A Fruitful Venture
By MICHAEL GALLANT
Courtesy Purnima Khandelwal
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ith operations across eight states and 35 countries, InI Farms is one of the most creative, successful and progressive fruit suppliers in India. The company specializes in bringing fresh food to consumers as directly as possible via an innovative “farm to fork” model and has connected over 5,000 small-scale farms with food retailers around the world. Purnima Khandelwal is the co-founder, chief executive officer and visionary behind InI Farms. After studying economics and business at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and T A Pai Management Institute, Manipal, Khandelwal built a successful consulting firm that focused on areas including technology, engineering and agriculture. Through her work, she was surprised to discover that India’s fruit industry was fragmented and ripe for innovation. Khandelwal co-founded InI Farms in 2009 with a strong focus on efficient operations, equal pay and treatment for women, and farming practices that are environmentally safe and sustainable. Today, Khandelwal has grown InI Farms into a worldwide success. The company has exported over 40,000 tons of fresh bananas, pomegranates and other foods to the global market, including Malaysia, countries in the Middle East, Europe and beyond. InI Farms’ expansion shows no signs of
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slowing. “I am happy to see that our hard work and determination have paid off,” Khandelwal says. “When I began my journey with InI Farms, India had almost no presence in the international market due to limited post-harvest mechanisms and export channels, and lack of expertise. The opportunity for growth was humongous.” Seizing such a tremendous opportunity wasn’t easy though. Among other challenges, Khandelwal had to work hard to overcome preconceptions and prejudice among farmers and businessmen who had never worked with a female executive before. “When I started my career in agriculture, it was mostly a male-dominated sector,” says Khandelwal. “That did not deter me from being an entrepreneur. I had complete trust in the vision of the company and had the drive to create a valuable global brand.” Khandelwal has been encouraged by how attitudes have changed within her industry over the years. “Women have played a crucial role in agricultural and allied fields since the very beginning,” she says. “Today, it is inspiring to see women progress from just being farm labor to positions of leadership in the agricultural ecosystem and elsewhere.” InI Farms’ success captured the attention of
