The Hindu Business Line : Leh Berry to make a comeback in new avatar

LEH Berry, the Seabuckthorn extract fruit drink from Ladakh that took the market by a storm, but ran into trouble, is poised to enter the market once again in a new avatar.

Production of the drink is now being taken up by Mamta Agro Foods, subsidiary of Mamta Drinks and Industries Ltd, which is setting up a new plant in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh to expand capacity.

The product will be under the company's new health drinks brand `Madrid'. It will be called Madrid Seabuckthorn Fruit Juice and would enter the market early October to catch the festival season in the country.

"We've signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defence Research and Development Organisation at Leh whose research has led to the manufacture of the herbal beverage. From now on we will be the official buyers of Leh berries,'' said Mr Ajay Kumar, General Manager (Sales and Marketing), Mamta Agro Foods.

Mr Kumar has a distinct advantage over others where Seabuckthorn is concerned, as he was at the sales and marketing helm of Leh Berry as well when it was being manufactured by Ladakh Foods Ltd (LFL).The company subsequently ran into a financial crunch and withdrew from the project.

LFL was a joint venture with the Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. Apart from commercial retail, Leh Berry had a ready market in the defence services and the Canteen Stores Department where it clocked annual sales worth around Rs 2 crore. "The plant has a high potential to facilitate human adaptation to extremely cold climatic conditions prevalent in the mountainous region and is given to armed forces personnel in the high altitude areas. Now Mamta Agro Foods will serve this market,'' said Mr Kumar.

It will be manufactured at their plants in Orissa and Himachal Pradesh. The beverage is suitable for troops not only because of its rich vitamin content but also because it does not freeze even in sub zero temperatures.

Seabuckthorn, a deciduous shrub, grows wild in around 1.3 lakh hectares of land in the Ladakh region. The berries contain over 100 nutrients vital for body functions, including good amounts of vitamin C, E, K caroteniods, flavonoids and phytosterols. Russian cosmonauts have used the berries on spaceship "MIR'' to combat cosmic radiation and as an oxygen supplement.

Seabuckthorn-based preparations have been found to be effective in protecting against exposure to cold, hypoxia and stress, besides providing protection against radiation and toxicant exposure in animal models. It is also used in about 200 industrial products including life-saving drugs and herbs to treat cancer, heart ailments, ulcers, hepatic disorders, burns and brain disorders.

Due to high content of antioxidants, Seabuckthorn oil is being extensively used as anti-inflammatory, anti bacterial, analgesic and for promotion of tissue regeneration. Its harvesting and processing involves a large number of the local population of the Himalayan region and provides seasonal employment to them. China is the only other country that processes Seabuckthorn in large quantities.

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