How a start-up from Assam became a pioneer in 'black garlic'

A brand from Assam is one of the pioneers in the fledgling black garlic business which is slowly gaining acceptance in the mainstream.

Guwahati: Despite being known for its medicinal properties, garlic is rarely consumed in its raw form due to its pungent odour. This observation by Delhi-returned Assam entrepreneur Trailukya Dutta led to the formation of a start-up 'Tholua' which has emerged as one of the pioneers in the fledgling black garlic business, slowly gaining acceptance in the mainstream.

"We, here in Assam, have known about the benefits of this superfood [garlic] for eons," the Tholua founder says during a conversation with Business Northeast. "Hitherto, ginger had been sold as a candy, but never garlic. Our aged garlic, which is brownish-black black in colour, however, is different. Black garlic contains more antioxidants than regular garlic and tastes sweet, almost like a candy."

Traditionally, the conversion of white garlic into its black form entailed aging the garlic inside bamboo. "Previously, the process would take longer than a year. For Tholua, however, we have developed a technology that transforms the garlic within 15 days. We age the garlic in a controlled atmosphere using heat and humidity," Trailukya, who hails from Dibrugarh district, says when asked for insights about the process, which he calls the brand's "USP."

Forty-year-old Trailukya, who worked in the corporate sector in New Delhi for 15 years, planned to start the venture in 2018. However, his plans hit a roadblock with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. "I was planning to start a business venture when I found out about black garlic. The product was widely publicized by South Korea at the time, but no one in India was doing it," he says. "After deciding to start a black garlic business, I planned to import a machine from China. But my plans were thrown in disarray when the pandemic hit the world."

Not to be deterred, however, Trailukya persevered, and after a long spell of Research and Development (R&D), was able to develop a machine by working with a Delhi-based fabricator. "That is why, I call myself an accidental innovator," he laughs. Tholua's business activity finally commenced in 2021, and today, the brand has two production units in Dibrugarh and Guwahati.

The initial challenge, says Trailukya, was convincing people to shell out such large amounts of money on garlic. "We price our garlic at Rs 3,500 per kilo. Initially, we incurred expenses in promoting the product to our would-be customers in the beginning to create awareness." The entrepreneur reveals that the seed capital for his venture reached Rs 15 lakh. Now, it has has picked up, and "we have a lot of corporate inquiries", he says.

As luck would have it, black garlic is starting to find greater acceptance among the masses.

In a recent episode of MasterChef India, contestant Kriti Dhima from Punjab whipped up a special ice cream using black garlic as one of the key ingredients. This unique concoction earned high praise from Ranveer Brar, one of the judges. Earlier this month, inaugurating the World Food India 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned unique agricultural products being exported from India which included black garlic exported from Himachal Pradesh.

In the aftermath of the Prime Minister’s special mention, Trailukya, who had set up a stall at the food event in Delhi, saw his product fly off the shelves. “We sold off the whole batch”, he says. “We continue to have many inquiries and we are reverting back to them one at a time.”

Now, the entrepreneur is planning to make a breakthrough in the "mood food market", a fairly new concept in India. "The idea behind mood food is that, since the brain consumes 30% of our energy, why do we not have food catering to improve the health of our brain?", Trailukya asks.

"Anxiety, stress, and fatigue are generally higher as we consume foods that are high in salt and sugar to improve our mood. My line of healthy products will generate happiness. Even black garlic has essential amino acids that trigger the happy hormone serotonin, bringing us a sense of euphoria and satisfaction. We also produce wild gooseberries laced with spices that could enhance our cognitive health," he says, adding that his mood food line of products is being sold under his 'Tummum' brand.

At present, Trailukya's firm is also working on medicine to cure arthritis inflammation using black garlic after receiving a grant from the government's Department of Biotechnology.

"As far as the Northeast is concerned," says Trailukya, "we can rule the market by virtue of our limitless potential. "However we, the people of the Northeast, appear to be lagging behind in presentation and quality," he opined. The entrepreneur also feels that vast potential in the agricultural sector also remains untapped. "We can grow garlic in the flood-affected areas of Assam. In the future, I hope to be able to make our farmers aware of the land's true capability", he says.