Global IndianstoryMeet the agritech startups lending Indian farmers a helping hand

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Meet the agritech startups lending Indian farmers a helping hand

Written by: Global Indian

(September 6, 2021) Agriculture in India has often left farmers short changed. The reasons for this have been many: low landholding, lack of modernization, taxing loans from an informal setup, unpredictable weather conditions, demand-supply issues, and also the lack of technology. However, over the past few years, agritech startups have been making inroads into the agriculture sector trying to fix problems, one at a time. With better smartphone and internet penetration across certain rural areas in the country, these startups have been providing solutions to everything from innovative ways of disbursing loans, technology to test soil quality and predict which crops will be in demand the next season to farm to fork brands and B2B agri marketplaces.

Global Indian turns the spotlight on some of the country’s most promising agritech startups.

WayCool

Sanjay Dasari co-founded WayCool with Karthik Jayaraman

Launched in Chennai in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, WayCool has been pivoting the farm-to-fork B2B model. One of the country’s fastest growing agritech companies, WayCool makes almost 90% of its revenue today from leading clients such as the Taj Group of Hotels. It’s aim has been drive social impact while transforming India’s food economy and has built a large food development and distribution services company by positively impacting over 500,000 farmers so far. WayCool works across the spectrum in agriculture: product sourcing, food processing, branding and marketing, last mile distribution and most importantly by providing farmer inputs on essential factors such as soil quality, best crops to invest in etc.

The company currently handles over 350 tonnes of food products each day across 19,000 clients across more than 50 regions in India. Earlier this year the startup raised $20 million in a fresh round of funding from existing backers such as Lightstone, Lightbox Ventures, and Netherlands-based FMO Development Bank and its valuation is currently close to $200 million.

Agrowave

Anu Meena

Launched in Gurugram in 2017 by IIT-Delhi alumna Anu Meena, Agrowave is a farm-to-fork mobility supply chain using an integrated network of smart route mapped mobile pickup stations at farm gates. It reaches out to small and marginal farmers in India’s interiors, buys produce from them and sells it to businesses such as restaurants, cafes, hotels and retailers. Agrowave procures fresh produce from regions such as Palwal, Sonipat, Sawai, Nuh, and Alwar Sambhal. Meena, who as a child had watched her grandfather struggle to sell his produce, wanted to bridge the supply chain gap in the agri sector and help farmers get a fair price for their produce by eliminating middlemen. Using technology to build a sustainable supply chain Meena launched the startup with zero investment and worked on the business model and technology alone. Her project grabbed investor interest and the startup raised funding from Daffodil Software in 2017. Last year, it raised close to $500,000 in funding from US-based investor Sekhar Puli. Today, the company clocks in a revenue of close to ₹25 million each month.

Fasal

Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma

Founded in 2018 in Bengaluru by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma, Fasal uses IoT to take the guessing game out of farming and helps farmers run on auto pilot mode by helping them monitor their farms anytime and from anywhere. It helps measure macro and micro conditions including soil moisture, rainfall, temperature and various environmental factors to help farmers make informed crop choices. The startup gives farmers Fasal Sense, an IoT sensor device, which collects data that then relies on artificial intelligence and data science to calculate on-farm predictions about disease, pests and recommendations on the farmer’s phone in different languages. So far, Fasal has raised $1.9 million in funding, including $1.6 million in a seed round led by Omnivore and Wavemaker Partners in 2019.

CropIn

Krishna Kumar and Kunal Prasad

Founded in 2010 by Krishna Kumar and Kunal Prasad, CropIn is headquartered in Bengaluru and enables agri enterprises to maximize per-acre value through data-driven solutions. With its smart SaaS-based solutions to global agribusinesses, CropIn aims to digitize the farm and farmer. One of the many solutions it provides is Farm Management Solution, and helps farmers and other stakeholders improve productivity, efficiency and sustainability of crop chains. The platform also helps maintain food safety standards which sometimes get overlooked in conventional farming. So far, the company has impacted 13 million acres and four million farmers worldwide through its platforms. The company recently raised $20 million in a series C round led by ABC World.

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A crypto pickle: Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman’s Athey Nallatha lets you buy achar with bitcoins

(March 10, 2022) If a fusion of shrimp and papaya isn't exotic enough for you, then perhaps the opportunity to buy a bottle of pickles with cryptocurrency just might be. For Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder of Athey Nallatha, the startup that offers 'an NFT collection made by mothers of India', this is the culmination of a lifetime spent in pursuit of unconventional choices. For instance, in school, as his peers weighed their prospects in engineering and medicine, Hafez was thinking of relativity and quantum mechanics. He also realised early on that he would never work a nine-to-five. Instead, he began his career as a copywriter, did an MBA and went on to found an EdTech startup. When the idea to start a business arose during the pandemic, Hafez jumped at it and called Akshay Raveendran, a friend from his business school days. "He asked me for a day to think things over but called me back in 40 minutes," Hafez said, in an exclusive interview with Global Indian. [caption id="attachment_21057" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder, Athey Nallatha[/caption] The aforementioned Chemmeen pickle is flying off the shelves, reports Hafez. Over the last year and a half, Athey Nallatha,

