PROJECT REPORT

ON

PUBLIC RELATION MANAGEMENT

Mapro Food Pvt. Ltd.

Wai - Surur Road Wai-412803

Submitted by:

SWAPNIL SHIRISH GANDHI T.Y.B.M.S. SEM V (Roll. No. 06)

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI ICS COLLEGE OF ARTS, COMMERCE & SCIENCE

PUBLIC RELATIONS

PUBLIC RELATIONS is the dimension of communication which is specifically concerned with establishing and enhancing goodwill between an organization and the various publics with which it seeks to communicate. Its integrated with advertising, sales promotion and so on. The definition of The Institute of PR The deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

Specific functions relating to PR

1. Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues which might impact, for good or ill, on the operations and plans of the organization. 2. Counseling management at all levels with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication. 3. Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programmes of action and communication to achieve informed public understanding necessary for the success of the organization's aims. 4. Planning and implementing the organization's efforts to influence or change public policy. 5. Managing the resources needed to perform the functions of public relations.

The difference between PR and publicity

PUBLICITY may be any form of information from an outside source used by the news media. It is largely uncontrollable. Although much of public relations is concerned with the gaining of publicity, not all publicity derives from public relations. The responsibility of public relations is to create and influence publicity in such a way as to have a positive impact on the company for which the activity is undertaken. The goals of advertising and PR are somewhat different. The primary goal of advertising, as we have already seen, is to inform and persuade consumers in relation to a specific product offering. The primary goal of PR is to establish goodwill, and to develop favourable attitudes and an understanding of the organization and its products or services. A major distinction between advertising and PR is the credibility of the alternative routes to message delivery. Advertising is inherently based upon the self-interest of the organization placing it and paying for the exposure. The consequence is that it is approached with a greater degree of scrutiny and is often discounted by the reader or viewer. PR messages, appear as editorial content within a newspaper, magazine or television segment and are often seen as 'independent' of the company which originated them. The consequence is that PR stories are less likely to be viewed cynically and are likely to be more acceptable to the intended public

SOME ADVANTAGES OF PR

The nature of the media vehicle can actually enhance the value of a PR message. If the vehicle inherently has a high degree of credibility, then the messages it conveys will tend to be viewed in a similar light. If, for example, a charitable activity is featured prominently within national TV news programmed, that activity effectively receives the 'endorsement' of the television station. Advertising and PR have similar high costs butAdvertising has costs of media space or airtime, together with production costs, and they are high while PR messages are not required direct media cost to the company which originated them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Every work done needs to be followed by a deep sense of gratitude to those who made it through to success. I take this opportunity to thank all those who rendered their immense help & guidance for the completion of this report. My first word of gratitude is due to Mr. Mangesh Sarode, the employee of the Mapro Food Pvt. Ltd in the Research and Development department, my corporate guide, for his kind help and support and for his valuable guidance throughout the project. I am thankful to him for providing I with necessary insights and helping me out by providing necessary information required. I express my sincere gratitude to my project guide Mr. Amol Sir for his valuable guidance & support given to me endlessly from time to time. Finally, I would also like to thank all my dear friends for their kind cooperation, advice and encouragement during the long and arduous task of preparing this report and carrying out the project.

SWAPNIL SHIRISH GANDHI

INDEX
SR. NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Introduction Industry Profile Company Profile Product Profile Manufacturing & Production Operations Management Structure Customers & Competitors The company has obtained ISO 9001:2008 Some facts about Strawberry . Mapro Strawberry Festival Objective of the Project observations and findings

7 8-11 12-13 14-17 18-23 24 25 28-29 30-39 40-47 48 49-50 51

Reference & Bibliography

6

INTRODUCTION
Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd is the manufacturers and resellers of the natural fruit products. It is one of the growing companies of India which is situated at Panchgani Mahabaleshwar Road. It produces jams, confectionaries, squashes, jellies and many more fruit products. It is the fruit processing business over more than forty years and it is known for the innovation and quality in the industry. The Chief Executive Officer of the company is Mayur Vora. It has its manufacturing units in Panchgani, Wahi, and Gurgaon. It is most likely to spread its operation in Delhi and Pathankot. There are more than 500 local employees in the company and about 100 contract labourers. Mapro Foods is a well-known brand in jams and squashes. It is a family business started in 1959 by the Vora family, making jams from strawberries and raspberries. Mapro was one of the first to use traditional ingredients to make plant-based beverage concentrates such as strawberry crush and rose syrup. The company was also the first in India to introduce pectin jellies and fruit sweets.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

