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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gyani Jarnail Singh" data-source="post: 115009" data-attributes="member: 189">This is not exactly rising form the ashes..but still in a way..as it is Post 1947 !! Partition success story of a Sikh Sardar..THE BEES KNEES HONEY MANHE BUILT HIS honey empire from scratch. What started with a Rs 10,000 loan,has turned into a multi-crore business.Ranked the fourth largest honey exporter in the world, his honey-liciousproducts have people hooked.MINNA ZUTSHI meets the 'honey-man'.<a href="http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=08_11_2009_582_003&kword=&mode=1" target="_blank">http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=08_11_2009_582_003&kword=&mode=1</a>He's discussing the details of a possible acquisition of ahoney plant in the European Union. His tone is even and measured. There's anaura of minimalism in his office that has a no-fuss seating arrangement. Abig mural of Guru Gobind Singh adorns the wall at the back of his desk. Onanother wall hangs the photograph of his late father Sardar Jaswant Singh.That's our introduction to 58-year-old Jagjit Singh Kapoor, the MD &Chairperson of Kashmir Apiaries & Little Bee Impex at Doraha. (Little BeeImpex is the largest exporter of honey in India.) You mention the words'economic slump', and Kapoor talks of expansion and growth. There was anincrease of more than 60 per cent in the company's turnover in 2008 ascompared to that the previous year, he says. "Our turnover was Rs 134 crorein 2007 and that went up to Rs 215 crore in 2008. Our target for this fiscalyear is Rs 400 crore. We're presently ranked the fourth-largest honeyexporter in the world. Now, we're vying for the first position. We plan toset up warehouses in Germany, US and UK.Later, we'd also have processing units in these countries."At the time when companies are reeling under the impact of global recession,Kapoor has his expansion plans all chalked out. Surely, his must be arecession-proof model of business? He takes this question with a faintsmile. "Ours is a team work. We make collective decisions."That's his pithy statement. He leaves it to A.K. Singh, the vice-presidentof Little Bee Impex, to elaborate: "When businesses elsewhere werere-orienting themselves to profit dips, we were focusing on ways to improveour market share. We increased our visibility in our niche export markets.And we explored the hitherto unexplored markets. We added to our existingbase ten new export destinations, including Japan, South Africa and France."Kapoor has absolute clarity when it comes to his business. He believes thateach little detail counts. "Even if your product is excellent, you have tomake sure that the packaging is in consonance with cultural preferences.People in Arab countries are fond of kahwa tea. We use mug-shaped containersto export honey to these countries. The people there reuse the mugs fordrinking kahwa."Doubtless, the 'honey-man' knows his business well. "Right marketing isimportant. And still more important is the right attitude. I would neverskimp on basic honesty.His was a humble start. His father, who had migrated from Pak-OccupiedKashmir (PoK) in 1947, was a schoolteacher. The very name 'Kashmir Apiaries'is a nostalgic reminder of their connection with PoK! With a sum of Rs10,000 that was pooled in through loans, Kapoor started his beekeepingventure in 1978. As he recalls, "I did a course in beekeeping from PunjabAgricultural University at Ludhiana. Right from the inception of KashmirApiaries, we focused equally on production as well as exploration andcreation of the market for the produce. Initially, we targeted Punjab. Thenwe shifted our attention to Haryana, UP, West Bengal and South. Once westarted with the exports, there was no looking back."In 1978, the beehive count at Kashmir Apiaries was only fifty. Now they havemore than 25,000 beehives. They also collect honey from apiculturists acrossthe country. Around two-lakh kilogram of honey is processed everyday."More than 1500 persons are employed at Kashmir Apiaries. My wife and ourtwo sons are also associated with the business. Even my daughter, who'sstill a student, accompanies me on my national and international tours. Ourdiversified product portfolio includes snacks, fruit jams, syrups andpickles," Kapoor tells us.What's the USP of Kashmir Apiaries?"Stringent quality control. First, we check from the source the methods ofhoney production and extraction. Later, we conduct a series of tests.Depending upon the specifications of the market, we export the produceaccordingly. Europe, for instance, has zero tolerance level for the presenceof antibiotics," explains Kapoor, as he takes us around his Lee BeeInternational Institute of Beekeeping and Agro-Enterprises where R&D work isdone and training is imparted to aspiring apiculturists. "Apiculture(beekeeping) is a viable income-generating activity that can transform therural economy," he says with a visionary's clearness.Well, the man is never short on ideas!</blockquote>

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