.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG-20220228-WA0035.jpg" alt="Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian" width="429" height="644" /> Indian entrepreneur Hafez Raman, co-founder, Athey Nallatha[/caption]

The aforementioned Chemmeen pickle is flying off the shelves, reports Hafez. Over the last year and a half, Athey Nallatha, which means 'yes, that's good' in Malayalam, grew too big for his mother's kitchen. Today, they function out of a factory in Kochi alongside some of the biggest players in the game. Currently, in the process of setting up retail businesses in the UAE and Germany, Athey Nallatha already takes individual orders from across the world.

In college, Hafez studied photonics at the Cochin University of Science and Technology and did his research at IIT Bombay. "I also had a passion for writing, so I became a copywriter." In 2016, he went to do an MBA at the CSMS Cochin School of Business, where he met Akshay.

With his ed-tech company in mind, he began his career as an entrepreneur, creating a set of 'brain-mapping' tools to implement in schools. Based on psychologist Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the "tools can help us tap the brain better," Hafez explains.

[caption id="attachment_21059" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian Hafez Raman and Akshay Raveendran, co-founders, Athey Nallatha[/caption]

‘In a pickle’ during the pandemic

It was during the second phase of the lockdown, in September 2020, that the idea for Athey Nallatha came about, based on his mother’s suggestion. "I had tried a number of business ideas by this time, from ed-tech to handlooms. My mother asked why I couldn't start a business that would not be hit by the pandemic and employ people who need the work. She suggested a food startup."

Things fell into place and within a month, the company was up and running. They started out with highly perishable products like salads and fruit punches. "We thought of a subscription plan and a hyperlocal streaming system. We had a pool of delivery boys too, so we were able to proceed," Hafez explains. However, dealing with products that have a shelf life of only one day proved too big a logistical challenge to overcome and finding the right product was imperative. "It couldn't just be any product. There needs to be room for it in the market and the timing has to be just right." That's when he remembered his mother's pickles," he adds.

Behind the recipe

Why pickles? "There's a story behind it," Hafez smiles. His mother, Aneesa Ashraf, grew up in a household where money was a struggle. Her brother was forced to quit studying and find a job; like so many Keralites, he decided on the UAE. "He was a lot younger than my mother and she didn't want him to feel homesick, so she would make pickles for him." All this took place much before Hafez was born – but the pickles were an instant hit. "She would use meat, vegetables and her own masalas – they actually resembled a curry more than a pickle," he remarks.

[caption id="attachment_21058" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian The founders of Athey Nallatha, Hafez Raman (left) and Akshay Raveendran, with Hafez's mother, Aneesa[/caption]

Hungry for change

As they embarked on an extensive period of research, Hafez and Akshay uncovered less-than savoury details about the packaged food industry in India. "There wasn't a single mainstream player in the market dealing with quality products. I know because I ran a series of biological tests on them," he says, adding, "We're all eating poor quality food and because the pickles are so heavily masked with masalas and salt, we can't tell the difference." The prawns used in pickles, for instance, can sometimes be up to two years old by the time they make it to your plate. Undercutting costs by investing in poor quality ingredients, like buying export-reject shrimp from major companies or the most dilute asafoetida available in the market – the industry was rife with shoddy business practices. It only made him more determined to carve his own path.

Athey Nallatha began as a set of fragmented units, with a number of middle-aged women all pitching in to make their pickles. "At first, my mother and my friend's mother joined us to produce 60 bottles a day," the Indian entrepreneur says. Three months later, Chemmeen, the aforementioned prawn and papaya pickle was a bestseller. It was quickly becoming clear that working out of his home kitchen wouldn't suffice any longer. "We started with two mothers and grew to four," Hafez remarks. "It was time to move to a bigger kitchen."

Social impact

By this time, they had attracted media attention, with a business model that walks the fine line between profits and making social change. Employing women ensured jobs for a number of people who had lost theirs due to the pandemic. "We had many mothers approach us, not just to get into the manufacturing side but also for sales. They wanted to be a part of it because they could feel the difference,” he says of his employment model that set the company apart, adding, “I realised that I needed to build a community.” His company now employs over 100 women.

Hafez Raman | Akshay Raveendran | Athey Nallatha | Global Indian

The cryptocurrency route

Dealing with steep overheads and a growing clamour from women in Kerala asking to be part of Athey Nallatha, Hafez and Raveendran needed to think outside the box. As they studied the problem, they found that blockchain systems provided them with a solution. In September 2021, they began accepting payments in cryptocurrency. "It can enable a 15 percent reduction in supply chain costs due to the various transaction processes that are handled digitally. Reducing the quality of the product is not an option, nor was premium pricing all-around. A blockchain system might not yield results instantly but it is a viable long-term plan," the Indian entrepreneur explains. The decentralised processes involved will also ultimately result in greater profits for farmers, in the absence of middlemen and other retailers.

