Arunkumar Gandhi has a strong enthusiasm for delicious food and always wished to make a positive impact on society. In 2016, he purchased a piece of land close to Kanyakumari at the southernmost point of Tamil Nadu to start a pesticide-free food venture. When he ran into difficulties in 2018 marketing his pesticide-free food, he took the initiative to directly get in touch with customers through forest. Since then there has been no looking back.
In 2021, he sold his house in a well-known neighbourhood of Chennai to purchase another land parcel in Pandrimalai, Kodaikanal highlands.
There, committed to maintaining traditional farming practices, he founded KaaduOrganics and started making natural/organic food on his farm.
Sharing his story Arunkumar tells us, “I love food, and I enjoy trying a wide variety of dishes. Then it dawned on me: why can’t we have good food in terms of quality rather than a lot of great food in terms of quantity?” This idea served as the inspiration for him to found this business.
“We at Kaadu Organics have been selling only natural and organic products since 2016. In Tamil Nadu in the districts of Kodaikanal Hills and Tirunelveli, we have our own organic farms that are certified. Our warehouse is located in Hosur,” he adds.
The brand’smission is “MoodhadhiayarVazhiyilVivasayam,” which means “traditional agricultural methods without the use of chemicals or pesticides at all stages of cultivation.
Organic way of work
There are currently 22 farmers in Tamilnadu who work for Kaadu(forest) Organics and have the same enthusiasm for producing the quality organic food.
When Arunkumar discovered gaps in the authenticity, availability, and affordability of organic food staples, he decided to join forces with a network of farmers to assist, counsel, and support them from the start of the production cycle to the finish, ensuring pesticide-free food staples from their certified network of farmers to retailers and consumers.
The founder chose the name Kaadu Organics because Kaadu means forest in Tamil.
“The forest doesn’t follow a routine and never uses pesticides or fertiliser to encourage the growth of plants, We are working toward this long-term objective and like a forest; Kaadu should be able to handle any storms that come its way instead of looking for simple solutions that endanger the environment and the wellbeing of its residents,” he explains.It produces a safety net and maintains itself.
Kaadu Organics produces, sources, inspects, and delivers food items free of chemicals and pesticides. Different varieties of native rice, millets, dal, wood-pressed oil, jaggery products, Red Rice Puttu and Idiyappam flour, whole and powdered Kaadu spices, and value-added items like papads and laddus made from native rice and millets are all included in the product line.
All of the brand’s jaggery products are entirely residual free flow and solar dried.
The chilies that are grown on its own certified farm and solar-dried to increase their shelf life are grown using natural manure.
Kaadu’s Tur dal is fully sprouted, ensuring that it retains all of the nutrients. Using a traditional wood press, oil is produced.Wood pressed oils are extracted using a wood pestle that presses the seeds and crushes them for extracting the oil. Wood pressed coconut oil, popularly known as Mara chekku, follows a wood pressed or cold pressed traditional method for crushing the seeds using a wooden axis.
“Currently, we have two farms, the farm in the Kodai Hills is where we naturally grow pepper.Our raw materials come from our own certified organic farms in Tamil Nadu’s Kodaikanal Hills, Dindigul District, and Vallioor Tirunelveli District. There, 22 farmers share our passion for producing high-quality food that is grown organically,” Arunkumar shares more insights.
Although Kaadu Organics offers a wide range of products, its two bestsellers are rice and jaggery. This is mainly due to its distinctive natural processing method. On its website, Kaadu Organics conducts the majority of online sales, and the brand ships products all over the world. Online and physical presences are both present for Kaadu Organics.
Tough days are gone
Kaadu encountered numerous challenges while travelling this journey. The main problem for the brand was raising public awareness and educating the general population. Most people, according to the founder, appear to have forgotten that Google only serves as a publisher of content authored by others and they tend to believe anything they read or see on the internet or on social media. People often hold the misconception that anything in black is healthy. While this may be true in some instances, it is not always the case. One such example is jaggery, the colour of which is influenced by a number of elements including the soil, the climate, and the water level during irrigation, etc.
“People now understand the value of organic food, helping to make it quick and simple for us to communicate and share knowledge,” he says.
Inventory management is a major challenge as well. Since Kaadu strictly adheres to natural and organic methods, no inorganic or chemical pesticides are used to preserve the inventory.
Instead of using pesticides, the brand uses a medicinal concoction of leaves of Neem, Pungan, Nochi, Chilly, Vasambu, and cloves for smoking out pests. The power of the smoke to repel insects and other pests helps to maintain the products’ organic status throughout the entire cycle.
Talking about sustainability, the founder comments, “This method, which maximises health and nutritional results while restoring the vital ecosystems and farming livelihoods upon which we depend, is what we refer to as sustainable nutrition. It aims to offer everyone wholesome, organically grown food at a fair price.”
Big ambitions
Kaadu plans to target three businesses by 2028.
- Expand the amount of greenery under Kaadu Organics farms
- Last-mile delivery of 100% organic food that is affordable and healthy to customers
- Under the concept of Vanam Farm Stay, the brand offers farm tours and farm stays.
Kaadu Organics is currently working to increase additional green cover in Tamilnadu. The business wants to transport all of the produce from its farm and those of its farmer network directly to clients across the last mile.
Vanam Farm Stay focuses on life science and mental health. Students are already visiting this farm to witness farmers at work, which is helpful in their academic work. The brand plans to increase the farm stays.
“Additionally, we are interacting with consumers, specifically focusing on those who are interested in health and wellness across all platforms and digital channels across the world,” Arunkumar concludes.
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