Brands of India 2019: 41 MSMEs awarded in 17 sectors

Most of us remember the first time we went up on stage to receive an award. It was most likely a school function, and the best part was how we became a hero among our classmates. But as we grew up, we felt that awards were not significant anymore. And when we became entrepreneurs, it was all about business, and it is not often we get recognised for our work.

We at SMBStory travel around India telling the stories of MSMEs, and each time, we see so many entrepreneurs who deserve to be recognised. Looking at this, we sent out a call for applications to give awards to entrepreneurs and MSMEs for transforming themselves through business and technology innovations.

When we sifted through the 2,500 MSME applications we received, it was heartening to find applications from far-flung regions of the country, including Sikkim, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Surat, Salem, Madurai, etc..

We then sent these applications to an elite jury, who decided on honouring 41 home-grown MSME brands that had a common theme: they were all making in India, with a presence in or an eye on the global market.

To hand the awards, we at YourStory, in association with the Ministry of MSME, Government of India, held the Brands of India 2019 ceremony in New Delhi this week. At the event, the awards were given to some extremely happy entrepreneurs. When we spoke with them, it was like talking to people who had rediscovered the child-like joy of receiving an award on stage.

Here’s the full list of award winners and what their MSMEs are all about. In future editions, we hope to see many more of you become recognised as one of the Brands of India!

Sector: Advertising & Media

Winners:

Krishi Jagran (Micro Enterprise)

Krishi Jagran, from Delhi, is a pioneer agricultural magazine in India, which has entered the Limca Book of Records for being the largest circulated agri-rural magazine in the country. It has a combined readership of more than 10 million. Present in 12 languages, Krishi Jagran is an exclusive platform for sharing knowledge with farmers, scientists, business groups and administration for better rural India.

Vertoz Advertising Limited (Medium Enterprise)

Vertoz Advertising Limited, from Maharashtra, keeps programmatic advertising as its core technology to help brands reach the right audience. It offers the following advertising solutions: display ads, mobile ads, native ads, video ads, and engagement ads.  The advantages of these solutions are: easy campaign setup, programmatic direct and real-time bidding (RTB), self-serve as well as managed platform, and more.

Sector: Agro / Agri business

Winners:

Nature Organic (Micro Enterprise)

Nature Organic, from Delhi, was launched by Sonia Sharma who left her Big 4 career in London and returned to India to make a difference at the grass root level.  She founded Nature Organic with the sole purpose of promoting ethical, sustainable and planet friendly farming practices and produce.Nature Organic works with farmers in Kerala, Uttarakhand and West Bengal to export rice and other organic produce to USA and Europe.

Messina Beej Private Limited (Small Enterprise)

Messina Beej, from Bihar, has been working for the last forty years to earn the trust of the farmers. It works with marginal farmers of North Bihar. Its brand MBP and product MBPX08, a variety of white maize is one of the most trusted and sought after in the region. The farmers bear testimony to it, the company says.

Sector: Art and Culture

Winners:

Ramnarayan Blue Art Potteries (Micro Enterprise)

Ramnarayan Blue Art Potteries, from Rajasthan, works with 250 rural artisans and ST/SC workers and rural women. Due to its blue pottery, the village where the business is located has got international recognition and the artisans of the village do not have to go out to work outside. The company aims to bring blue pottery to the international level and have been working at the art for 35 years.

Maitreya Inc (Small Enterprise)

Maitreya Inc, from Uttar Pradesh, is consistently the manufacturer of top-quality bronzes and stone sculptures, miniatures, and paintings, many of which are now part of the collections of major private and public collectors. The gallery has been instrumental in developing major museum collections as well as distinguished private collections worldwide.

Sector: Auto ancillary

Winners:

Krishna Industries (Micro Enterprise)

Krishna Industries, from Uttar Pradesh, is the only company which says to auto manufacturers that if any new item is not developed in 96 hours, the consignment will be free. Its rubber rings and rubber profiles are fireproof and recyclable. It has supplied material to Burj Khalifa and Doha Airport. It is also an OEM supplier to Tata Motors Limited and Maruti Udyog India Limited.