FMCG industry, alternativel y called as CPG ( Consumer packaged goods ) industry primaril y deals with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is those consumables which are normall y consumed by the consumers at a regular interval. Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc. The industry also engaged in operations, suppl y chain, production and general management.

FMCG industry economy The competition among FMCG manufacturers is also growing and as a result of this, investment in FMCG industry is also increasing, specificall y in India, where FMCG industry is regarded as the fourth largest sector with total market size of US$13.1 billion. FMCG Sector in India is estimated to grow 60% by 2010. FMCG industry is regarded as the largest sector in New Zealand which accounts for 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Common FMCG products

Some common FMCG product categories include food and dairy products, glassware, paper products, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, packaged food products, plastic goods, printing and stationery, household products, photography, drinks etc. and some of the examples of FMCG products are coffee, tea, dry cells, greeting ca rds, gifts, detergents, tobacco and cigarettes, watches, soaps etc

Market potentiality of FMCG industry

Some of the merits of FMCG industry, which made this industry as a potential one, are low operational cost, strong distribution networks, presence of renowned FMCG companies. Population growth is another factor which is responsible behind the success of this industry.

Leading FMCG companies

Some of the well known FMCG companies are Sara Lee, Nestl, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Coca -Cola, Carlsberg, Kleenex, General Mills, Pepsi and Mars etc.

Market Overview
Total Market Size The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the econom y with a total market size of US$18 billion as of 2007. By 2015, the sector is predicted to scale up to US$33.4 billion. The sector generates 5% of total factory employment in the country and is creating employment for three million people, especiall y in small towns and rural India.

Indias FMCG Market Size (In USD Billion)

Sources: Naukri Hub, IBEF, Chennai Online

10

TOP 10 FMCG Companies in India

S.No. 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

Companies Hindustan Unilever Ltd. ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) Nestl India GCMMF (AMUL) Dabur India Asian Paints (India) Cadbury India Britannia Industries Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Marico Industries

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COMPANY PROFILE
Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd is fruit processing company. It was founded by visionary Shri Kishore Vora. It came into existence in 1959 A. D. The company used to produce jams from strawberries and raspberries when it was established but later it started manufacturing various other products like crushes, squash, confectionaries, sweets, jellies and many more products. The company is one of the leading companies in India. The Managing Director of the company at present is Mayur Vora. The company is situated at CHESSON ROAD, MAHABALESHWAR,

PANCHGANI. The plant is BVQI certified and provided with facility of state of art food park and cold storage. Mapro Foods Private Limited is the flat organization where management works along with their technical and sales functionaries to achieve the vision and mission of MFPL. Mission of MFPL: Mapro will develop, produce, package & sell food products, with high regards for safety, nutrition & taste, which we can confidently give to our customers by implementing and continually improving Quality Management system & food safety management system to meet & exceed customers expectations. History of MFPL: Over 40 years ago, in small town of Panchgani, near Mahabaleshwar, a businessman named Kishor Vora decided to make some Strawberry Jam. Today his 'Hobby' has borne fruit in the shape of Mapro one of the most modern, hygienic, quality- conscious Jam and Fruit Products Manufacturing Concerns in Western India. Mr. Vora could have rested easy on success of his Fruit recipe. But he wanted to on develop innovative ideas such as Vegetarian Jelly Sweets, Fruit Cubes with Fruit Juice and Rose Syrups with Rose Petals . All for the first
12

