Honey Money: The story of Kashmir Apiaries

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS FREE HONEY: Director Shahzada Kapoor, 37, at a farm. Way back in 1978, Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University was offering farmers free hives to run trials of a bee species that had just been introduced in India, the Italian Apis mellifera. Shahzada's father Jasjit Singh, then a 27-year-old small-time businessman with an acre of land, wanted to rear bees but did not qualify for the free hives. So he decided to buy five hives of Apis mellifera from farmers for Rs 1,000, a princely sum then for a man of his means. Today, he rears more than 50,000 bee colonies - a record - on 70 acres near Ludhiana.

Jasjit Singh, 59, and wife Parvinder Kaur, 56, who is also the Managing Partner, at their honey storage facility at village Doraha near Ludhiana. With a storage capacity of 10,000 tonnes, it is India's biggest.

'WE ARE ALL MICHELANGELOS': To increase visibility amongst customers, the KAE family travels frequently (though not in the BMW above). Shahzada's 31-year-old brother Raja Singh Kapoor (in striped T-shirt),who is also a director, left for the US to set up a warehouse there. The KAE family shares responsibilities such as purchasing, marketing, branding, finance and social work. As the patriarch says, it is never too early to start being creative. Shahzada's 10-year-old son Yuvraj (in red patka or headgear) will soon start spending his Saturdays in the factory and earn his first buck.

ART OF LIVING: Shahzada (on sofa), mother Parvinder (on the bed) and sister Ritu Kapoor, 24, are putting into practice what they learnt at IIM Bangalore. These include investment in branding and entry into the domestic market as suppliers to private labels of retail chains and through their own honey boutiques.

Not Just Honey: Shahzada has staked a lot on launching products in line with modern lifestyles. His organic honey - 5,000 tonnes a year - fetches a premium. Royal Jelly, rich in proteins, and Bee Venom, used in arthritis treatment, are next in line.

KEY DIFFERENTIATOR: Buyers in the US and Europe only accept honey of Apis mellifera. Had Jasjit Singh been rearing any local variety, he could never have cracked the foreign markets.

Local Markets Beckon: KAE is a leading supplier to private labels such as Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, Future Group and Easy Day. A foray into snacks has found a ready taker in Caf Coffee Day.

Global Game: Earlier, KAE used to send its samples to Germany for testing, spending Rs 40,000 on each lot. Its new lab saves this cost while helping it to meet strict European standards.

Quality First: With dozens of small bee-keepers supplying honey from different flora, ensuring a consistent taste and quality can be difficult. Jasjit Singh puts his trust in science.

The global honey market is projected to grow to 1.9 million tonnes by 2015, according to Global Industry Analysts. KAE is expanding its capacity this year to 23,000 tonnes to tap this opportunity.