Sweet Fruits of Success

A leader in the fruit beverage and fruit jam market in Western India, the seeds of Mapro Foods were first sown in the sixties, when Kishore Vora of Panchgani grabbed the 'juicy' opportunity that came his way in the shape of a license for fruit processing. While his uncle laid the solid foundations, it was followed up by nephew Mayur Vora who popularized the name of Mapro Foods even abroad. Today, Mapro Foods squash-Crush and other fruit-based products are sold in countless retail outlets.
By Hiren Mehta

Although the company has a strong workforce of around 3000 members in its three plants and office, it has no personnel manager. Inspite of this, all relevant information related to prospective candidates 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 Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Road, this is companys Food Court. During any weekend, as many as 7,000 to 8,000 visitors 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. The decisions about when to give salary or leaves to their staff are taken among themselves. The companys 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 preached for himself. There is no use of light in his office. Why? Why does anyone have to sit in the office during evening? Why dont 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 model. Mapro Foods has flooded most of the small and big retail outlets with an array of its fruit products in Maharashtra 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, Kishore Vora, a Kapol Youth, tried his hand at what may be termed an unconventional work. Mumbais climate did not suit Kishorebhais father and he was advised to shift to Panchgani, which is in a way a smaller version of Mahabaleshwar in the Satara district of Maharashtra. 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 Poona Blind Mens Association that has been doing commendable work for eradication of blindness. Being an honorary secretary of the Association, Kishorebhai is also involved with Punes H. V. Desai Eye Hospital and other social activities. Kishorebhai says, brimming with tourists, Panchganis population is just 14,000 people and that includes 4,000 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 Delhis 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 license to start a food processing unit in Panchgani. Hailing from Jafrabad of old Amreli state, Kishorebhai recalls those days, we had Kissans Jam agency. In Panchgani strawberry farming was done since the British times. British officials would make jam out of it and send 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 Panchagani, 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 Kishorebhai 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. Mayurbhais father Jaykumar Vora was incidentally associated with Vinoba Bhaves 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 Mahabaleshwar 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. Mapros 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 Mayurbhais son Nikunj has joined him. He has started making a chocolate called Mazana. In next one year, two more plants are coming up. Mayurbhai is also contemplating of setting up a plant in Gujarat. Set up on the Pune-Panchgani highway in the last decade, his factory has become a kind of a tourist 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 PanchganiMahabaleshwar 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 strawberries at fixed price from the farmers of Guredhar and Panchgani. Strawberry is a fruit that does not stay fresh for more than 24 hours. If proper logistics arrangements are not made, it cant reach big and relatively closer markets 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 Mapros 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, Mapros 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.

Mayurbhais 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, always keep learning. We get to learn from every person, especially from children.

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