Nature’s best gift to mankind is food. How do you want your food to be? Organic, fresh, and in its purest form, right? Today, new methods have evolved to yield crops, but all of them are not organic. It is of utmost importance to have food in its purest form. The wholesome experience of food should be the vision of every agri-business. One company with the same concept is Nature Pearls Pvt Ltd.
Nature Pearls brings food in its purest, cleanest, and most natural form. At Nature Pearls, careful planning of food at the farm level and integrated production techniques coupled with its years of experience in the organic industry ensure a healthy, salubrious, and virtuous experience for the discerning food connoisseurs across the globe.
Initial Stages
Nature Pearls started in 2014 with the top management possessing more than 26 years of rich experience in the rice and organic food industry. Nature Pearls began by exporting organic rice from India and has grown to become one of India’s top organic rice and food exporters through a sustainable and farmer-oriented strategy.
As for the short-term, the company’s goal is to predominantly become a customer service and quality-oriented company, as the team wants their customers to have the best experience in dealing with the company. The long-term goal is to diversify into a much newer and more value-added product range, expand its sales globally, set up a state-of-the-art organic facility, and most vitally release its own brand of natural food range in India and international markets.
A Man with Unique Vision
Ajay Katyal, Managing Director, has worked in international agriculture since 1994. But it was not until 1999 that he became aware of the notion of organic farming and its international commercial possibilities. Then came the next goal in 2014 when he founded his venture ‘Nature Pearls – An Organic Food Venture.’
During the first several years, the team’s main issue was persuading large farmers to use organic farming. Because of their previous experiences, they were quite nervous and did not want to take a chance or be duped. After a lot of research, the team at Nature Pearls learned that small and marginal farmers are most suitable for organic farming. They were already using less chemical farming and expecting far lower yields. As a result, the team discovered that they had much room for growth and development.
Ajay has carried out all these activities personally along with his colleagues in the initial years. The team had to travel across states, cities, and more. Due to the above efforts, they could establish India’s best organic farming projects in which most of the farmers were so involved as if it was their project.
Ajay is an industry maestro with over 26 years of experience in the agri-business and speciality food sectors in India and overseas. As a pioneer in worldwide company development and marketing, with a focus on agri-business, organic, and speciality food goods. He was instrumental in creating one of India’s first organic agricultural ventures and guiding it to worldwide prominence. He is a Mechanical Engineer by training, but he is passionate about company growth and organic farming.
The Success Saga Continues
Nature Pearls began exporting organic rice from India in 2014, with senior management having more than 26 years of rich expertise in the rice sector, and has since become one of the top organic rice exporters in India, with a sustainable and farmer-oriented strategy. Nature Pearls seizes the next stage of worldwide expansion in a variety of organic food goods such as ready-to-eat gourmet meals, flours, spices, pulses, and other grains, among others. The most crucial component of the agricultural system is the seed. The organic food company has also had the opportunity to build organic seed production in its operations, which has significantly aided in improving the yields of organic crops.
Ajay has been in charge of a 360-degree business expansion based on long-term and sustainable growth concepts. The company’s growth plan entails the addition of new items as well as other value additions to its existing product line. He is also in charge of the development and implementation of organic farming initiatives in terms of crops, location, farmer group profile, and so on.
Sustaining the Hurdles
The challenges include dealing with the constant shutdown, hygiene, food fraud due to urge in demand coupled with the economic downturn. Some made it a priority to get food on shelves and tables as inexpensively as possible, which opened the way for dishonest operators to enter. To ensure that food safety hazards are evaluated and managed, food firms will need to update their processes and staff on any changes.
Advice for a Better Future
Ajay has been a professional since the beginning of his career. Later, he became business head, who was responsible for the 360-degree evolution of the business and its success, just like a CEO in any large organization. It means he had been a quasi-entrepreneur in the later part of his career before he founded Nature Pearls and became an entrepreneur.
When asked for advice to the young generation, Ajay said, “My advice to a youngster is – please find your passion and follow it unless you are successful. To be successful in one’s professional career, one must make constant and relentless efforts. Never, ever give up.”
“Hard effort is required in the first five years of a career, followed by specialization and instillation of leadership traits in the next five years, and then success is certain for you to become a leader in your field of work,” adds Ajay.
A Journey well-described
Nature Pearls is an industry expert that is now working with over 25,000 farmers across seven Indian states based on the crop being cultivated, and its connection with the farmers dates back to the year 2000. Farmers are treated as partners. In its quest to discover more traditional agricultural ways, the firm leads the way in the country’s agriculture industry. It does this through a socioeconomic and development programme for the agricultural community, which includes supplying high-quality seeds and bio-inputs, technical support for on-farm inputs, and training from external specialists on novel farming practices, among other things. It also helps in deploying unmatched infrastructure to handle brilliant produce and delivering the same with invaluable commitment.
Awards and Recognition
- Most Talented CMO’s of India in Sustainable Food Category
- 50 Most Talented CMO’s of India under Sustainable Food Sector
- The largest exporter of Organic Foods from India (Apr 2007 & Oct 2011)- honored by APEDA – Ministry of Commerce (Govt. of India)
- Second Best Organic company in Exports awarded by ICCOA at The Jaivik India 2018
- Awarded as Emerging Company in Indian Achiever’s Awards 2020
