Sweet Fruits of Success
A leader in the fruit beverage and fruit jam market in Western India, the idea of
Mapro Foods was first sown in the sixties when Kishore Vora of Panchgani grabbed
the juicy opportunity that came his way in the shape of a licence for fruit
processing. While the uncle laid the solid foundations, it was followed up by his
nephew who popularized the name of Mapro Foods even abroad. Today, Mapro
Foods’ squash-Crush and other juicy products are sold in countless retail outlets.
By Hiren Mehta
Although the company’s three plants and office have as many
as 300 members, it has no personnel manager. However, all
relevant information related to prospective candidate including
minute details about his family and its values are examined
and evaluated before absorbing him. As if you are bringing in
a new bride, as it were, and not an employee.
On Mahabadeshwar-Panchgani Road, this is company’s Food
Court. During week end, as many as 7000 to 8000 visitors
would descend on this place either for food or for shopping,
but again, there is no tie-flaunting executive strutting around
to man this restaurant-cum-shop. Boys and girls from nearby
villages are employed to run the shop. They would decide
among themselves on when to give salary or leave to their
staff.
The company’s managing director Mayurbhai Vora, an IIM graduate, has a different
management theory. He believes that if you do what you love doing, you do not have to
work all your life. Mayurbhai would practice for his staff what he preaches for himself.
There is no use of light in his office. Why?
Why does anyone have to sit in office during evening? Why don’t you go home? After
all, you have responsibilities towards your family as well, he explains matter-of-factly.
It should therefore be no surprise that having adopted a relatively new People
Management Approach, this man has made his company a success in a new industry
and business module.
Mapro Foods has flooded most small and big retail outlets with an array of its fruit
products in Maharastra and Gujarat. In these two states, especially on the stretch
between Kolhapur and Ahmedabad, nearly 78000 retail outlets showcase Mapro Foods’
syrup, squash, crush or fruit bar, cube, jelly or fruit chews like Falero are sold. His
products are available even in Delhi, Panaji and Bangalore.
The journey that started way back in 1959 from a Panchagani shop with sale of
Strawberry jam in the name of Vora products culminated in as faraway countries as
America, Russia, Australia, Dubai, Mauritius, Fiji and Oman
About five decades ago, a Kapol Youth Kishore Vora tried his hand at what may be
termed an unconventional work. Mumbai’s climate did not suit Kishorebhai’s father so
he was advised to shift to Panchgani, which is in a way a smaller version of
Mahabadeshwar in the Satara district of Maharastra. Kishorebhai (originally,
Chandrakishore) too had accompanied his father. In Panchgani, he bought a shop.
Those days he ran it as a General store with agency of Kissan Food Products (jam,
sauce etc)
Today a septuagenarian Kishorebhai has retired and settled in Pune, actively involved
as he is with Puna Blind Men’s Association that has been doing commendable work for
eradication of blindness. Being an honorary secretary of the Association, Kishorebhai is
also involved with Pune’s H V Desai Eye Hospital and other social activities.
Kishorebhai says, ‘brimming with tourists, Panchgani’s population is just 14,000 people
and that includes 4000 students studying in schools. This means in the circa 1950 and
1960, Panchgani was just a small village. People got drawn towards it because of its dry
climate and this explains why those days there were ten sanatoriums in Panchgani.
Around that time a team of senior officials from Delhi’s Industry ministry visited
Panchgani. When they learnt that in a tiny place like this lived a pharmacy degree
holder from Ahmedabad, Kishorebhai was summoned. They volunteered to offer him
licence to start a food processing unit in Panchgani.
Hailing from Jafrabad of old Amreli state, Kishorebhai recalls those days, ‘we had
Kissan’s Jam agency. In Panchgani strawberry farming was done since the British
times. British officials would make jam out of it and sent it to Delhi. We also started
making jam and ice cream, serving them to visitors. Frankly speaking, it was more of a
hobby than any serious business. Since we had our shop in Panchagini, making
something out of strawberry or other fruits could at best be our side business..”
But one never realized when the side business turned into main business and a
situation came when Kishorbhai had to devote full time to this business. This was,
however, the kind of work Kishorebhai loved. He loved innovating with new ideas, and
so he started supplying strawberry jam to hostels and simultaneously also initiated
making other products from fruits.
Those days it was believed that Jelly toffee was made of gelatin only. In lieu of the
latter, Kishorebhai imported vegetarian Petikin and made first 100% veg jelly toffee in
the country.
Usually, we have a habit of mixing some or other fruit essence with milk (recall the
indigenously coined phrase-doodh coldrink?) Following this fast catching trend,
Kishorebhai made strawberry crush in 1970, followed by a rose sharabat he made with
rose petals.
