02/10/2024
Brijith Krishnan, a farmer and entrepreneur from Kerala, founded Eatery Malbarikas in 2021 after facing significant personal and professional challenges.
Following unseasonal rains in 2020 that devastated his 13-acre cashew farm in Kannur, he also lost his job as a supervisor in an IT company.
Determined to turn his situation around, Brijith identified a critical gap in the market: the lack of value-added products for wet cashews, which often went to waste.
To innovate, he experimented with sprouting technology for cashew nuts and sought guidance from the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) and Kerala Agriculture University.
One of his major breakthroughs was extending the germination potential of cashews from 90 days to 180-200 days, inspired by Japan's retorting technology, which preserves food by heat-treating it in airtight containers.
With an initial investment of ₹1 lakh and a ₹25 lakh grant from the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme, he launched Eatery Malbarikas.
The startup now offers an array of cashew-based products, including sprout Manchurian, butter masala, and pickles.
In 2023, Eatery Malbarikas achieved a turnover of ₹25 lakh, providing sustainable solutions for local farmers while catering to niche markets through partnerships with chefs and catering companies.
Regards
Dr. Adarsha Gowda,
Chairperson of Entrepreneurship & Consultancy
Head, Dept of Food Science,
Dept of Food Processing,
St Aloysius (Deemed to be University)
Mangaluru, Karnataka, India.