JHR Overseas (Small Enterprise)

JHR Overseas, from Punjab, started with a meagre investment of Rs 13 lakhs to set up a manufacturing unit over an area of 500 sq yards. Now, About 90 percent of its products are exported to countries like Germany, USA and New Zealand. Its sales turnover has already touched Rs 8 crore and it aspires to reach Rs 10 crore in 2019-20.

Sector: Consumer

Winners:

Moha Atelier (Micro Enterprise)

Moha Atelier, from West Bengal, was started by started by Priyanka Singh in 2012. The company designs and manufactures handmade wedding garments involving extensive hand embroidery. It employs artisans in villages so that they don’t have to migrate to cities. Currently, it is marketing its garments to more than 100 retail shops all over India.

Springfit Mattress (Medium Enterprise)

Springfit Mattress, from New Delhi, started 10 years ago and has revolutionised the mattress industry. Springfit is making 500 mattresses every day with its current employee strength of 800 people. It is a 100% home-grown brand and is being endorsed by leading Bollywood celebrities like Bipasha Basu, Sophie Chaudhary, Neha Dhupia and Soha Ali Khan.

Sector: Education and Learning

Winners:

Dreamhunt India (Micro Enterprise)

Dreamhunt India, from Maharashtra, is into personal and professional grooming/training of individuals. It goes to schools, colleges and companies to bring a complete transformation into the lives of individuals. It has also won a few training institute awards in Pune.

Success Gyan (Small Enterprise)

Success Gyan, from Tamil Nadu, is a fast growing self-development and training brand in India. It has inspired more than a million people through international seminars and revolutionised the training industry by setting a high standard and using a disruptive approach.

CADD Centre Training Services (Medium Enterprise)

CADD, from Karnataka, trains professionals from diverse engineering, graphic and management backgrounds. Students trained by CADD Centre are now employed in key positions in large and small companies in more than 40 countries

Sector: Entertainment

Winners:

Paper Weight Entertainment (Micro Enterprise)

Paper Weight Entertainment, from Delhi, has been creating both original content, having 9 million views across social media, and client-based content for the last four years. It intends to be the biggest video content creator of India with lifetime validity as it says it understands the need for video content in the present digital media marketing scenario.

Sector: Food and Beverage

Winners:

The True South Company (Micro Enterprise)

The business, based in Karnataka, has created a new segment in coffee - liquid coffee. It is a true farm-to-cup operation. From growing its own coffee, to roasting, grinding, processing and packaging, it does it all in-house. The product is natural, with no preservatives or sugars. The product has excellent shelf life and is convenient, consistent and cost-effective.

Expedite Foods (Small Enterprise)

Expedite Foods, from Gujarat, is a brand focussing on rural India and ensuring that quality and affordable snacks are available in the hinterlands. With a USP of selling packed Indian ethnic snacks for just Rs 5, Expedite Foods has its distribution network entrenched in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It says it services the outlets which the big snack companies usually overlook.

Chai Point (Medium Enterprise)

Chai Point, by Mountain Trail Foods, was founded in 2010 by Amuleek Singh Bijral and Tarun Khanna of Harvard Business School. It has now grown to become the largest organised chai retailer in India. Chai Point is an omni-channel business with stores, delivery and a fresh-milk based dispenser platform, boxC, as its operating channels. Chai Point is also the country’s largest hot beverage delivery brand and recently delivered its 11th lakh flask.

Sector: Hospitals and Healthcare

Winners:

Rajas Enterprises (Micro Enterprise)

Rajas Enterprises, from Haryana, makes laboratory glassware and consumables, and exports it to Germany, South America, Australia, and areas of Europe. It is one of the top 20 OEMs in the lab glassware business in the world. It also exhibits its products in the US and Germany each year.  Its unit’s workforce is 40 percent women.

