No Job, No IIT Tag, But He Is Earning Millions (A Bizarre Story)

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No Job, No IIT Tag, But He Is Earning Millions (A Bizarre Story)

A true engineer is inventive and always seeks to explore newer ways of solving problems. This may be one of the reasons why many engineers switch to entrepreneurship which allows them to experiment with creative ideas. In fact, the innovative streak of engineers makes them great entrepreneurs. Here is another such story of an engineer who explored his farming skills and innovated his way through to set up a venture worth millions.

Falling back on his farming roots and monetizing his farming skills, Sajan Sasi cultivates moringa, mango, and everything that screams nostalgia to him.

Agripreneur Sajan Sasi was a Kerala-based engineer who moved to Melbourne fifteen years ago for work but soon quit his job to start his organic farms. While living on his own, he realized the potential of moringa— an ingredient that felt like home in a foreign city. He discovered that there was a huge demand for this ingredient in the foreign market and was sold at fancy prices.

Sasi did the math and jumped at the chance of capitalizing on this opportunity. It has been five years and now the farms are spread over 32 acres of land, fetching him millions through export to more than 10 countries in the US and Europe.

Homesickness led to this business idea

Sasi shared that while growing up, his mother used to put moringa in every dish and although he didn’t like it at that time, this is what he missed the most in Australia. When he started cooking in Australia, he decided to read up on this ingredient. He not only discovered its nutritional value but its market potential as well.

With some research, he was able to determine the market size of moringa and the prices at which it was sold. He saw this as a golden opportunity and decided to start his farming business. However, Melbourne’s extreme weather for a roadblock.

That is when he went to Ayr, located in the northern part of Queensland, on a family trip. Upon seeing the favorable climate and nutrient-rich soil, his intention to start his farming business became firm. He purchased 20 acres of land to try his luck at farming.

The venture soon turned into a big success with exports to more than 10 countries in the US and Europe.

USP: moringa with a twist

While these drumsticks were sold in bundles in Melbourne and Sydney markets, Sasi decided to add value to his final produce. His desire to make a product that is convenient to use and can sustain for a longer time led him to make moringa powder, his bestseller, made by crushing dried leaves.

Moringa powder has a longer shelf life and is sold in 50g, 100g, and 500g packets between the price range of $50 and $70.

What is next in the store?

With his profits from the moringa business, he now owns 32 acres of land and has scaled to cultivating several Indian varieties of mangoes. This fruit is also exported to different parts of the world.

Other than moringa and mango, vegetables like chili, okra, brinjal, tapioca, and other tubers are cultivated in small quantities. These items haven’t hit the stores yet. However, after employing enough laborers to harvest the produce, Sasi is planning to launch them in the market soon.