time in country. Mapro does not use advertising medium like press, radio and television to propagate its product but the taste of product and nutritional value, and uniqueness result in repeat sales. Today Mapro is leading supplier of tasty as well as nutritious fruit product to the International market. Mapro is known to care for its employees. Mapro is a home where there is mutual understanding between employee and employer like members in the family. It features a blend of hard work and dedication. It is now in the process of certification under ISO 9000. Most of Mapro's business is largely concentrated in the Western regions of India. Currently, Mapro exports its products to about 12 countries through merchant distributors; these account for less than 10 per cent of its total sales. It has its manufacturing units in Panchgani, Wahi, Gurgoan. The company is going to open its manufacturing units in Delhi and Pathankot lately. The main market segment currently is in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is also concentrating in expanding its market to the other cities like Kanpur, Lucknow, and in Punjab. The annual growth rate of the company is more than 50%. It earns 40%-50% profits from the sales of its products. The leading product of Mapro is Rose syrup (made from the rose petals and their extracts). For the production of the products the company buys the fruits from both the sectors i.e. the local farmers and market and import from other countries as well. The machineries and other raw materials are imported from various countries like Egypt, China, New Zealand, Australia, etc

13

PRODUCT PROFILE
There are various products produced by the Mapro Foods. It is basically involved in producing jams, Faleros, squashes, crush, syrups, ice creams, etc. The various products manufactured by Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd are listed below along with few details. Jams: Jams are used in various meals courses especially for refreshments and light snacks and they are found tasty with fresh breads buns and toast, parathas, rotis and puri and also on a variety of salted biscuits. Mapro jams are made from the respective fruit pulp, pectin, sugar and citric acid. There are various flavours of the jams that are manufactured. They are:

Mapro Jams
Orange Strawberry Mango Jam Marmalade Jam Mixed Fruit Jam Pineapple Jam Raspberry Jam

Jams are available in the packing of 200 gms (40 bottles), 500 gms (24 bottles), 1 kg (12 pet jars) and 6 kgs (4 HDPE jars).

14

Squashes: Squashes are used in the preparation of Soft drinks in chilled water, soda water and ice Lollies and slushs and mock tails. The key indegrients used by the Mapro Foods for the preparation of the Squash are sugar, water, respective fruit juice or pulp and some added indegrients like pectin acid depending upon the flavour or fruit. The different flavours of squashes are:

Mapro Squash
Lemon Squash Lime Juice Cordial Lemon Barley Water Strawberry Squash Orange Squash Strawberry Cordial Lemon Ginger Pineapple Cordial

Squashes are available in the packing of 700 ml (12 pet bottles). Syrups: Syrups have a number of applications such as to make refreshing soft drinks in chilled water, Soda water and in milk for milk shakes and add a taste to Faloodas and Shahi Lassi and Mock tails. Syrup is also used in preparing Ice creams, as dessert topping and to give a taste to ice lollies and Slushs. It uses the same indegrients as the squashes. The various syrups available are:

15

Mapro Syrups
Rose Syrup Khus syrup Thandai Syrup Mahakool Syrup Strawberry Syrup Kesar Syrup Pineaaple Syrup

Syrups are available in the packing of 700 ml (12 pet bottles). Crushes: Crushes gives a refreshing and nourishing drink when prepared in chilled water and Soda water. Kokum syrup is also used in Ice Lollies and in the preparation of slushs. Mapro Foods uses sugar, water, citric acid, pectin and the respective fruit juice or pulp. The various Mapro Crushes are listed in the table below.

Mapro Crushes
Litchi crush Strawberry Crush Pineapple Crush Mango Crush Alphanso Mango Crush Kokum Crush Kiwi Crush

Mapro Crushes are available in 700 ml (12 pet bottles), 1000 ml (12 pet bottles) and 5000 ml (12 pet bottles).

16

Falchoos: These are the fruity sweets with the real fruit jam. They are made from sugar, glucose, fruit juice, pectin, citric acid and permitted stabilizers. They are available in different packing depending upon the type of Falchoos. There are various kind of falchoos manufactured shown in the table along with the packing details.

Falchoos
Fruity Sweets ( Available in a pack of 100g X 60, 200g X 36, 500g X 12) Jelly Sweets (Available in a packing of 1kg X 6) Falchoos [Available in 15 packs (5 X 8)] Jelly Cubes Fruit Cubes Fruit (Available (Available Pabbles in the in a pack of (Available packing of 200gm X in the pack 5kgs X 4 36, 500gm of 300gms jars) X 27) X 16)

Honey:

Honey is

the

only natural

sweetener

known

that

needs

no

additional

refining or processing to be utilized. Honey is an invert sugar composed of 38 percent fructose, 31 percent glucose, 1 percent sucrose and 9 percent other sugars along with water and small amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids.

