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“Supply chain, operations, logistics are main challenges”
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Monday, 31 May, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Apis India is a fast-growing FMCG company in India with its third-generation of entrepreneurs working at the helm. The company traces its roots back to 1924 in Delhi when it was set up as a trading ?rm for spices and honey. It gradually migrated from being a humble trading ?rm to a 5-star export house. Soon after, they also received recognition from the Government of India. In 2015, the company entered the B2C segment with its brand ‘Apis’ initially with honey and later diversified the brand by widening the array of products with packaged dates, preserves, green tea and pickles. The company stands tall as one of the leading exporters in India by catering honey to over 20 countries across the world. It has also crossed the top-line figure of Rs 118 crore in the financial year 2019-2020.
Pankaj Mishra, CEO, Apis India, talks about issues faced due to the pandemic, expansion plans, their in-house testing facility, partnership with Arcor Group, and more, in an email interaction with Vijetha Iyer. Excerpts:
Your company is the leading exporter of honey to over 20 countries. What were the challenges you faced in terms of export post-Covid period?
The challenges during Covid times have been the same for everybody and we are not an exception. Local supply chain, operations, logistic issues are the main challenges all of us are facing, as till date the trading process is not as smooth as it used to be, pre-Covid times. The global operations are badly impacted, which will take some more time to settle down.
Your company is setting up a new manufacturing plant in Dubai. When are you planning to start it?
The plant at Dubai is a multi-product handling facility which will manufacture honey and dates among other product lines. It was commissioned earlier this month to handle the international demand load.
What is your partnership with the Arcor Group of Argentina, which is a worldwide leader in confectioneries?
Arcor is a leading multinational group that offers food for all moments of the day and occasions of consumption, and reaches more than 120 countries. The consumer foods portfolio of Arcor includes wide categories ranging from cookies, chocolates, ice creams, nutraceuticals and confectioneries.
We have entreated into an exclusive partnership with them for exclusive marketing and distribution of Arcor products in India. Recently, we have introduced three products in confectionery segment in India-
• Arcor butter toffees -Toffees made from real milk, centre filled flavours to melt in mouth giving a real rich taste
• Mr Pops - Centre filled bubble gum Lollipops- with real fruit flavours & centre filled bubble gum
• Bon O Bon chocolates -3-layer chocolate –Real milk Chocolate + Crunchy wafer + Rich flavour filling - A perfect gift for loved ones.
How do you maintain maximum nutritional value of honey after the filtration and processing at the plant?
We have a manufacturing plant at Roorkee, Uttarakhand, and the production and quality checks are done there. Honey is checked at multiple levels for set parameters to ensure the final product is of utmost high quality and is completely safe for consumption. Robust QC procedures have been put forth with well documented process flows tracking honey at beekeeper level.
The manufacturing unit is certified by international accredited agencies for quality assurance for ISO 22000 (Intertek), BRC Global Food Standards, and USFDA among others. Thus ethical sourcing, multi-level quality checks and 3rd party periodic audits besides internal quality control ensure that we deliver pure and high grade honey to our consumers.
Ethically sourced from beekeepers, your honey reaches from farm to table using GPS technology. Can you tell us something about the same?
With over 3 decades of honey sourcing experience, we have earned the status of “The Honey Experts”. We have a network of over 5,000 beekeepers spread across India from whom the honey is sourced. We have always stressed on ensuring that it offers best to the consumers and hence we have developed and maintained a healthy supply chain for honey over these long years. With the help of GPS technology, we can locate the farms as each bottle has attached batch lot number which corresponds to a particular farm from which honey has been sourced.
What are the in-house testing facilities available in your lab? Do you test all your products there?
Our lab is equipped to handle a range of tests including Antibiotics, C4 Sugar, HMF, and Optical Density & Distaste test, HPLC Test for sugars, Moisture, Acidity, Evaporation, Incubation, and Ash Content among others. The lab can handle basic testing of all food products. If there is a need for any complex tests, we get them conducted in 3rd party government approved labs.
The company has recently expanded its product line in the FMCG sector. Can you tell us something about it?
Apis as a brand is very young in the consumer business. It’s just a 4-year-old brand however having said that it is one of the leading honey brands in India. With a promising response from consumers, the brand has expanded its portfolio from honey to other foods and food ingredients like – dates, pickles, jam, ginger- garlic paste, soya chunks, macaroni, green tea and confectioneries.
Do you use natural ingredients/preservatives in making different types of honey to store it for a longer time period?
Honey is a natural product and has proven medicinal and health benefits. It is in real sense a superfood – full of nutrition. Honey is naturally a preservative hence it doesn’t need anything to increase its life. The type of honey depends upon the region and the surroundings from where it has been sourced especially the flower. Hence it's totally a natural process. We don’t add any preservatives to the honey. It just goes through a filtration process to remove the impurities and automatically packed in bottles. The honey we produce is completely natural and 100 per cent pure. As a natural property, the colour and aroma of the honey may change as it depends upon the flora from which it has been sourced.
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