Those days Kishorebhai Vora was doing business under the name and style of Vora
Products. In rapid succession, his experiments clicked and his business was growing
exponentially.
It was then Kishorebhai was joined by his nephew Mayurbhai Vora. Mayurbhai’s father
Jaykumar Vora was incidentally associated with Vinoba Bhave’s Sarvoday movement.
Mayurbhai studied in IIM Ahmedabad and later did a job in a Mumbai-based big
business house. But he had a fascination for Panchgani, close that he was with
Kishorebhai, owing to his childhood sojourns at Panchgani.
Finally Mayurbhai left Mumbai and settled in Panchgani for good and the uncle and
nephew duo together got down to the task of expanding their business.
In the ‘70s, the name of the company was changed to Mapro, which is an abbreviation
of Mahabadeshwar Products. The changed name somehow led to further growth.
Today, as Managing Director of the company, Mayurbhai runs three factories where
products like Jam, Sharabat, squash, crush concentrate, fruit cube, Jelly, dessert
toppings, fruits chews and ice cream are made from myriad fruits like strawberry,
mangoes, pineapple, orange, sweet lime, custard apple, litchi, pitch, kiwi and grapes.
Mapro’s three plants have capacity to process as much as 1.25 lakh kilo fruits. From
various parts of the country, tons of fruits, rose flowers and other materials regularly
pour in the plants.
During the past few years, Mayurbhai has introduced various products. The recently
introduced Falero is quite popular and everyday about 40 lakhs pieces are made in the
plants. It is a market leader in fruit bar or chew segments.
Kishorebhai has now retired from Mapro and Mayurbhai’s son Nikunj has joined
Mayurbhai. He has started making a chocolate called Mazana. In next one year, two
more plants are coming up. Mayurbhai is also contemplating to set up a plant in Gujarat.
Set up on the Pune-Panchgani highway in the last decade, his factory has become a
kind of a ‘sightseeing’ spot. For setting up this plant, he has designed from brick to
several parts of the machinery. Office building adjoining the factory has been so
designed as to need less consumption of power. Likewise, the water used in the factory
is recycled in plant outside.
This factory has employed youths from nearby villages so that they do not have to go
very far for jobs.
The very principle has been implemented in Mapro Garden, a restaurant-cum-shop set
up on Panchgani-Mahabadeshwar road. This restaurant is located on the outskirts of a
village called Guredhar. This is a village where no youth is unemployed or illiterate. The
boys of this village are associated with Mapro Foods in one way of the other. Mapro
Pariwar organizes educational camps for them. Besides working at Mapro restaurant,
they also learn manners and etiquette here.
Mayurbhai says, ’living with these villagers, interacting with them has taught me more
than what I learnt at IIM’
Mapro buys strawberry at fixed price from the farmers of Guredhar and Panchgani.
Strawberry is a fruit that does not last more than 24 hours. If proper logistics
arrangements are not made, it can’t reach big and relatively closer market like Mumbai.
But for the past 25 years, Mapro pays minimum price to the famers. With stable and
growing income, some farmers have become independent. Strawberry was earlier an
elitist fruit but thanks to Mapro’s initiative, it has now made entry into the middle class
households.
For the past six years, Mayurbhai has been organizing Strawberry Festival, meaning
any visitor during this period can pluck strawberry and eat it without having to pay for it.
This year the Mapro turnover is touching Rs 120 crores, which is estimated to exceed
200 crore next year.
Besides expansion, what are the future plans?
Mayurbhai responds,’ in our country poor people eat bananas to satisfy their hunger,
otherwise per capita fruit consumption in India is much less in our country. Though fruits
are best in terms of their nutrition value, people find them expensive. I want to ensure
that fruits are available at affordable rates to people. Besides, Mapro’s Technologists
are doing experiments on whether vegetables or Dal can be served in frozen state. Our
present generation is shying away from vegetables and unless we make frozen
vegetables and daal available to them, they will shun them totally.
Mayurbhai’s Mantra:
Do what you love doing
Source of Inspiration: Mahatma Gandhi who taught that everything is possible.
What you need is courage to do it.
Obstacle: What is it? If at all anything like this comes your way, take it as an
opportunity to move ahead. I once took the decision that whatever I want to do, I
will do it in Panchgani and will not go out of it. I have achieved what I wanted to,
in this very small world.
Hobby: Reading. He likes reading historical books. The Economist is his favourite
magazine.
Key to Success: you must feel joy at the end of any work. This is what I call success.
And yes, keep learning always. We get to learn from every person, especially from
children.