As a carbohydrate, honey is a good supplier of energy at 64 calories per tablespoon. Because of honey's unique composition, it is digested a little differently than other sweeteners. When compared to table sugar, honey has less of an effect on blood glucose levels primarily due to its higher fructose content. Honey is available in 200 gm, 500 gm, 1 kgs and 6 kgs packing.

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MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION OPERATIONS 1. Manufacturing Operations

As we mentioned above the company produces jams, confectioneries, crushes, squashes, jellies, sweets, toppings and many more. So basically they have three sections where there are ranges of products produced. The sections are Liquid Section, Jam Section and Falero Section. Under Liquid Section, syrups (Rose, Khus, Thandai, Pineapple, Strawberry, Kesar and Mahakool), crushes (Strawberry, Litchi, Kiwi, Mango, Kokum and Pineapple) and squashes (Orange, Lemon, Lemon Barley Water, Strawberry, Lime Juice Cordial, Lemon Ginger, Strawberry Cordial, and Pineapple cordial) are manufactured. In one day there are 8 lots are manufactured. As manufacturing of liquid section is a cold process, so, normal temperature is to be maintained. There is just one working shift in this section. Under Jam Section, there are a variety of flavours of jams that are produced. These flavours are mango, pineapple, strawberry, orange marmalade, raspberry, mix fruit, etc. There are more than 30 flavours of jams. The production capacity is 10-14 tonnes. The temperature in this section is very high as the boiling process is done at more than 95C. There is just one working shift in this section.

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Under Falero Section, the fruity sweet with taste of pure jam is produced. This is the product which earns more than 50% of the profit. The Faleros have a monopoly as they are produced by Mapro only. It is one of leading product of Mapro as the Rose Syrup. The production capacity in this section is about 18 metric tonnes. It has flavours like Strawberry, Raw Mango, and Alphas. In future Litchi and Guava flavours will also be available in the market. The Mazana chocolates also come under this section. Production of Falero is critical and a temperature of 22C is maintained for its production. The working hours are 24 X 7 i.e., 2 shifts

2. Production Process
We are just showing the production process of jams and jellies just to understand how the company works in this technical part. Raw Materials: Jams and jellies are made from a variety of fruits, either singly or in combination. Most of the fruits are harvested in the fall. The level of ripeness varies. Pears, peaches, apricots, strawberries, and raspberries gel best if picked slightly under ripe. Plums and cherries are best if picked when just ripe. The fruit is purchased from farmers. Most jam and jelly producers develop close relationships with their growers in order to ensure quality. The production plants are built close to the fruit farms so that the time elapsed between harvest and preparation is between 12-24 hours.

The Manufacturing Process: The ingredients must be added in carefully measured amounts. Ideally, they should be combined in the following manner: 1% pectin, 65% sugar, and an acid
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concentration of pH 3.1. Too much pectin will make the spread too hard; too much sugar will make it too sticky. Inspection: When the fruit arrives at the plant, it is inspected for quality, using colour, ripeness, and taste as guides. Fruit that passes inspection is loaded into a funnel-shaped hopper that carries the fruit into pipes for cleaning and crushing. Cleaning, Crushing and Chopping: As the fruit travels through the pipes, a gentle water spray clears away surface dirt. Depending on whether the finished product is to be jam or jelly, paddles push the fruit and or just its juice through small holes, leaving stems and any other excess debris behind. Some fruits, such as citrus and apples may be manually peeled, cored, sliced and diced. Cherries may be soaked and then pitted before being crushed. Pasteurizing the Fruit: The fruit and/or juice continue through another set of pipes to cooking vats. Here, it is heated to just below the boiling point (212 F [100 C]) and then immediately chilled to just below freezing (32 F [0 C]). This process, pasteurization, prevents spoilage. For jelly, the pulp is forced through another set of small openings that holds back seeds and skin. It will often then be passed through a dejuicer or filter. The juice or fruit is transferred to large refrigerated tanks and then pumped to cooking kettles as needed. Cooking the jam and jelly: Premeasured amounts of fruit and/or juice, sugar, and pectin are blended in industrial cooking kettles. The mixtures are usually cooked and cooled three times. If additional flavourings are to be included, they are added at this point.

