Arohan Foods porks out on the North-East

Anabil Goswami (37) and Arindom Hazarika (35), both from Guwahati share a common love for pork. They met at IBS Hyderabad while pursuing an MBA. In 2013, they quit their corporate jobs to set up Arohan Foods with their first love — Assam and pork — as the common denominator.

“We explored many areas — sericulture, mushroom, tourism, etc. But all discussions would end over a plate of pork. So we decided, why not pork,” Goswami recently told BusinessLine in Guwahati.

Now, their company sells every day approximately four tonnes of processed pork products — sausages, salami, etc — under the brand ‘Choice Pork Natural’. While the products are available across the country, 70 per cent of the sales happens in the North-East States.

North-East would be your natural choice if you are selling pork, which is the preferred source of protein in the region. Raw pork (at ₹280 a kg) out-pricesbeef and chicken. Mutton is costlier but that is more due to availability issues.

“Both production and consumption is the highest in the North-East,” Goswami says, quoting a local proverb that “Mizo women take better care of pigs than their husbands”.

Pork maybe an excellent source of protein, but it suffers from some stigma related to hygiene, says Goswami. Then there are issues about scalability. While pork farming is common in the region; farmers are small and scattered making it difficult to aggregate. Also the farmers do not follow common practices.

Arohan addressed all these issues. It developed a 2,000-member farmers’ organisation in Kamrup and Meghalaya. Another, with 5,000 members, will become operational by the end of this year in Lakhimpur district of Assam.

Farmers are asked to rear a particular variety of pigs developed by the State government. The prescribed feed is made of water hyacinth leaves mixed with vegetables and vegetable wastes.

Even a composite has been developed using the water hyacinth stalk and plastics as a cost-effective and durable alternative to bamboo for the piggeries. “Bamboo structures need to be rebuilt every two years. Use of composites enhances farmers’ return on investment,” Goswami said.

Arohan’s veterinarians ensure that the farmers follow the standard practice. “Our veterinarians routinely visit the farmers to ensure hygiene,” he said adding that the average heard size with each farmer is getting bigger indicating increasing commercial interest.

The Arohan model has caught the attention of agri-producers in the region. A 200-member farmers’ body has been formed in Meghalaya to source locally grown cashew, pepper, pineapple, turmeric, etc. The products will be sold under the ‘Arohan One’ brand.

Satisfied with Arohan’s growth, Mumbai-based Omnivore Partners, which had extended venture capital funding to Arohan in 2013, has invested some more money, taking its total exposure to $2 million (approximately ₹13 crore).

The money is to be used on a processing facility, a piggery for R&D purposes, and to build a countrywide distribution network. Goswami says the turnover has surged five times in the last four years. Arohan, which is already earning operating profits, expects net profit this fiscal year.

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