Setting up a business and ensuring a profit margin is not the only bottom line for the Indian entrepreneur. As they became aware of the number of women who’re eager to work but don't get the chance, Athay Nallatha also launched the Nallatha Project to upskill employees. "We have women who are eager to do sales for us, so we allow it. They can take a commission on every bottle and don't have to worry about targets," Hafez explains. "We also train them in manufacturing and production."

Follow Hafez Raman on LinkedIn

Akshat Saraf: The steel scion and AI startup founder who made it to the finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup

(June 11, 2024) When Microsoft flew Akshat Saraf and his Mexican classmate Jorge Garduño to their headquarters in Seattle as part of the Microsoft Imagine Cup recently — they fully expected it to be an eventful week in their lives. But it turned out to be much more than that. Not only did they get to attend MS build, where they met with the global developer community, they attended keynotes by the likes of Satya Nadella and Sam Altman. What more, they even received a pat on their backs by Satya Nadella. “We met Satya backstage right before his keynote. He wished us the best of luck and said he was very impressed by our work before patting us on the back. It was an incredible experience that we will cherish forever,” smiles Akshat Saraf, an MBA student of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, UK, in a chat with Global Indian. Akshat and Jorge were declared runners-up in the recently concluded Microsoft Imagine Cup, a global competition that encourages students to create AI-based solutions to real-world challenges. More than 1,500 startups entered the competition, in which Akshat and his MBA classmate’s innovative AI startup, JRE reached the top three. [caption id="attachment_52320" align="aligncenter" width="396"] Akshat and Jorge, co-founders, JRE, at the

[caption id="attachment_52320" align="aligncenter" width="396"] Akshat and Jorge, co-founders, JRE, at the Microsoft Imagine Cup[/caption]

Microsoft Imagine Cup

Akshat and Jorge first entered another competition, the “Oxbridge AI Challenge”, where AI startups from Oxford and Cambridge come and pitch their ideas. After being one of the winners of this challenge, they were fast-tracked to the Imagine Cup due to their partnership with Oxbridge AI.

“The Imagine Cup was a huge time commitment and an incredible learning experience for us, filled with multiple mentor calls, expert guidance, and product improvement over the course of four months,” says Akshat, who also got an immense amount of pitching experience through it, which made the team much stronger.

The Imagine Cup was an eliminator-style competition, and Akshat and Jorge had to bring their A-game every round. “When we got the news that we had reached the world championship and were amongst the top 3 out of over 1500 startups that applied, we were over the moon and in utter disbelief,” says Akshat.

As World Finalists and runner-ups of the Imagine Cup, the dynamic duo received an equity-free grant of $50,000 from Microsoft, which they have fully deployed towards bootstrapping their company.

Akshat Saraf | Global Indian

At the MS headquarters, Seattle

At Microsoft headquarters in Seattle, Akshat and his classmate met with experts in the field, learnt about the exciting new tech they are working on in the campus and also got to be on the Ms Build keynote stage in front of thousands of people. “It consisted of multiple rounds, with the semifinal round consisting of 18 people and us achieving the top 3,” says the 28 year old.

Beyond the semi-final stage, they not only had expert mentors from within Microsoft but also industry experts that they specifically reached out to in order to give them a well-rounded start-up even beyond the competition. “We put in immense amounts of work in building not only our product but also the pitch, viability, financial projects, etc. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Together, they competed against incredible companies amongst some of the brightest minds in the world.

JRE

JRE is a startup co-founded by Akshat and Jorge along with another AI expert based in Mexico Elí Cuéllar. They use their proprietary AI and plug-and-play hardware-software combo to make steel production more profitable and sustainable.

“Our AI model detects anomalies in the steel manufacturing process, giving way to massive reductions in reprocessing costs and wasted yield,” explains Akshat. Through the system, they have created bespoke models for each manufacturer, making it a perfect custom fit for their respective plants and style of operations.

“We (Akshat and Jorge) met at the University of Oxford and were the only two people out of a cohort of 340 who were associated with steel. We immediately hit it off and decided to build something amazing together to make an impact on steel.”

They spent months working and created a solution that is a win-win for the pockets of steel manufacturers while also being great for the environment. Akshat says the product is ready for deployment, and they are in talks with large manufacturers to launch it.

Inspired by businessmen

Born in Hyderabad, Telangana, Akshat completed his schooling from Oakridge International School, Hyderabad in 2013. He then went to Indiana University Bloomington for Bsc in Management.

“Indiana university was a huge culture shock for me. I moved there at the age of 17, my first time in the USA, and it was extremely daunting at first. However, it taught me a lot about being self-reliant, independent, and brave,” says Akshat, who completed his undergrad in 2017.