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When the mixture reaches the predetermined thickness and sweetness, it is pumped to filling machines. Filling the jars: Presterilized jars move along a conveyer belt as spouts positioned above pour premeasured amounts of jam or jelly into them. When the fruit arrives at the plant, it is inspected for quality, using colour, ripeness, and taste as guides. Fruit that passes inspection is cleaned, crushed, and pasteurized. Next, the premeasured mixture is cooked with added sugar and pectin until it reaches the appropriate thickness and taste. Then it is vacuum-packed in jars and labelled. Metal caps are then vacuumed sealed on top. The process of filling the jars and vacuum packing those forces all of the air out of the jars further insuring the sterility of the product. Labelling and Packaging: The sealed jars are conveyed to a machine that affixes preprinted labels. According to law, these labels must list truthful and specific information about the contents. The jars are then packed into cartons for shipment. Depending on the size of the producer's operation, labelling and packaging is either achieved mechanically or manually.

21

The Process of Preparing Jam

Quality Control: In the United States, food processing regulations require that jams and jellies are made with 45 parts fruit or juice to 55 parts sugar. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandate that all heat-processed canned foods must be free of live microorganisms. Therefore, processing plants keep detailed lists of cooking times and temperatures, which are checked periodically by the FDA.

22

Here is a list of raw materials used by Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd.

Items Glass Bottles PET Bottles Outer Cartons

Variants 200gm 200ml 2 PLY 250gm 350ml 3 PLY 100gm 53mm 300gm 500ml 5 PLY 200gm 63mm Plastic Bags 500gm 73mm Labels Crown Cork Gum / Cello Tapes Screw on Cork Cans 400gm 700ml 500gm 1000ml 1000gm 6kg Jar

Inner Cartons ( PVC 50gm ) Caps Others 28mm

Wrapping Shrink Paper Rolls

Category

Items Raspberry Strawberry Kokum Glucose Peach Papaya Apricot Grape Sodium Citrate Bags White Pepper Fruit Flavours Pineapple Cartons Maggateri Seeds Bags Lime Juice Orange

Fresh Fruit/ Partially Mango Processed Litchi Commodity Food Additives Packing Materials Spices Others Sugar Pectin Glass Bottles Cardamom Honey

Citric acid Preservatives Starch PET Bottles Cashew Nut PVC Packs Fennel Labels Caps Khus Seeds Spices Drops

Dry Fruits Kesar

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MANAGERIAL STRUCTURE
Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd uses all types of employees i.e. skilled, semi skilled and unskilled labour. Skilled Labour means the one who has higher level of qualifications as well as the experience. Semi skilled labours means they have less qualifications and the experience is also comparatively less and the Unskilled labour may not have any qualification or experience. In the higher level of management highly skilled people work and at the middle level there may be a combination of skilled as well as the semi skilled labourers is there and at the lower level management there are more number of unskilled labourers. However at all levels of the management there must be a minimum technical as well as conceptual knowledge about the field. The structure of the management is shown in the diagram below:

Managerial Structure
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CUSTOMERS AND COMPETITORS

Customers Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd has customers from a wide range of people. Mostly the customers of the company are children as the products of Mapro are targeted for this group only i.e. Mapro produces chocolates and jellies and jams and many more which is mostly liked by the children only. But this doesnt mean that other age groups are not covered. Competitors Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd is in food business which is highly and rapidly growing business & has few competitors also. Some of them are listed below: Haldiram: Manufactures Syrups & exports of the syrups have increased by 20% since 2003 touching 18,000 bottles in 2005. Kissan: In jams, Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd is close second to Kissan in market share. Malas: It manufactures jam, crush, squash, cordials, syrups which is same as the manufacturing of Mapro Foods Pvt Ltd. Manama: Their range of products consists of cordials, syrups, fruit and chocolate dessert toppings.

