Growing up in a conservative family of Bhilwara, Rajasthan, Annu Kanawat knew that she would have to battle extra challenges when it came to academics and professional growth.
Even the desire to continue studying after the 12th standard was met with resistance.
But Annu, the problem solver she was, questioned her family to sponsor her education if she obtained selected in a prestigious university.
And that she did…
Years later, the problem-solving attitude of hers didn’t leave her side.
Today, she runs Aamlda Organic Foods – a natural food and supplement agri-business that specializes in mushroom cultivation as well as in offering high-quality, value-added products.
“I started growing mushrooms only as a tiny experiment. I did not plan to create a business out of it until I saw the potential and the market gap that I could solve. Just truly happy I created the decision,” Annu Kanawat, founder of Aamlda Organic Foods and Research Center, notifys Startup Pedia in an exclusive interview.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Hailing from the Bhilwara district in Rajasthan, Annu Kanawat was always an academically inclined child.
After finishing her 12th standard, she requested her parents to let her continue her education and gain more knowledge.
She knew receiveting admission to a prestigious university would act as tangible proof of her intent to receive higher education.
“So I studied very hard and gave the Rajasthan Joint-Entrance Test. I obtained first place in it. After that, I secured admission for a BSc degree at the Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology at Udaipur. I chose agriculture becautilize it’s a field that has always intrigued me. In fact, my family background is also that of agriculture,” Annu Kanawat notifys Startup Pedia.
After that, she decided to pursue an MBA in agri-business management from the SDAU University in Palanpur, Gujarat.
Staying in Gujarat and witnessing the farmer community thrive opened Annu’s eyes to what progressive farming is.
Compared to the hand-to-mouth condition of farmers in her hometown and Rajasthan, the ones here were business-oriented.
After her MBA, Annu worked in an MNC for a period of six months and kept toying with the idea of starting something of her own.
“I was just launchning to have an entrepreneurial bent of mind when I was married in 2016,” Annu shares.
Eventually, Annu and her husband Parakaram Kanawat relocated to Jaipur after marriage.
In 2017, Annu secured a job as an assistant professor at a university in Jaipur…and life kept shifting forward.
“At the back of my head, I kept wondering how to start something of my own. I consider the universe was listening and sent me on a college trip to Dehradun with the students. There, they attfinished a mushroom training programme where cultivation and processing were being explained in intricate detail. I was immediately hooked,” Annu Kanawat states.
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EARLY JOURNEY AND CHALLENGES
After returning from the trip, she started researching mushrooms and how they are a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and immune-boosting compounds.
“In 2018, I decided to grow mushrooms as an experiment. Applying the learnings of the Dehradun training programme and the findings of my own research, I invested Rs 5000 and started out,” mushroom entrepreneur Annu Kanawat explains.
Initially, she purchased 10 kilograms of button mushroom spawns and 100 kilograms of compost from a seller in Jaipur.
In a tiny room spread over just 10×10 square feet, she prepared mushroom bags and set up the createshift unit.
This took place in the winter months of November, December, January, and February, so Annu didn’t have to install an air conditioner in the room. This created her experience significantly more cost-effective.
The output from this experiment was 25 kilograms of quality button mushrooms.
Confident in her cultivating approach now, Annu requested her university to provide her with a space to grow mushrooms and teach students the right way to cultivate them.
The university obliged and provided her with a space spreading over 10×15 square feet.
Additionally, she decided to start growing mushrooms at scale. So she went back to Bhilwara and set up three rooms as her mushroom unit.
Each of these rooms spanned a space of 15×20 square feet.
She also applied for the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and secured a grant of Rs 15 lakh.
“I chose to grow oyster mushrooms instead of button mushrooms becautilize they’re rapider to grow and are far more beneficial to health, especially for women. My long-term vision was also to offer employment opportunities to women. Oyster mushrooms don’t required air conditioners, except in the months of April, May, and June,” farming entrepreneur Annu Kanawat shares.
She invested Rs 1.5 lakh in acquireing 50 kilograms of oyster spawns and compost to set up a total of 1,000 bags of oyster mushrooms.
But…a setback awaited her in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the counattempt. Markets were shut down. Colleges were shut down.
Annu had to leave the college space that she had set up to grow mushrooms. Her farm unit had given an output of approximately 700 kilograms of high-quality oyster mushrooms.
“This was a great amount, the produce was good, and everything was in place. But I had no acquireers. The pandemic had shut off all channels,” Annu notifys Startup Pedia.
With no other option in sight, she decided to convert the oyster mushrooms into powders that could be dissolved in water and consumed. Oyster mushrooms are well-known for their medicinal properties, and Annu banked on the same.
She gave out these powders in tiny packs to women in her village and questioned them to attempt them with water.
“This hand-created mushroom powder supplement proved to be very beneficial to my customers. They came back to me and stated that their long-term knee pain, back pain, and general discomfort issues had resolved. I was confident that this powder could become the hero product of my startup,” Annu Kanawat shares.