From a very young age, he was inspired by businessmen. Although interested in many things, he always had a calling for entrepreneurship and the business world. “I always knew business was what I wanted to do, along with creating lasting value,” says Akshat, who did his Executive Masters - PGPMFAB (family business) from Indian School of Business (ISB) in 2022-23 followed by MBA at the University of Oxford, which he will be completing in September this year.

At Radha TMT

Prior toBefore he left the country for his Executive Masters, Akshat was actively involved in his family business, which runs under the banner of Radha TMT, as the company’s Director. He worked there for six years before coming out for the MBA. “I helped scale growth through sales, launching completely new brands such as rhino 600+, our flagship premium product. I also did a 360° revamp across the sales and marketing divisions,” he says.

For the initial two years, he studied each aspect of production and plant operations. This allowed him to understand the recipe fully, before he went further on to tweak the sales and marketing recipe post expansions. “My involvement in Radha stretched beyond just operations and sales, first at an executive level, and later at a more strategic level.”

Networking

Academically, Akshat has always done well. “I was on the Dean’s List for multiple semesters during my undergrad, graduated with honours distinction deans list from ISB, and so far been faring very well at Oxford as well,” he smiles.

However, the main value he extracted through his studies post high school has been centered around networking, which give him as much pride as his grades. “It’s about the hands you shake, not the grades you make,” he says, quoting a guest speaker, who made the remark during a session during Akshat’s undergrad.

At Oxford

“Oxford has been phenomenal - unlike anything I have ever experienced,” says Akshat. He describes Oxford as a Harry Potter-type city, in which one is constantly around immense intelligence. He says the overall ecosystem around the university is phenomenal, to say the least.

He feels it is also extremely challenging, as the cohort is extremely talented, diverse, and accomplished. “About 97% of our cohort consists of international students, representing 70 countries from across the world. This diversity brings an incredible variety of cultures, thought processes, and ways of doing tasks,” says the proud Oxonian.

In the pipeline

“This is a very exciting time for us as founders. We wish to continue to explore the potential of AI to the fullest extent in manufacturing, especially in steel manufacturing,” says Akshat, who hopes to deploy JRE systems in every steel manufacturing plant that exists whilst also developing new products that help him continue to create a sizable impact on the steel industry.

His vision is to continue creating improvements in both the commercial and sustainability spheres of manufacturing, truly embodying our motto - People, Planet, Profit. “I have a pretty packed schedule currently, working on JRE and attending the last semester of classes at Oxford.”

Akshat Saraf | Global Indian

Fitness forward

Akshay has been a black belt martial artist in multiple forms. He started training due to a severe orthopaedic issue he faced as a kid when a doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to walk past his teenage years. “Martial arts changed my life, not only from a fitness standpoint but also from a mental aspect. It instilled a lot of focus, resilience, and willpower in me, thanks to the guidance of my sensei, Mr Farzaan Merchant,” says Akshat, who even completed a half marathon a few months ago.

Akshat makes sure he doesn’t miss his workouts, and particularly enjoys running and lifting weights. “Besides this, I spend time with my wife and my friends, and I also try to attend as many of the 1000 activities that are constantly happening around the vibrant student community at Oxford,” smiles the youngster.

He listens to audiobooks frequently and among his favourites is ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ by David Goggins. “That is more than just a book; it is basically a mental gym developing the muscles of willpower and a never-give-up attitude,” he says. For inspiration, he likes to watch his favourite Hindi movie “Guru,” loosely based on the life of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani.

Giving back

Akshat has always been passionate about the cause of education for the underprivileged. He worked with an organisation called ‘Teach for Change’ starting as a volunteer and then serving on their advisory board till last year.

Byju Raveendran: The teacher-turned-entrepreneur helming India’s most valued startup

(October 29, 2021) Years ago in the picturesque coastal town of Azhikode was a young lad who studied at a Malayalam-medium school. Born to teacher parents, he would often skip classes and learn at home instead. But who was to know that a few years down the line, he was going to become a teacher himself and build a world-class product that brought learning right to one’s doorstep. Byju Raveendran’s success story is fit for a film script. From helping friends with CAT prep to acing the exam himself with minimal preparation, he’s had a flair for business and management and it shows in the success of BYJU’s. The company that this Global Indian built with his wife Divya Gokulnath is today considered one of the most valuable education technology companies. In fact, this entrepreneur has found his fair share of accolades coming his way as well. From being awarded the 2019 Manorama Newsmaker award, the 2020 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year title, to being listed in Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40 and receiving the 2021 Forbes India Leadership Award, he has managed to add many a feather to his entrepreneurial cap. [embed]https://twitter.com/BYJUS/status/1443917078801518592?s=20[/embed] The boy from coastal Kerala

e Magazine’s 40 Under 40 and receiving the 2021 Forbes India Leadership Award, he has managed to add many a feather to his entrepreneurial cap.

