we replace or refund in full — you don't need to argue the point with us or the courier.

We may also hold fresh dispatches during extreme heatwaves or severe weather rather than ship fruit we know won't survive the journey. If we do, we'll contact you to reschedule or refund.

10. International shipping

[We currently ship within India only.]

[Or, if applicable:]

[We ship dried and packaged products only to [countries]. Fresh berries are not exported. International delivery takes [10–21] business days. Import duties, taxes, and customs charges are your responsibility and are not included at checkout. Some countries restrict the import of food and agricultural products — please check your local rules before ordering, as we cannot refund parcels seized or destroyed by customs.]

11. Wholesale and bulk

Wholesale shipping is quoted per consignment and arranged separately, including refrigerated transport where required. Collection from our Kotla Fruit Market unit is available by appointment. Contact us to discuss volumes, lead times, and delivery schedules.

12. Contact us

Email: hello@berrieswala.in — we reply within one business day Phone / WhatsApp: +91 98765 43210 — Mon–Sat, 10am – 6pm IST Address: Unit 4, Kotla Fruit Market, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh 171001, India Instagram: @berrieswala

Picked in the morning. On its way by lunch.