Kerala Couple Started Growing Mushrooms with ₹250, Now Earn ₹90L/Year

In 2007, to deal with boredom, Kerala-based mushroom entrepreneur Shije pursued mushroom farming from her balcony. Little did she know that it would one day become a full-fledged profitable business. 

Shije’s husband, Thankachan, worked with the Malayala Manorama publication in the HR department. He would be at work the entire day, and Shije, being a homemaker, would be alone. She was bored of sitting at home doing nothing after she would finish her house chores. She wanted to pursue something that interests her and makes her engaged.

As Shije, now 57, and her husband Thankachan, now 65, both hail from agricultural backgrounds, they thought of indulging in agricultural activity. After a lot of research, they chose mushroom farming, looking at its nutritious value. 

Shije would spend most of her time in mushroom farming, while her husband would contribute to it before and after his office hours.  

“Although it all began to deal with my wife’s loneliness, today it has become a flourishing business without even planning to make it so when we started,” said Thankachan, founder of Coon Fresh, in an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia. 

Also Read: Bihar Friends Turn Banana Waste into Rs 50 Lakh Turnover Business

The husband and wife duo started mushroom cultivation in 2007, but Coon Fresh was launched in 2010 to market and sell the mushrooms and its value-added products under the brand.

From balcony to high-tech mushroom farm: 

Before going big, the Kerala couple turned agri entrepreneurs started mushroom cultivation with a test and trial. They experimented with various mushroom cultivations for a year. Through the test and trial, they learnt that  Oyster mushrooms are better as they suit the climate of Kerala and have high nutritious values. It is also easy to grow as compared to other mushrooms.   

With an investment of Rs. 250 for mushroom beds and spawns, the mushroom entrepreneurs started growing mushrooms in their balcony. After one year, as they gained experience and confidence, they invested about Rs. 50,000 to set up 600 mushroom beds on their agricultural land. 

Although they mastered Oyster mushroom cultivation, they had to figure out ways to make their presence in the market to generate revenue. Thankachan said,  “Back then, the awareness of mushroom and its nutritious value was null. People would hardly consider this to include this in their diets,” during the interview with Startup Pedia. 

Hence, they had to work dedicatedly to creating awareness for mushrooms to market their products, as Thankachan was working on a publication called Malayala Manorama. He somehow convinced his respective team to publish articles on mushrooms talking about nutritious values. As a result, more and more people became aware of mushrooms, and orders began pouring in for Coon Fresh.

“Because of our articles (Malayala Manorama articles), we were noticed by different publications and with time, we were all over the place in media across Kerala,” said the founder of Coon Fresh while in conversation with Startup Pedia.

Also Read: Ex-Commando Builds Sustainable Farm in Rajasthan, Earns ₹25 Lakh/Year

When the Kerala-based mushroom brand observed the momentum, the couple launched their brand called Coon Fresh in 2010, where they began selling fresh mushrooms, spawn, and mushroom value-added products. 

Mushroom value-added products include mushroom momos, mushroom cutlets, sandwiches, bread rolls, pickles, chutney powder, millet payasam, and fortified cake. 

Soon the Kerala mushroom brand is going to launch Coon Vita in different flavours. Coon Vita is a trademark product of Coon Fresh, which has the property to tackle vitamin D deficiency in human beings. The founder of Coon Fresh believes that Coon Vita has the potential to revolutionize the mushroom industry. 

While talking about how launching a brand helped their business, Thankachan expressed, “One day we received a call from LuLu International Shopping Mall, Kerala, asking if we can supply them with our products. That day we realized the power of having a brand name,” during the interview with Startup Pedia. 

What started with just 5 beds has now turned into a bio-high-tech mushroom farm of 6000 beds, producing 12 tons of mushrooms annually. The farm is equipped with bioprocessing, biocontrol, biodiversity, and bioefficiency.

Apart from the cultivation of mushrooms and making value-added products, the mushroom brand also runs training programs for college students and farmers. They charge Rs. 500 for couples and Rs. 3000 for groups of 6 or more. So far, the brand has trained 10,000 people.   

“We are running training programmes because we want to empower people to become mushroom cultivators, which not only make them mushroom entrepreneurs but help them lead a healthy life,” said the founder of Coon Fresh during the interview with Startup Pedia. 

From Rs. 2000 to Rs. 90 lakh revenue: 

The mushroom brand of Kerala sells its products through multiple channels, including supermarkets and online platforms supported by the Kerala government, such as KABCO (Kerala government's agricultural product marketing agency) and Kerala Startup Mission. Its products are also available on Amazon. 

Since the beginning of Coon Fresh was small, its revenue was also small. For the initial 3-4 months, it was just Rs. 2000-5000 per month. However, as the awareness increased through media, the revenue also increased. Before creating a brand, the business was making Rs. 3 lakh in 2009.

“Today, our brand’s annual revenue is Rs. 80-90 lakh. However, next year, we are going to double it to Rs. 1.6 crore. Our Coon Vita will contribute to this revenue largely,” the founder of Coon Fresh told ambitious goals while speaking to Startup Pedia.

Also Read: Kerala Woman Turns ₹74 Lakh Loan into Profitable Coconut Oil Business

The couple was recently honoured with Progressive Mushroom Grower 2024 by ICAR Indian Council of Agriculture Research and the Directorate of Mushroom Research. 

The challenge and mission: 

As they say, success never comes without challenges, Coon Fresh faced a huge setback. When they had 300 mushroom beds, orders were pouring in. They were hoping for the best. However, their mushroom farm was attacked by fungus, and all the mushrooms were destroyed. 

“My wife Shije, who is also a managing director of Coon Fresh, was demotivated and said she would not pursue mushroom framing any more. However, I motivated her. Because we believe failures are the stepping stones of success,” said the founder of Coon Fresh. 

While Coon Fresh is working on its Mushroom products and marketing for the brand's expansion, its mission is to empower people, especially women. 

“We are concerned about small-scale farmers, and we want to help them thrive as we thrive in the future,” singed off  Thankachan, founder of Coon Fresh, said at the end of the Startup Pedia interview. 

Also Read: Hyderabad Couple Launches Gardening Business, Earns ₹50 Lakh Annually