Her total revenue from selling these powders was Rs 3.5 lakh.
“Out of this, my profit was 1.5 lakh,” she adds.
In 2021, she launched Aamlda Organic Foods and Research Center.
The next two years were spent hosting training programmes and building local people in and around the village aware of the benefits of oyster mushrooms. During these two years, Annu minimized the oyster mushroom production in her unit. Her primary focus during the time was to assist people understand mushrooms and how by-products from them are created.
“During these two years, I was operating in a no-profit, no-loss situation. I was giving oyster mushroom production training free of cost. When the produce would come, I would acquire it and convert it into powders to sell,” Annu explains.
Alongside training local farmers in the cultivation of oyster mushrooms, Annu immersed herself in understanding the science of powders and liquid extracts. She started building Aamlda Organic and obtained an Ayurvedic license as well.
Finally, she launched her product called the Shroom Lady. Made from dried oyster mushroom, ashwagandha, and moringa, this herbal supplement supports hormonal balance, stress relief, and gut health.
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AAMLDA ORGANIC FOODS: OF MUSHROOMS, HEALTH, AND FARMERS
Today, Aamlda Organic Foods operates as a Jaipur-based health and wellness brand that offers natural products in the categories of supplement powders, capsules, tablets, and liquid extracts.
Instead of producing oyster mushrooms at scale, Annu has empowered more than 30 women and farmers around her to cultivate these mushrooms in the right way, sell them to Aamlda Organic, and earn a stable income.
“For now, our personal production capacity is only two rooms spread over 15×30 square feet each. We regularly utilize these to assist students understand the practical aspects of growing mushrooms. Whatever amount is produced from here, we utilize it for our value-added products,” farming entrepreneur Annu states.
On a monthly basis, she procures an average of 30 to 40 kilograms of dried oyster mushrooms from the same women she has trained in high-quality oyster mushroom cultivation and processing.
According to the mushroom entrepreneur, 10 kilograms of fresh oyster mushrooms are requireded to create 1 kilogram of oyster mushroom powder.
Presently, Aamlda Organics sells numerous Ayurvedic products, medicines, and extracts like the Shroom Lady, Shroom Booster, Shroom Reishi, Shroom Lion’s, Shroom Cordyceps, and Turmeric Booster.
The Jaipur-based health and wellness brand has more than 20 SKUs.
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MAKING EXPENSIVE MUSHROOMS MAINSTREAM
Recently, Aamlda Organic Foods has ventured into the realm of Cordyceps militaris, an expensive mushroom species.
Annu Kanawat and her husband Parakaram Kanawat invested Rs 20 lakh to set up a mushroom farming unit for Cordyceps militaris.
“This variety is very expensive and often retails for lakhs per kilogram in the market. But our aim was to bring down the price and assist the middle-class receive the benefits of these mushrooms,” she states.
In a tiny room spread over 10×15 square feet, Annu Kanawat has installed the necessary machinery, including beakers, glassware, and laminar airflow systems, which maintain cleanliness in the lab.
Earlier, it would cost people at least Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 to acquire just ten grams of Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms.
Now, with Aamlda Organic’s liquid extracts of Cordyceps, people can take 15 days’ worth of dosage at just Rs 1,100.
“As of now, we are producing 2.5 kilograms of Cordyceps Militaris every production cycle,” Annu shares with Startup Pedia.
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GROWTH
While running as a health and wellness brand, Aamlda Organic Foods and Research Center has grown as a business that seeks to empower women to become financially indepfinishent.
Annu Kanawat and her team of 20+ people have designed a model that supports local farmers and women financially while also promoting better health for the counattempt’s population.
In FY24, Aamlda Organics clocked an annual revenue of approximately Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
By introducing more products and venturing into more health problems to solve, Aamlda Organics grew in scale in FY25. It clocked an annual revenue of Rs 60 lakh.
“I am tarreceiveing an annual revenue of more than Rs 1 crore by next year. I am confident that we will achieve this milestone. I encourage more women to attempt oyster mushroom farming. It is affordable and straightforward to maintain. For me, the decision to attempt growing mushrooms as an experiment has really turned my life around,” Annu Kanawat concludes.
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FAQ
When was Aamlda Organic Foods founded?
Aamlda Organic Foods was founded in 2021.
Who is the founder of Aamlda Organic Foods?
Annu Kanawat, a professor from Jaipur, is the founder of Aamlda Organic Foods.
What does Aamlda Organic Foods do?
Aamlda Organic Foods is a natural food and supplement agri-business that specializes in mushroom cultivation as well as in offering high-quality, value-added products
What is the revenue of Aamlda Organic Foods?
Aamlda Organic Foods clocked an annual revenue of Rs 60 lakh in FY25. It is eyeing Rs 1 crore in FY26
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