In 2005, when Muhammed Kunju, a senior executive at a French multinational company in Dubai, decided to quit his job to set up his own enterprise back home in Kerala, fellow NRIs and friends balked at the idea.

“Setting up an industrial unit in Kerala? You must be crazy!” was the standard response. Kerala, at the time, was reckoned as the killing field of industries with its trade union mafia, red tape, power shortage and strict environmental laws.

But Muhammed Kunju, hailing from a sleepy, backwaters village in Alappuzha district, where his poor, illiterate parents had struggled to see him through a reputed engineering college, loved to look at possibilities rather than at hurdles.

There were labour problems in Kerala, alright, but, at the same time, there was a pool of intelligent and skilled manpower that was easy to motivate. He found that the cost of production in the line of business he had in mind — food and bakery ingredients — was actually lower.

Other pluses

There were other pluses in his favour: the food processing industry was booming globally; there was a growing market in West Asia, which he was familiar with; a convenient slot was available in the KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure development Corporation) Small Industries Park at Nellad, 40 km from Kochi.

His chemical engineering education also helped. In 2005, Crust ‘N’ Crumb Food Ingredients Private Ltd, a 100 per cent export-oriented unit, was born, with Kunju as CEO.

It manufactures baking ingredients, mixes, flavours and decorative toppings. Mixes for making cakes, muffin, ice-cream, fried chicken and fruit drink, and jam are exported to West Asia and Europe.

“Fortunately for us, an Italian company, Millbo, a reputed brand in the food and bakery business, came to support us,” says Kunju, 43.

“They supported us with food technology R&D and picked up a 20 per cent stake in the company. Millbo provided us with an entry to the European market.” The company, which last year had a turnover of ₹30 crore, sells its products in two dozen countries, mainly in the Gulf region. “We constantly innovate and have an in-house R&D lab,” says Kunju.

Initial funding

The initial investment for the venture came from Kunju’s own funds as well as from his friend Vishnu Prasad, a businessman based in Dubai. “The working capital was provided by banks,” he says.

Today, Crust ‘N’ Crumb Food Ingredients has a staff of 110.

Kunju says that food processing is the most appropriate business for SMEs. The market was wide, investment was relatively low and growth potential was huge.

“After IT and bio-technology, India is going to be a hub for food technology-related industries,” he says.

His own company, he claims, will be a global player in the food and bakery ingredients business in the next 10 years.

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