[embed]https://twitter.com/BYJUS/status/1443917078801518592?s=20[/embed]

The boy from coastal Kerala

Born in 1981 in Azhikode to teacher parents, Byju’s journey was always deeply entrenched in academics. His father was a Physics teacher and his mother a Math teacher at a Malayalam-medium school in Kannur; the same school where Byju studied. The boy would often skip classes, but made up for it by learning at home. He went on to graduate as a mechanical engineer from the Government Engineering College in Kannur before moving to Singapore in 2001 to work with a shipping company. When he’d visit home, he’d often spend time tutoring his friends preparing for the competitive CAT.

Curious to see how he’d score, he took the test twice himself... with minimal preparation. He got through both times having scored 100 percentile and got interview calls from the IIMs. But Byju’s heart lay in teaching and an MBA was not his cup of tea. By 2005 he’d quit his job and moved back to India to teach MBA aspirants and his popularity as a teacher soared. In 2011 he formally set up his company Think & Learn, today BYJU’s parent company. While it initially offered coaching for CAT aspirants, Byju gradually expanded to other subjects as well.

Global Indian Byju Raveendran

Entrepreneurial journey

As business grew, Byju launched BYJU’s - The Learning App, an online offering in 2015; it soon climbed the popularity charts for offering students personalised learning programmes. Four years in the making, the app offered educational material to school students as well as coaching for CAT, NEET, UPSC, GMAT, JEE and GRE. What clicked for the app was how interesting and engaging the educational material was made.

Today, BYJU’s is the largest edtech platform in India with several lakhs of subscribers in its kitty. But according to Byju, they have only reached just 2% of the country’s student population. In an interview with The Week he said, “Education is the best way to make it big and our efforts are to help children become self-learners in order to chart their own journeys. In this segment, the fun is in helping millions think and learn better.”

[caption id="attachment_14419" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Global Indian Divya Gokulnatha Byju Raveendran's wife and co-founder Divya Gokulnath[/caption]

The app’s Knowledge Graphs point students in the direction of how different concepts are related to each other and shows them relevant concepts or information based on what he/she is learning at that point of time. This allows the whole learning process to get personalised as per the student’s learning pace and strengths.

From strength to strength

Today, BYJU’s is one of the most funded education startups in the world with a total of $1.6 billion in funding. Some of its marquee investors include Mark Zuckerberg, Tencent, Naspers, and Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital.

The pandemic and resultant need for online learning has only helped further leverage BYJU’s popularity. The startup doubled its revenue to ₹2,800 crore in 2020; the edtech industry in India is estimated to be worth $750 million. According to an EdTech in India report, the online education in India is projected to increase by 6.3 times by 2022. BYJU’s, thus, happens to be at the right place and at the right time.

Since its launch, the startup (now a decacorn) has come a long way and is now India’s most valuable startup, overtaking even Paytm with a valuation of $16.5 billion.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7YdX7-46zI[/embed]

Giving Back

Last year Byju launched an Education for All initiative to make digital learning accessible to millions of children from underserved communities. The programme aims at democratizing education by ensuring that all children get equal access to quality learning opportunities. To this end, BYJU’s signed MoUs with mission-aligned partners like The American India Foundation, Magic Bus, Save the Children, United Way and Vadham Tea. Through this, Byju hopes to impact at least 5 million children by 2025.

Reading Time: 8 mins

Munaf Kapadia: The ex-Googler who sparked a revolution with The Bohri Kitchen

(January 11, 2024) A few years ago, on an Air China flight from Beijing to the US, Munaf Kapadia's brother unexpectedly saw their mother, Nafisa, on the in-flight screen, frying samosas with Chef John Torode at the Kapadia family home in Colaba. This was the moment when Munaf Kapadia felt he had arrived, bringing global attention to the rich culinary heritage of the small, little-known Bohra community. What started as a way to help his mum monetize her talent for cooking, and a chance for him to hone his social media skills, went on to spark a Bohri food revolution. TBK established its first outlet in Kamala Mills, achieved Top 10 status on TripAdvisor and was recognised as the "Best Bohri Food Restaurant" by Times Food Guide. He also made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017 and has been ranked among the top 50 food influencers in the country. [caption id="attachment_48183" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Munaf Kapadia. Photo: Forbes[/caption] Simply put, Munaf, a TED speaker and author of 'How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas', is a disruptor. Ten minutes into our interview, my list of questions suddenly seemed redundant. Munaf didn't scale up The Bohri Kitchen, he

tps://www.forbesindia.com/article/30-under-30-2017/30-under-30-munaf-kapadia-has-turned-his-mums-cooking-into-a-brand/45821/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes[/caption]

Simply put, Munaf, a TED speaker and author of 'How I Quit Google to Sell Samosas', is a disruptor. Ten minutes into our interview, my list of questions suddenly seemed redundant. Munaf didn't scale up The Bohri Kitchen, he scaled down. Although he was a marketing man, he didn't pour funds into a strategy - he leaned into his network, stayed hyperlocal and created a logo on the fly, on PowerPoint. He didn't throw open his doors to everyone, instead, guests had to request a seat and then go through a mandatory screening process before they received a confirmation, after which they would climb two flights of stairs without complaint to share meals from a communal 'thaal', leaving “with full stomachs and full hearts." Instead of a complex long term strategy, he took things one step at a time. Instead of the conventional adaptation to fast-changing market trends, TBK has managed to stay true to its brand and grow organically, finding its niche in bulk and catering orders.

