Just about 50-kilometre ahead of Gujarat’s prosperous city of Ahmedabad lies the sleepy town of Mehsana. For decades this agriculture district has supplied across India various produce like wheat, jowar, mustard cotton, fennel, cumin, etc. But one crop that has attracted global attention recently is Mehsana’s potato. So much so that Mehsana is now referred to as “India’s potato capital”.
From global brands like Walmart, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, Lulu Group, The Pizza Company, Tesco to Indian companies like ITC, Godrej and Mother Dairy — all are making a beeline to Mehsana to source various potato specialities like french fries, patties, hash browns, cheese poppers and potato flakes.
Potato-lovers across the world — be it US, Japan, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia – all are savouring potato specialities being exported from Mehsana. And one company that has turned the tables on global giants to make India net exporter of potato specialties is HyFun Foods; and this has happened in less than a decade.
Situated on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway, HyFun Foods is the brainchild of Haresh Karamchandani, son of a potato-trader whose fascination with this staple food item of every Indian household began at a very early age.
In 1962, the first generation of entrepreneurs started Asandas & Sons who began the trading of potatoes and onions while the second generation further expanded the business. It was in 2015, the third generation, led by Haresh Karamchandani, Managing Director and Group CEO, set up HyFun to produce a variety of potato delicacies.
“It was a small start where we challenged a big multinational which has started its plant nearby. But soon we won the trust of big companies, in India and globally. And now here we are exporting our products to over 40 countries,” Karamchandani told The Pioneer.
Two things that led to stupendous success of HyFun Foods is fast adoption of technology and strong partnership with farmers. “While we have set up state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, our strong partnership with farmers who we support with seeds and other technical knowhow to produce world’s best potato crop changed everything. Today we have two plants while three new manufacturing units being set up with an investment of over `1,000 crore will become operational soon. And our family of over 6,000 farmers is fast growing,” he added.
“Mehsana is already on the global map for its high-quality potato-based products and this story is going to get bigger and better. Big investors are coming to Mehsana to support our journey. We have already signed an MoU with global logistics giant Maersk which is setting up a new cold chain facility exclusively for us with an investment of over `110 crore. More and more fast-food players from India and abroad are approaching us for contract manufacturing. And it is just the beginning,” said Karamchandani. The company is in process to launch new products — pizzas, kebabs, momos, processed vegetables etc —over the next few months,
Since its inception in 2015, HyFun Foods crossed `1,000 crore revenue in just seven years. Last fiscal it reported a turnover of `1,200 crore, 70 per cent of which came via exports, and it plans to cross `5,000 crore in next 3-4 years. By 2024 it also aims to have a network of 30,000 farmers spread across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh with a focus on expanding potato procurement. Today the company procures around 3.5 lakh tonnes of potato every year, which is likely to cross 10 lakh tonnes by 2028.
The company follows ‘seed-to-shelf business model, which starts with contract farming for seed multiplication of processing varieties of potatoes and procurement of crops through a buyback agreement prior to commencement of sowing by farmers at the predetermined prices.
