KOCHI: When Jerry Thomas couldn’t market the fruits harvested from his plantation, his wife Teena Jerry made use of the excess fruits and converted them to juice concentrates. She then distributed them among family and friends. When the products gained popularity, the husband and wife duo transformed the venture that started in their kitchen six years ago into the brand, ‘Rachel’s Orchard’ in 2017.
The Kochi-based brand sells juice concentrates passion fruit, lemon and ginger, orange and mint, mosambi, strawberry, and guava flavours. They have blackberry and strawberry preserves, and lime and date pickle too.“Our products are made entirely from natural ingredients. We want the brand to be known for its natural products, so we don’t add any Class II preservatives, artificial colours, or flavours,” says Jerry Thomas, who handles the marketing of Rachel’s Orchards.
The brand can now be spotted in 45 supermarkets across Kerala. “Our products are available on our website and Instagram page and soon we will launch it on e-commerce platforms as well,” adds Jerry. In juice concentrates, the duo sells only the passion fruit and lemon-ginger online. “Since no artificial preservatives are used, the products have to be refrigerated. That is why we focused more on supermarkets. But the passion fruit and lemon-ginger have high citric content so these flavours can be kept outside for at least four days. We even courier them to Delhi,” says Jerry.
The passion fruit concentrate consists of passion fruit, pulp, sugar, water, and citric acid, which acts as a natural preservative.Ever since the brand’s inception, the products have been received well in the market. Initially, it was difficult for their products to be recognized in the supermarket. “Since the products have to be refrigerated, the customers would only notice it when they walk past the cooler. Unlike other brands, we didn’t have the advantage of being displayed on the shelves,” says Jerry.
Farm to bottle
The fruits for the concentrates are procured from their farm. When the demand is high, the couple relies on supplies from other places. “Passion fruit and lemon are abundant in our farm. Before even growing the fruits on a large scale at the plantation, passion fruit wine, and lemon-ginger concentrates were a common sight in our house,” informs Jerry.The concentrates get bottled only after Teena does her quality checking. “My wife is involved in the production. She is very quality conscious. Each batch gets tested before it is bottled,” adds Jerry.
Instagram @rachelsorchard
Website: www.rachelsorchard.com