For hotels, restaurants and caterers, onions, potatoes and garlic are bought in large quantities every week. Storing them correctly can cut wastage by a big margin and protect your margins. Here is a simple, practical guide our team shares with clients across Pune and PCMC.

1. Keep them apart

Never store onions and potatoes together. Potatoes release moisture and gases that make onions sprout and rot faster, while onions speed up sprouting in potatoes. Use separate racks or separate corners of your store room.

2. Onions: dry, airy and dark

• Store in ventilated jute or mesh bags, never in sealed plastic.
• Keep bags off the floor on pallets or racks so air can move underneath.
• Remove any soft or sprouting onions every day — one bad onion spoils the bag.

3. Potatoes: cool and away from light

• Light turns potatoes green, so cover them or keep them in a dark room.
• Do not refrigerate raw potatoes — cold storage at home temperatures makes them sweet and they darken when fried.
• Use the oldest stock first (first in, first out).

4. Garlic: dry air above all

Keep whole bulbs in a dry, ventilated place. Break bulbs into cloves only when needed — separated cloves dry out and lose aroma quickly.

5. Order the right quantity, more often

The easiest way to reduce wastage is to avoid overstocking. Because we deliver within 24 hours in Pune and PCMC, many of our clients order two or three times a week instead of storing large stock for long.