Agro-based entrepreneurship is one of the most socially sustainable forms of the venture. Himanshu Tinekar, a corporate professional in Pune took a cue from the impending opportunity in the sector and returned back to his native place in Indore during the pandemic. His decision to quit his corporate job proved worthy when his research in Indore’s surrounding area also known as the Malwa region came out as a very feasible location for his initiative.
The new age of agro-based food manufacturing slowly started shaping up with public support. His inroads into the local agricultural communities gave him assurances of an organic supply of raw materials.
“It was more of a passion and desire to have something of my own in my native place amongst my own local population. I wanted to have a business model which would not be hampered by situations like that of the lockdown. It was more about giving back to society, the skills and exposure I gained from my professional life,” says Himanshu talking to ISP.
With a resolute mind about his plans in Indore. Himanshu bifurcated his time in Pune between his job responsibilities and research work for spice production during his free time. His collection of inputs proved handy for him when he shifted to Indore along with the family. And thus was born Mangesh Foods, a brand catering to the organic spice needs of a huge market in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan state. Local villagers linked up to provide a regular supply of raw spices.
“I must acknowledge here that government schemes proved very useful for me. I was not very strong in terms of personal investment, it was a shoe-string budget but some support from the administration helped me sail through the initial face of establishing and installing the factory unit,” says Himanshu.
After the lockdown got relaxed, Himanshu scaled up the process and set up a modern unit with hi-tech machines. The factory today hosts a dedicated area for production, packaging, storing raw material and dispatch section, all in compliance with set international quality standards.
Mangesh Foods is all set to grow further with the start-up now tying up with multiple stakeholders and government schemes. The products are set to expand their geographic footprint across north India in the coming months. Product diversification is also on the cards. Mangesh and his team’s experiment with spice production and packaging it into a brand have multiple happy beneficiaries. It ranges from the happy farmer whose crop is directly purchased by Mangesh foods and the happy kitchen which gets assured organic spices for its delicacies.
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