Plasti Surge Industries (Small Enterprise)

Plasti Surge, from Maharashtra, started with manufacturing disposable plastic gloves, disposable glass syringes, umbilical cord clamp and various other disposable healthcare products. PSI had a pivotal role in introducing India to disposable healthcare supplies. PSI has been working for 15 years with almost every state-run medical corporation for supplies of healthcare disposables.

Sector: Manufacturing

Winners:

Cleantech Water (Micro Enterprise)

Cleantech Water, from Gujarat, is a water treatment company which deals with waste water to recycling. The business conducts its operations with the idea that the environment is its responsibility and tries to spread awareness about the same.

Victory Electric International (Small Enterprise)

Victory Electric, from Haryana, makes electric e-rickshaws and it says its progress has overshadowed many Chinese companies in terms of the best and durable products. Despite policy struggles, it says it has succeeded in breaking Chinese monopoly in this field. Now, the government is helping the industry grow even bigger.

Sector: Pharma

Winners:

Cureveda (Micro Enterprise)

Cureveda, from Maharashtra, is an Indian, homegrown brand for herbal, organic and nutraceutical remedies. Its entire range is packed in recyclable amber glass bottles. It is working with local agencies like KVIC for Khadi bags, and the Regional Centre of Organic Farming to source ingredients from local farmers for single herbs, and innovating with the Department of Horticulture, Nagpur, to enable farming communities to plant herbs which can be used commercially.

McW Healthcare (Small Enterprise)

McW Healthcare has emerged as one of the India’s renowned pharmaceutical names, with over 400 products in various therapeutic segments covering a wide spectrum of diseases from communicable, non-communicable, lifestyle and even rare diseases. It is present in many parts of the world through its products, people, trade partners and associates.

Aishwarya Healthcare (Breakthrough Enterprise)

Aishwarya Healthcare, from Maharashtra, believes in providing the best, affordable and quality products to the masses across the world from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. Established in 2005, it has emerged as one of the pioneers in quality formulations. The business has also established its credibility among medical fraternity in India and in more than 30 countries.

Sector: Real Estate

Winners:

Ozone Steam Sauna and Pools (Micro Enterprises)

Ozone Steam Sauna and Pools, from Haryana, started building swimming pools after being in the business of steam and sauna baths. It decided to save water by providing solutions to clients where water was not required to be changed for as long as two years, by deploying better filtration techniques. It bagged many contracts because of these new technologies and created 1,000 pools pan-India.

IndiQube (Breakthrough Enterprise)

IndiQube (Innovent Spaces Pvt Ltd), from Karnataka, is a highly-preferred destination among professionals and corporates to work. It is a growth partner, and helps clients seamlessly expand and grow in the same location without worrying about the hassles of searching, shifting and managing new space. With its help, companies can grow from one seat in the co-working space to a 500-seater dedicated office.

Sector: Restaurants

Winners:

Baker’s Treat from Mariam’s Kitchen (Micro Enterprise)

The business is from Karnataka and it is a restaurant started by Mariam Mohiudeen in 2014. It began as a home bakery but has now turned into a 90-seater restaurant with over 19 employees. She has employed previously unemployed and unskilled women and taught them the craft of baking.

Thalappakatti Biriyani Hotel (Breakthrough Enterprise)

Thalapakatti, from Tamil Nadu, is a brand of Biriyani which has attained widespread popularity all across South India. Thalappakatti Biriyani has been delighting people from the rich to the poor for the last 50 years.

Sector: Retail

Winners:

Elite Decor (Small Enterprise)

Elite Decor, from Gujarat, is into manufacturing of home furnishing and home decor goods. It sells a wide range of selections under its inhouse brand ‘Story@Home’. Story@Home has now evolved into a leading brand in the home furnishing category on all major online marketplaces. In a span of seven years, the company grew to become a top home furnishing brand in India.

Neerus Ensembles (Breakthrough Enterprise)

Neerus Ensembles, from Telangana is a leader in Indian women ethnic wear, and has major expansion plan. It sells clothes at responsible price tags and created history in 2018 by opening 20 stores.

