GROWING THE ATMANIRBHAR PROPOSITION

Schauna Chauhan's brand of atmanirbharta focuses on the journey where leaders must take many more together to create new possibilities. The CEO of Parle Agro applies this in her everyday work, creating more self-reliant leaders along the way

- Noor Fathima Warsia

THE SIGNIFICANCE of the manufacturing sector comes from the opportunities it creates. Parle Agro, counted among the key players in the Indian beverage sector, pays special attention to this part of its existence. It was in May 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated the self-reliant India call. For the beverage maker's CEO, Schauna Chauhan, this call triggered a series of thoughts.

"Parle Agro has perhaps followed both the Atmanirbhar Bharat and the Make in India agendas since 1985 in the beverage sector. We are an Indian company, manufacturing in India and investing back in India. But for me, self-reliance entails much more," says Chauhan, as she reflects on the company's journey so far.

Parle Agro enjoys a suite of brands that have been a favourite with different target groups, including kids and young adults. Citing the example of Frooti, the company's mango-flavored drink, Chauhan explains its theory of backward integration and how a new India's call to action manifests in this. "When we began with Frooti, the largest mango drink that is made in India, we were buying mangoes from India," Chauhan recalls.

The company started with one processor, buying about 500-1000 tonnes of fruit. Today Parle Agro has 14 processors and buys around 1.5 lakh tonnes of fruits indicating a large market opportunity. "We have seen farmers turn entrepreneurs and we encouraged them to upgrade their plants and infrastructure to process the fruits to meet the demand," says Chauhan. This push has resulted in Parle Agro bringing all its business to farmers in India in the case of mangoes. Five of these processors have been with the company for over two decades.