Now focused on living a life of purpose, is currently reviving The Dining Table, an aggregator platform for home dining experiences by Indian housewives, which he started up a few years ago and stalled. He has switched to a non-profit model now, determined to stick with his mission for empowerment. "If I can empower 100 housewives to have their equivalent of The Bohri Kitchen, I would have made a change," he says. "My goals are women empowerment, developing culinary tourism and building communal harmony with food as a medium." He's also building MK Consulting, leveraging his diverse experience from Google, The Bohri Kitchen, McDonald's (where he tripled the monthly delivery revenue from Rs 20 crore to Rs 60 crore in his role leading the delivery operations), and Zomato. "Our gency that will work with the largest restaurant chain in the country to guide them in every aspect of their delivery business optimization. I'm trying to create the first fast food e-commerce agency," Munaf tells Global Indian.

Where it began

At the end of the 2010 placement season at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Munaf Kapadia sat in a chilly, air conditioned classroom on campus, awaiting his turn with the company representatives. He didn’t know his purpose then, and like his peers, aspired to a management position at an FMCG MNC. "Very few of us knew what really motivated us," he writes in his book. In 2011, he started working with Wrigley, and after just three months moved to Google, taking the forty percent paycut in his stride. He grew in his role, going from backend work to a client-facing role but still, he was restless. He found an outlet in weekend hustles, including starting a company called Stick It and Go, which made clever bumper stickers.

Then one day, as Munaf and his mother, Nafisa, quarrelled over the TV remote, he began to wonder if his mother, who now had grown children living independently and spent her day watching day-time soaps and playing Candy Crush, needed an avenue for her creative talents. Now, ten years later, he smiles, “I wanted to help my mom find her purpose and keep herself busy even though she was perfectly happy being idle. I thought, she sacrificed so much so I wanted to save her, even though she wasn't asking to be saved." He decided to monetize his mother's culinary talents and since setting up a restaurant wasn't feasible, he invited people home instead.

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A post shared by Munaf Kapadia (@munafkapadia)

That's how TBK came to be - Munaf sent out an email to everyone on his personal contact list, inviting them to come home and eat a meal cooked by his mother. Responses came pouring in and on November 20, 2014, they had their first event. His father, who would have disapproved of asking guests at home to pay for their food, believed he was meeting a group of Munaf's friends! And Munaf knew beyond doubt that The Bohri Kitchen had to be nurtured. To address the obvious safety concerns he crafted the 'no serial killer policy', where customers had to request a seat and go through a screening process (and some social media stalking) before they actually came home.

The vision problem

When he quit Google six months later, Munaf shifted his focus towards scaling The Bohri Kitchen, motivated by the absence of a monthly paycheque. Despite earning about Rs 3 lakhs monthly from weekly operations, with “beautiful profit margins,” he aimed for aggressive expansion – envisioning TBK at music festivals and pop-ups. However, efforts like a booze-friendly menu at a Pune music festival didn't resonate, as the food, lacking his mother's touch, fell short. Munaf realized that scaling beyond his mother's home-cooked recipes was challenging, yet he remained determined to transition from a niche home dining experience to a broader catering and delivery venture.

Investing in a restaurant was still out of the question, especially without commercial hospitality experience. But food delivery apps like Swiggy and Zomato were cropping up and seemed promising. So they went from laying food out on a massive thaal to a Bento-box type of thaal-inspired offering. This meant setting up a kitchen and standardising the food. The latter was hard to do because his mum cooked with instinct, not with recipe books. He did manage to get the recipes written down, but even so, quality wasn't consistent and Munaf was discovering that he was now eroding a brand that had taken ten years to build. Besides, he had begun to see that instead of giving his mum something to do, he was taking away her hard-earned hours of leisure.

The gamechanger moment

In December 2016, broke and contemplating closing The Bohri Kitchen, Munaf received an unexpected phone call. It was Forbes magazine, wanting to feature him on their 30 Under 30 list in 2017. He was to share the cover with the co-founders of Swiggy, designer Masaba Gupta and Olympian Dattu Bhokanal. Why, he wondered. His networth didn’t qualify him, surely. The response he received still makes him smile. They were choosing him for his social impact, for being on the verge of disruption. How could he shut TBK down when he has made it to the cover of Forbes, that would be "embarrassing."