Sector: Services

Winners:

Tisarah Infrastructure (Micro Enterprise)

Tisarah Infrastructure, from Uttar Pradesh, started with the help of Dhani APP loans and with a small amount, in the field of the Indian power sector. It started with providing engineering services for flagship programmes launched by the Central Government, such as the‘ Pradhanmantri Har Ghar Sahaj Bijali Yojana and Saubhagya Scheme in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. In just 10 months, the business scaled from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 43 lakh.

Pick Del Express Cargo (Small Enterprise)

Pick Del Express Cargo, from Kerala, started in the year 2000 and has built a reputation as a professional, reliable and efficient company. It attributes its success to a set of ethics, a highly-evolved proprietary process and rich professionalism it adheres to as a team.

Sector: Social Enterprise

Winners:

Bhojpur Mahila Kala Kendra (Micro Enterprise)

The NGO, from Bihar, has an all-women executive committee. It is running 1,676 USHA silai schools in Bihar and Jharkhand. It also makes artificial jewellery, which engages more than 200 families and earns them handsome salaries.

Safeducate Learning (Small Enterprise)

Safeducate Learning, from New Delhi, is one of India’s largest social enterprise and is working to drive skill development, employment and livelihood creation. Safeducate has trained over 70,000 people since its inception in 2007, and in the last three years, has achieved a landmark of training more than 52,000 students through its skill centers and container schools.

Sector: Technology

Winners:

Maclec Technical Project Laboratory (Micro Enterprise)

From Delhi, Maclec is a R&D-based company which invented the world's first indigenous patented surface water velocity-driven hydrokinetic turbine, VARUN-III. It is one of India's first startups which is commercialising its own innovation in partnership with the Government, entirely funded and facilitated by Government PSUs and IIT Roorkee.

Accurate Gauging and Instruments (Small Enterprise)

Accurate Gauging and Instruments pioneered the manufacturing of three axis coordinate measuring machine (CMM) in India. It is a 100 percent import substitute product used for precision measurements in the manufacturing industry. Today, Accurate is established as a strong local brand recognised as part of the top 10 CMM manufacturing companies in the world.

FarEye (Small Enterprise)

Far Eye, from Delhi, is a technology solution to run ecommerce and supply chain logistics operations. It gives organisations real-time visibility and predictive intelligence, thus ensuring on-time deliveries and business excellence. FarEye, a SaaS platform, enables quick and reliable movement of goods using mobility, data analytics and automation.

Bahwan CyberTek Group (Breakthrough Enterprise)

Bahwan CyberTek, from Tamil Nadu, is a Made in India global provider of digital transformation solutions across industry domains. It is driving innovation through outcome-based business models, and proven and powerful IP solutions. BCT has worked with Fortune 500 companies, enterprise customers, SME customers and universities across North America, Middle East, India, Far East, and Africa.

Special Awards

Best Brand Transformation:

Mahakhadi

Mahakhadi, an initiative by Maharahtra State Khadi and Village Industries Board (MSKVIB) , was started with MSKVIB rebranding ‘khadi’ as ‘Mahakhadi.’ It seeks to make the specific handloom industry a peoples’ movement once again and encourage the sector through new marketing tactics. The rebranding was a solution to attract youngsters and take khadi products to the international market.

Best Public Policy Contributor:

Glolifecare Equipments

Glolifecare Equipments, from Tamil Nadu, has been manufacturing sanitary pad vending machines and sanitary pad incinerators for the last 35 years, which is an innovation coming out of  india. It has been contributing to both the Swachh Bharat Mission and empowering the girl child to continue education by providing menstrual hygiene at schools and colleges.

Best Woman-led Brand:

LR Industries

LR Industries, from Delhi, is the sole manufacturer of the AFO fire extinguisher ball in India. It addresses the real need of people living in different environments to deal with fire easily. AFO is a technical breakthrough which has rapidly asserted itself as a standard product on the fire fighting products market in the last few years. Based on a revolutionary technology, the fire ball self detonates when it comes in contact with fire.

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