Charting out his own path

Engineer-turned-farmer K. Subhash is a role model for the young generation. Recipient of this year’s State award for best farmer in the export sector, the 37-year-old always dreamt of charting out a path on his own. And that was the beginning of Artocarpus Foods Private Ltd, a jackfruit processing factory set up at the Kinfra Industrial Park at Nadukani to produce value-added products from jackfruit under the brand name Hebon.

Mr. Subhash, a resident of Chuzhali near Taliparamba in Kannur, started his business in 2015. It took almost six years of research before he invested ₹2 crore to set up the factory. The initial phase of the business saw many ups and downs. “After a certain period of saturation, I started looking at other markets and that paid off,” Mr. Subhash told The Hindu.

Most of the products, including the pulp for icecream industry, juice, and pickle powders were manufactured at the plant. He tied up with companies like Milma to market the products, Now, ‘Hebon’ products are available in the U.S., Australia, Europe, West Indies, and GCC countries with an annual turnover of ₹4 crore.

The company has acquired 50 acres in Karanataka as part of expanding its business.

Mr. Subhash said that though jackfruit was available everywhere, people didn’t realise the importance of its health benefits and wasted it. He added that his business had helped jackfruit farmers get a fair price for their produce.