Munaf Kapadia | Global Indian

So he pushed on. And five tumultuous years after he began TBK, he learned an important lesson. "The Bohri Kitchen was never meant to be scaled," he admits. "I made no money, but I learned this! When I started TBK as a home dining experience, I was thinking of what was good for TBK. But when I got into home delivery, that was for Munaf Kapadia." In March 2020, Munaf stepped away from the operations of TBK and separated his own goals and ambitions from that of the company. "We realised, slowly, organically that we are good at catering and at bulk orders. It's such a good feeling to know you don't have to do business in crores."

The Ikigai question

As TBK found its feet, Munaf Kapadia took up a role at Zomato. "Great job, crazy money, intersected what I was good at with what the company was doing, but I decided to quit," he says. This decision led him to work with a leadership coach to discover his Ikigai – it has resulted in the revival of The Dining Table, which allows Munaf a platform to focus solely on social impact.

It has been a journey of self awareness and acceptance. Candidly admitting that leadership might not be his forte after all, Munaf says, "I delegated, found talent and gave that talent room to grow. I try to work with people who are good at managing themselves and I give the scaffolding, the SOPs, the money, the room to make mistakes. I'm still on this journey," he says.

Follow Munaf Kapadia and The Bohri Kitchen on Instagram.

Country’s first certified chocolate taster Nitin Chordia serves ‘Made in India’ chocolates in the truest sense

(September 16, 2022) When people get to know that Nitin Chordia is a chocolate taster, they can’t help but be curious. What could be a better job than that of a chocolate taster’s is the most common reaction. Though Nitin seconds their opinion with a smile, India’s first certified chocolate taster dons other hats too. As an entrepreneur, he has his work divided between Cocoashala, an academy that trains chocolate makers from around the globe, and Kocoatrait, the chocolate manufacturing company that has his wife, Poonam at the forefront. [caption id="attachment_29429" align="aligncenter" width="903"] L Nitin Chordia, chocolate taster and entrepreneur[/caption] Chocolates that are literally ‘Made in India’ Since long India’s large share of the chocolate market has been claimed by big foreign brands. Thanks to the efforts of chocolate makers like Nitin, we can now enjoy made-in-India chocolates. In a conversation with Global Indian, he elaborates: Chocolates in India have been made by big players in the industry for decades. I have tried to revolutionise the concept of made-in-India chocolates in the sense that the ingredients (cocoa beans) that we use for chocolate making are being sourced from Indian farms instead of being imported from outside - Nitin Chordia

an>Global Indian, he elaborates:

Chocolates in India have been made by big players in the industry for decades. I have tried to revolutionise the concept of made-in-India chocolates in the sense that the ingredients (cocoa beans) that we use for chocolate making are being sourced from Indian farms instead of being imported from outside - Nitin Chordia

That’s what makes his chocolates unique in comparison to the popular brands that have been ruling the market for years now.

[caption id="attachment_29430" align="aligncenter" width="788"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Cocoa pods on a cacao tree in the farm - cocoa beans are inside these pods[/caption]

Having begun just a few years back, the revolution ushered by Nitin is ‘benefitting the farmers cultivating cocoa beans in India’ and it’s the most satisfying part of the business for him. Talking about the second satisfying aspect, “I can assure you that no child labour is involved in cocoa farming in India, unlike in some other countries,” says the bean-to-bar chocolate maker.

What’s bean-to-bar chocolate making?

A question that’s often posed to Nitin. “Many big companies that make and sell chocolates in India just do the last mile thing, buying chocolate slabs, adding fruits and nuts, and giving them shapes and packaging.” While the bean-to-bar chocolate makers like Nitin are involved in the process right from the beginning – cocoa beans cultivated by the farmers on the cacao trees,” he explains.

[caption id="attachment_29458" align="alignnone" width="1040"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian From bean to bar[/caption]

However, big brands, on the other hand, follow cocoa liquor-to-bar or mass-to-bar chocolate production processes. “All they do is buy chocolate paste which is known as cocoa liquor or cocoa mass, bypassing several processes like dealing with the farmers, trying to select the best fruit, getting the cocoa beans fermented, dried, roasted and then turned into paste. They outsource the initial processes,” tells Nitin. Such has been his close association with the farmers that he often sees himself getting into the shoes of the mentor for them to ensure quality produce.

[caption id="attachment_29435" align="aligncenter" width="923"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Interaction session with cocoa farmers[/caption]

It all began when…

Though Nitin dipped his toes in the world of entrepreneurship in 2015, his tryst with confectionery dates back to 2005 when he was working for KSA Technopak, one of India’s largest retail companies and was heading its client Godrej’s Nature Basket project. Nitin was entrusted with the responsibility of establishing the Nature Basket chain of stores across the country for the corporate giant. “In that process, I developed a grasp on several categories of food products. Chocolates particularly interested me from the economic, and business standpoint,” says the Chennai based entrepreneur.

