KOCHI: "Sustainability cannot be compromised."
Kothamangalam-based organic food brand Planter’s Treasure’s latest Instagram post sounded like the Great Commission for sustainability. What better way to accomplish this than by making use of an otherwise unused part of an exotic spice of Kerala. Subsequently, the brand launched their second line of products - a ready-to-drink nutmeg juice ‘Jus de Muscade’ and concentrate ‘Noix de Muscade’ - on March 4 at Malabar House in Fort Kochi.
Priced at Rs 500 for 500 ml of the concentrate and Rs 140 for 300 ml of the drink, the fruit of the nutmeg which is usually discarded is used to make the products. The nutmegs for the products are procured from local farms and the farm owned by Planter’s Treasure’s founder Joppu Sebastian. “Every farmer we deal with will be paid a reasonable price for this, even though it was a part of the spice that will otherwise be discarded,” says Joppu.
Keeping in mind the possibilities of sustainable development, the nutmeg-based products were brought out not just as a health drink, but also as ‘thirst quencher’. “According to our research, we don’t have nutmeg-based drinks in the market. Also, nutmeg has always been associated with health. Our objective is to bring out a health drink that quenches one’s thirst,” says Sam Xavier, who handles the marketing and aesthetic side of Planter’s Treasure.
The nutmeg products are the culmination of two years of meticulous research.
The story of the brand is that reflecting success towards sustainability and a positive way of living. In 2014, the idea of an organic food company struck Joppu, who was a consulting professional with Mckinsey & Company in Chennai at the time, when he was back home in Kothamangalam. “That was a time when passion fruit was not as popular as it is now. It was just a fruit found in some households. A year of research and planning later, Joppu found the company and the passion fruit drink was brought out,” says Sam. Initially, the passion fruits were harvested from Joppu’s Nellimattom farm. Later, the company began procuring the fruits from four local farmers in the area.
What makes the products stand out from other organic brands is their keenness to detail. “The products are hand-pressed and the packing is done by hand. The manufacturing process takes place in the farms itself,” says Sam. Today, Planter’s Treasure products are sold online and select stores in Kochi.
With an objective of tapping a market shifting towards ‘organic and healthy’, the company is now looking at preservative-free organic pickles using uncommon ingredients. “Research and testing are going on. Our game lies in the organic future,” says Sam.