We all know that every successful business starts with a struggle to reach the pinnacle and nothing can be achieved easily. Behind every start-up business, there are sparkling ideas, late night discussions, arguments with close ones, thought processing, and much more. If we say that he is intelligent or he is financially sound, that’s why he is able to start a good business, then it is not true. We all have the same opportunities and we all are surrounded by great business ideas, we just have to open ourselves and let the possibilities come near us. Today, we are going to talk about three young men who discovered opportunities from their surrounding and are coming as a group of emerging entrepreneurs.

Three young students of PAU who came up with a belief of delivering the best food experience not as businessmen but as microbiologists are – Prabhjot Singh Khanna, Shaminderjeet Singh Brar, and Sourav Singla. And to give their idea a face and direction, they founded their company by the name MICRO FOODS in 2015 in Ludhiana, Punjab.

Well, yes it was a group effort by three of them, but the main inspiration behind their start-up were their professors – Dr. Sanjeev Kapoor and Dr. Ramandeep Singh. After completing their studies and research work in the field of fermented vinegar, all the three founders (Prabhjot, Shaminderjeet and Sourav) finally begin with their venture. They all three decided the company name and designed the logo.

While doing their research work, they already had a lot of work experience and knowledge of many leading fermentation and vinegar industries. So they started with the process of making organic vinegar by using natural fermentation techniques from natural fruits; that too without using synthetic acid or artificial ingredients. They set up their business manufacturing unit in 500 yards of area in Prabhjot’s home premises. And one thing that they are especially taking care of is the hygiene level of their manufacturing unit and aseptic conditions.

They started producing 4 types of vinegar made up of Apple, Java Plum (Jamun), Sugarcane, and White Grapes, under the brand name FRUIGAR. The idea behind choosing FRUIGAR as their vinegar name is that FRUI comes from Fruit and GAR come from Vinegar. They ordered raw material (fruits) from South India. The reason behind choosing these fruits for making vinegar is that all these have major health benefits and have very high demand in the market. Moreover, they are organic, so they are not going to hurt human body internally.

After making their product, they came up with the marketing plan. They started marketing their product on the basis of data that they used in their research. They also tried to cover all the doctors and introduce them with their organic fruit vinegar health benefits. Their main motive behind making fruit vinegar was to provide healthy produce to the community without any artificial ingredients.

These young entrepreneurs didn’t stop there, they also came up with two new products, known as Gluten Free Flour and Flour for the Diabetic Patient, which is very in demand nowadays. Coming from a farming background, Shaminderjeet Singh (one of the founders) cultivates wheat and paddy and also provides the raw material for their new product.

They are doing this work from past two years and slowly they are trying to establish their product in the market. Currently, they are making no profit, nor are they having loss, but in this short span of time, they have made a good number of loyal customers, which are aware of their product’s health benefits and want to invest in their product.

For them, this is just the beginning. They want to come up with more healthy and organic products for the community. Their future plan is to cover market and factories to a larger extent. Till now they are partially dependent on others for their packaging, processing, and marketing, but after 2017 they are planning to process, pack and market their product themselves. And they are also looking forward to tying up with MARKFED to sell their products.

Message by Prabhjot, Shaminderjeet, & Sourav
“Today youngsters who are in the field of Microbiology should think towards making their education a boon for the society. There are many different fields in Microbiology, in which student can do wonders. And before starting, they should discuss with the people, learned men, professionals, and their professors, as much as they can.”