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A range of nutritive, lip-smacking products

Mapros portfolio of products provides a high quotient of natural fruit in the form of Jams, Fruit bars and chews, Syrups, Crushes, Squashes, and Dessert Toppings. Its range of premium products such as Thandai crush and Kesar syrup are made from the finest selection of exotic ingredients. Mapros products are known for their wholesome taste and quality, as also their natural goodness and nutritive value.

Mapro was the pioneer of fruit-based confectionery in India, with its first jelly sweets being made from fruit juices and liquid glucose. The Falero pulpy fruit chews, which are better known as pates de Fruit in the rest of the world are excellent exemplars of Mapros very own Innovation Labs. Faleros come in unique indigenous flavours that are suited to the Indian palate,

26

like Kacchi Kairi (Raw Mango), Alphonso Mango and Strawberry.

An emphasis on excellence and quality With its state-of-the-art production facilities, Mapro is committed to developing, producing, packaging, storing and selling food products, with high regard for safety, nutrition and taste, by continually improving quality and food safety management systems to meet and exceed customers expectations.

27

The company has obtained ISO 9001:2008

Certification and ISO 22000:2005 certification from BVQi. The implementation of B. R. C. Standards is being planned in the near future.

Having started with a capacity of 10MT of processed fruit products a year, the Company today has a processing capacity of about 30,000MT per Year with its factories in the Shendurjane village of Satara district, Panchgani town, Gureghar village of Mahabaleshwar tehsil and Indora town of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh.

28

We would like to hear from you. Please send us an email on info@mapro.com or contact us through mail, phone or fax:

Mapro Foods Private Limited Mapro Food Park & Main Unit Administrative Office Mapro Garden and chocolate Plant Registered Office & Confectionary Plant 122, Shendurjane Wai-Surur Road, Wai 412803. Dist. Satara, Maharashtra India Phone +91.2167.222111/308557/308561 Fax +91.2167.222031 15/1B, Gureghar Panchgani-Mahabaleswar Road, Mahabaleswar 412 806. Dist. Satara, Maharashtra India Phone +91.2168.240112 / 240199 Fax +91.2167.222031 Kushal Kunj, 3 Chesson Road, Panchgani 412 805. Dist. Satara, Maharashtra India Phone +91.2168. 240111 / 240114

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Some facts about Strawberry .

One of the lemans understanding why this fruit is called Strawberry is as interesting as the story Strawberries arrival to Mahabaleshwar.

Strawberry as it is coined is composed of two words, Straw + Berry. According to the dictionary any fleshy fruit (Like Strawberry) is called a berry. It was a traditional agricultural practice for to cover the beds with straw to enhance vegetative growth of the fruit, hence it was coined as Strawberries.

30

History of Strawberry how it came to Mahabaleshwar

As to my memories we only saw this fruit for the first time when the honorable Governor Sir John Malcolm, of the British Raj from the Mumbai Presidency, visited Mahabaleshwar some time during 1828

Sir John Malcolm with the Raja Pratapsingh of Satara, in real sense were the promoters or dedicated to the development of Nahar (Mahabaleshwar) as a health resort a sanatorium for the British officers & their families

31

Sir John Malcolm not only made the stay at this hill retreat full of comforts & luxuries but also blended many of the British life styles with that of the local & explains why the royal fruit was cultivated here.

The climatic condition, & more important the composition of the soil encouraged Sir, John Malcolm to cultivate this royal fruit on the plateau first.

Prisoners of war, who served their sentence in Mahabaleshwar were thought to cultivate the European vegetables & fruits & were also engaged in cultivation of strawberries

The eastern alluvial slopes adjourning the Venna Lake were a popular sight for the cultivation of Strawberries. The cultivation of Strawberries was not as fruitful else where in India as in Mahabaleshwar

Cultivation of Strawberries in the traditional fashion was a tedious practice as germination of Strawberry samplings from seed gave only 1 to 2 % results.

The formation of beds, irrigation were a craft then as the fruit grows very close to the soil the texture & moisture from the soil very often spoilt or caused infection to the fruits & protection of these fruits from wild animals & birds was another major hindrance

Availability of resources & the hindrances in cultivation made the crop rather precious. Strawberries were sold at 2 to 3 rupees per dozen, a fruit which the rich could only afford then.

