A big produce of rainy, harvested cashews was once in entrance of Brijith Krishnan. The unseasonal rains in his native land in Kerala had ruined the crop once more. He knew this crop wouldn’t fetch him any source of revenue.
Round the similar time in 2020, the mechanical engineering degree holder additionally confronted every other difficult flip of occasions when he all of a sudden misplaced his process as a manager in an IT corporate.
Along with this, the cashew farming business – a standard supply of source of revenue for his circle of relatives – was once additionally at the decline. This double blow left him with no strong source of revenue supply. He strived to completely settle in his native land and discover new avenues.
With a willing eye for innovation and a choice to make a significant have an effect on, he noticed the rising pattern in opposition to plant-based diets, in particular within the vegan business.
Leveraging his mechanical engineering background and pushed via a need to create cost in cashew farming, he delved into the unchartered territory of sprouting generation for cashew nuts.
In 2021, he formally introduced his project, Eatery Malbarikas, which makes dishes from sprouted cashew nuts and provides to main meals provide firms and resorts in Kerala, Bengaluru, Mumbai.
Truth of the most important cashew manufacturers of Kerala
In keeping with the ‘Standing of Cashew Analysis and Building in India: A State Standpoint printed via the ICAR- Directorate of Cashew Analysis, Karnataka’, the coastal state of Kerala accounts for 15 % of cashew manufacturing in India. Of this, Kannur district accounts for just about 63 % of the entire cashew cultivation within the state.
Cashew manufacturing is slightly prime in Kannur for the reason that area reviews a chronic dry spell throughout the reproductive segment of the crop.
Brijith, who hails from the similar district and grows cashew on 13 acres of land, stocks that cashew productiveness has been affected amid unseasonal rain and excessive climate stipulations in the previous couple of years.
“We revel in unseasonal rains in March-Would possibly. This impacts the pollination procedure and the harvesting length. We’re small farmers, we don’t have excellent garage amenities. Because of this, we need to stay our harvest out within the open. Maximum of this produce will get rainy on this length then. No cashew manufacturing unit is able to acquire this broken product as its high quality turns into deficient, color will get light, and in addition has a deficient style,” stocks the 47-year-old.
As the traditional apply in cashew farming comes to harvesting the nuts for intake as dry end result or in a roasted shape, there was once a restricted scope for cost addition. “You’ll dry and retailer coconut produce and will make mango pulp however there’s infrequently any choice to utilise cashews in other kinds,” he provides.
Recognising this as a an important hole out there, Brijith launched into a adventure of experimentation. He reached out to establishments like Central Meals Technological Analysis Institute (CFTRI) Mysuru, and Kerala Agriculture College to discover the dietary advantages and viability of sprouting cashews.
After receiving an encouraging reaction from the institutes, his focal point shifted in opposition to refining the sprouting generation for cashews. Recognising the perishable nature of cashews and the demanding situations in keeping up a chilly provide chain, he drew inspiration from Japan’s retorting generation – which comes to heat-treating meals in hermetic packing containers to increase shelf lifestyles.
Through adapting this cutting edge means, he devised a technique to procedure and retailer sprouted cashews at room temperature, improving their shelf lifestyles and marketplace achieve.
After a yr into analysis and building, Brijith began his personal startup in 2021.
From uncooked sprouts, pickles to manchurian, soup premix
One of the vital preliminary demanding situations that Brijith tackled was once the restricted germination attainable of cashews. “Because of their seasonal nature, the germination attainable of matured cashews was once handiest 90 days. Subsequently, yr spherical availability was once a large fear. Thru continual analysis, trials, and building efforts, I effectively prolonged the germination attainable to 180-200 days,” he provides.
After an preliminary funding of Rs 1 lakh, Brijith secured a grant of Rs 25 lakh from the central executive underneath the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme that goals at selling agri-business entrepreneurship. This helped him kickstart the paintings.
Lately, he gives quite a lot of value-added merchandise – cashew sprouts Manchurian, cashew sprouts butter masala, cashew sprouts malai, cashew sprouts schezwan, cashew sprouts Malabar masala, cashew sprouts theyal, cashew sprouts soup premix, cashew sprouts brine, pickles, and recent cashew sprouts.
With a meticulous focal point on high quality and worth, Brijith priced his sprouted cashews at Rs 1,000 in line with kg. Thru strategic partnerships with superstar cooks, big name resorts, and catering teams, Brijith situated his top rate cashew sprout merchandise in a distinct segment marketplace phase.
Certainly one of his common consumers Thomas, who works as a company chef at Paragon staff of eating places, stocks, “We skilled those cashew sprouts can also be incorporated in a nutritious diet and numerous more than a few dishes can also be ready with adaptability. It’s not simply to be had in retail outlets so other folks have some interest about it. Those dishes are many times demanded from our satisfied consumers on the eating place.”
The original positioning out there enabled Brijith to safe a gradual clientele and reach a turnover of Rs 25 lakh in 2023.
Moreover, his endeavours weren’t handiest pushed via a zeal for innovation but in addition via a dedication to empower native farmers. Through buying rainy cashews from a minimum of 11 native farmers, Brijith controlled to supply a sustainable resolution via reworking them into high quality sprouted cashews.
“Through reimagining conventional practices and leveraging fashionable generation, I no longer handiest sought after to revitalise the cashew farming business but in addition exemplify the potential of agri-business entrepreneurship to power financial enlargement in rural communities. I’m satisfied that we don’t have to fret about rainy produce anymore,” he smiles.
Edited via Padmashree Pande; All pictures: Brijith Krishnan