[caption id="attachment_29436" align="alignnone" width="1029"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Nitin conducting a chocolate appreciation session[/caption]

Nitin hails from a family that has been into entrepreneurship since generations, and to be in that space was his ultimate goal as well. However, he wanted to dabble in something new as opposed to his family business in trading, finance and real estate. That’s when he decided to pursue an M Sc in retail management from University of Surrey and later worked for a couple of retail consultancy firms with the plan to eventually foray into entrepreneurship one day.

Expensive lessons

Over the years, Nitin found himself intrigued by the world of chocolates, a business domain he was keen to explore. However, he wanted to do some research before soaking into the world of entrepreneurship, and that’s when he decided to go on a backpacking trip to Belgium, the European Mecca for chocolate. “It took me 20-days to discover that thousands of chocolate sellers actually don’t make chocolates at all. They don’t go to cocoa farms, they don’t buy cocoa fruit, they don’t process or make chocolate in bulk. All they do is buy slabs of chocolate from some manufacturer, put some nuts into it and sell.” This discovery was a gamechanger for Nitin as for him ‘a myth got uncovered.’

[caption id="attachment_29448" align="alignnone" width="1079"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Nitin in one of the sessions abroad[/caption]

However, there was more as it was on the same trip that he met his mentor Martin Christy, who runs the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting in the UK, the only institution of its kind and affiliated to the Government. “We happened to meet in a chocolate museum. Within two weeks, I was back attending a chocolate tasting certification course at his institute, becoming India’s first certified chocolate taster,” Nitin tells. After a few months of clearing the first certification level, he returned for level two getting assured that the chocolate business has huge potential to click. Martin became his mentor.

[caption id="attachment_29469" align="aligncenter" width="877"] Fermented cocoa beans - in the process of chocolate production[/caption]

“People had just started understanding speciality tea, coffee, wine but chocolates had never been spoken about,” and he got determined to bring his discoveries and gained knowledge to the forefront.

Making a difference

There were some people making bean-to-bar chocolates at a very small scale in India in places like Puducherry and Mysuru, but the practice was not popular - Nitin Chordia

With the purpose of making cocoa bean farming a profitable venture in India, he opened a franchisee of his mentor’s institute in the country giving fuel to business ideas of other entrepreneurs to start chocolate making ventures with ingredients produced in the country.

[caption id="attachment_29432" align="alignnone" width="1006"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Nitin at one of the training sessions at Cocoashala[/caption]

Nitin’s Cocoashala has not only provided training to some of the most successful bean-to-bar chocolate makers of India but has also enabled their businesses by hand-holding them throughout the process. Through his consultancy venture, Nitin has helped them out with machinery, raw material, recipe development, being instrumental in ensuring their transition from learners to professional chocolate makers. There are 12 well-known bean-to-bar chocolate entrepreneurs in the country who have been successful in their businesses under Nitin’s mentorship. One of them being Paul and Mike, India’s largest bean-to-bar chocolate makers.

[caption id="attachment_29466" align="alignnone" width="1193"] Different types of cocoa pods[/caption]

All the entrepreneurs whom Nitin has mentored have been sourcing cocoa beans from farmers in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra and Tamil Nadu, giving a boost to the economy.

Strong partnership

Poonam Chordiya, Nitin’s wife has had a significant role behind the success of both Cocoashala and Kocoatrait. “It was she who was instrumental in the idea of me starting Cocoashala. When in 2015 we talked about bean-to-bar chocolate making, everyone laughed at us. Poonam coaxed me to monetise the insights I gained through extensive travels and expensive mistakes.”

[caption id="attachment_29442" align="alignnone" width="930"] Indian Entrepreneur | Nitin Chordia | Global Indian Nitin with his wife, Poonam Chordia[/caption]

Once Cocoashala got stable, they started Kocoatrait in 2019, manufacturing chocolates and coming up with the end product with an all-women’s team. “Poonam is the brain, soul and heart behind the Kocoatrait brand,” Nitin says. The couple has been working diligently to let the quality of the products and services do all the talking. “We do not engage in any advertising and PR,” he remarks.

Measuring success

The only way Nitin and Poonam measure success is through the fact that they have saved more than 200 kgs of single use plastic from entering landfills. Their chocolate brand does not use paper or plastic in packaging.

The wrappers are biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, and upcycled in the first place. They are made with cocoa shells which are a by-product of our roasting process that would have otherwise gone into landfill. Apart from that, cotton waste generated by the garment industry in places like Coimbatore is being used for making the wrappers - Nitin Chordia

To compete with established brands is hardly the goal for Nitin. He finds happiness in the fact that he has been able to drive in the point that India is capable of producing internationally acceptable chocolates with Indian-origin ingredients.

Follow Nitin Chordia on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook

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