Meeting the poultry and canola oil demand of the country: top SMB Stories of the week
From meeting 80 percent demand for canola oil in India to supplying quality-grade chicken and related food products across the subcontinent, here are the top SMB Stories of the week.
This week, SMBStory focussed on covering stories from the length and breadth of India to bring to the fore how Indian entrepreneurs are meeting the poultry and canola oil demand of the country, seizing the majority of the market share.
These entrepreneurs, who had humble beginnings, have now become majors in their respective industries. Here’s a look at their stories:
Jivo Wellness
In 2010, Baba Iqbal sensed uncertainty surrounding the functioning of schools and other NGO initiatives in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and other parts of rural north India, that were largely dependent on charities and donations.
This is when the idea of building a business that would also support their charitable activities, as well as contribute to humanitarian initiatives like education, health, and wellness came up.
Baba Iqbal sensed a business opportunity in canola oil that was gaining popularity in countries like the US and Canada, and he wanted to bring it to India as well. This is how the idea of Himachal Pradesh-headquartered Jivo Wellness came into being. With the growing trend among millennials and people to adopt healthier options, canola oil seemed a good option.
Started by Baba Iqbal Singh and his four disciples — Ravinder Pal Singh Kohli, Gurpreet Singh, Jasbir Singh, and Amandeep Singh in 2010 — Jivo Wellness is a supplier of canola oil, and claims to have an 80 percent market share in the Indian canola oil market, and rakes Rs 165 crore turnover.
Suguna Foods
B. Soundararajan, Chairman and Managing Director, Suguna Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
In 1986, brothers GB Sundararajan and B Soundararajan started Suguna Foods Private Limited in Coimbatore as a small poultry trading company, wherein they supplied equipment, healthcare products related to poultry, feed, and chicks to other poultry companies.
Three years into the trading business, they realised that many farmers were giving up farming because of the large credit gap in the market. With a dearth of structured loans from banks, these farmers had to depend on private lenders. Also, they were unable to sustain themselves on an unstable income.
This is when the idea to adopt a contract farming model struck the brothers, which cuts out the middleman.
In 1990, Suguna Foods, with just three farms, started contract poultry farming, wherein it provided farmers everything they needed to grow chicks — from feed to medicines, and, in turn, the farmers supplied the poultry to Suguna Foods.
“Initially, everybody laughed at us because they said that we will never succeed using this model,” Soundararajan says.
To everyone’s surprise, the company clocked Rs 7 crore turnover in 1997. In fact, the poultry farmers were also able to pay the outstanding debt they owed within three years of adopting the model. At present, close to 80 percent of poultry in India is grown using contract farming.
Through this model, Suguna Foods is providing a stable income to over 40,000 farmers. Primarily known for its quality-grade chicken and related food products, it also operates about 66 feed mills across the country. The company rakes in Rs 8700 crore annual turnover.
Other top picks of the week:
San Frissco
Kuldeep Singh
Oxfords or Brogues? Any man working in the corporate world would have had this dilemma before walking into a business meeting. After all, shoes tell a lot about a person.
Being a shoe lover himself, Agra resident Kuldeep Singh decided to get into the shoe manufacturing line in 1993. But, he didn’t just want to be another contract manufacturer in the market; he wanted to create a niche for his brand.
In 2005, the entrepreneur set out on a path to build a brand, which, in 2018, would become a D2C brand selling shoes online. Such is the journey of Kuldeep and his footwear brand San Frissco.
Plusch
Sukriti Sharma, Partner, Plusch
In 1998, while visiting Japan, Hamendra and Rati Sharma would walk to the train station every day and see a store by Poggenpohl — a leading German kitchen brand.
Captivated by the luxurious designs on display, inspired the couple to start a business that would bring luxury and modular kitchens to India.
The duo made this dream a reality in 1998 by starting SIS Imports in Mumbai, bringing Poggenpohl to the Indian market. In 2015, the business was rebranded to Plusch, and is responsible for introducing several German luxury kitchens, wardrobe, and furniture brands to India.
Edited by Suman Singh
