Shri Ramji Agro Services is a food processing enterprise located in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The enterprise engaged in Honey processing was established in April 2017 by Mr. Rajkumar Mehta (45). Prior to setting up the enterprise, he was working in the hospitality industry in Maharashtra. In (2009), he shifted to Udaipur and was exploring opportunities to set up his own business. One of his friends advised him to look into beekeeping and processing of Honey. Subsequently, he also attended a beekeeping workshop at Rajasthan Agricultural College, Kota in Dec 2016 and purchased 10 bee boxes to start the business. Unfortunately, the business did not take off and the bee boxes got spoiled.

But he did not lose hope and kept learning about Honey processing. He purchased another set of 50 bee boxes and ensured smooth execution of the process. Things turned out to be fine and his business picked up. At the time of setting up the enterprise, he faced two challenges. The first challenge was the marketing of the products and the second challenge was arranging finances.

Over the period, the market demand for the products increased but he lacked the adequate infrastructure to meet this increasing market demand. He was looking for financial support that would enable him to purchase machinery and upgrade his enterprise. In Aug 2019, he attended an awareness workshop on the PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme in Udaipur. After being sensitized regarding the various benefits provided under the PMFME Scheme, he decided to apply for the credit-linked subsidy.

He received a bank loan of Rs.14,00,000 under the PMFME Scheme in November 2021. With the loan amount, he purchased machinery like Moisture Reducing Machine, Honey Filtration Machine, Bottle Packing Machine, Honey Pouch Packing Machine, Storage Containers, etc. Earlier, he was able to process 8-10 kg of Honey per day and after the installation of the machinery, the processing capacity of the enterprise increased to 18-20 kg per day. The daily profits of the enterprise also witnessed an increase from Rs.700-800 per day to Rs.1300-1500 per day.

The product portfolio of the enterprise includes the processing of Raw Honey, Flavoured Honey, Honey Sticks, Bee Pollen, etc. Mr. Rajkumar Mehta is marketing the products through his local store, wholesale, social media, and also via e-commerce platforms. The products are being marketed across the country and he aspires to bring the products to the international market. The financial turnover of Shri Ramji Agro Services for FY 2021-22 was around Rs.54,00,000.

(Content shared by Rajasthan State Agricultural Marketing Board)