Strawberries were very often eaten as a delicacy, preparation of the Strawberry with Cream, Fruit salads; Puddings, Cakes & ice cream were some of the major recipes, marking many of the celebrations & parties. The elderly & knowledgeable were at times seen engaged in making Strawberry Wine though the percentage was negligible.

Hence majority of the fruit cultivated was consumed by the British families, and a little given to the Indian counterparts as a mark of gift.
32

The fall of the British regime, was the starting point of rise of the struggle for the cultivation of the so called Precious fruit

Some of the prisoners of war who were left behind or rather preferred to stay back after the end of the British regime, the locals who were in service of the British & a very few local farmers persuaded the cultivation with more difficulties.

By this time consumption of the fruit was now low due to the absence of the Britishers and was now dependent on other buyers who were generally the local elite and a few tourist who had now started visiting this beautiful hill station.

Selling of strawberries to the local surroundings was not very easy, the highly perishable fruits very often deteriorated in transport.

The fruits were mostly packed in small hand woven bamboo baskets stuffed with fresh cabbage leaves

As the popularity of the hill station kept drawing more tourists annually, the yield of strawberry kept increasing and kept increasing the problems that the farmers faced.

Very soon the farmers realized the potential in the Strawberry cultivation and dedicated time and money towards the better methods of the Strawberry cultivation.

Early 60s varieties like Nigero, Australian were cultivated these Strawberries were supposed to be medium in size, bright color and had a sweet taste and a strong aroma of the fruit.

The farmers were justified with reasonable rate to their crop in the early part of the cultivation but later faced big challenges when the yield kept increasing, no mediums of marketing were available and very often the industrial buyers paid even less than the actual cost price of the crop
33

to the farmers or merely turned down the offer of buying and throwing away or destroying the crop

would literally result in t he

It was then during this period when in a small room in a cottage on Chesson Road, Panchgani a pharmacist by profession started experimenting the processing of fresh fruits & especially the Strawberries which were available in abundance.

Young and timid full with determination and lust in fruit processing Mr. Chandrakishor Vora was soon a ray of hope to the farmers who kept seeing the ups and downs in the cultivation of strawberries.

With hope of justice to the farmers toil and love for this beautiful Hill Station Mr. Vora innovated fruit products for the first time in India.

Early Sixties Mr. Vora was gifted land in the Bhoodaan implemented by Acharya Vinobha Atre and set up a small shed to collect the yield of Strawberries from the surrounding farmers.

34

Farmers had the liberty of selling the surplus fruit, also were accepted the small fruits which had a mass production & a lesser market value.

Mr. Voras strong determination & Commitment towards a good cause in processing wholesome nutritious fruit products, & true evaluation of the hard efforts put in by the farmers was able to sustain all odds ups and down.

Growers were soon convinced by the fact of the value of their produce endorsing the confidence in the new growers

The gradual growth in the tourist arrivals, available of reliable source of transportation of fruits to the nearing towns and cities and the very strong faith in rising local buyer was the basic cause in the rise of Strawberries.

Today when I turn back the journey of the European fruit gives the feel of the rise of the Strawberian Era!!!

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Mapro Strawberry

By this time Mr. Chandrakishor Vora was not only enjoying experimenting and making wholesome nutritious fruit produces, he found it difficult to cope with the market requirement innovative varieties of fruit produces, nutritious value and taste kept the demand uphill.

Mr. Vora was now experiencing something not every entrepreneur would experience in short span of time, A strong faith from the growers and a deep sense mental satisfaction to once who were not confident of the fruit they would get of their hard work.

It was very difficult for Mr. Vora, towards not getting carried away; being a Gandhiwadhi he persuaded a very different outlook towards his business and the society. A strong believer in commitment towards his society, being a moral idol to the society and beating a path of success

36

not many entrepreneurs would follow, Mr. Vora was leading a sure successful path to be rapidly growing industry.

Accreditations.

It was an era of growth for the small industry in leaps and bounds with its processing unit being shifted from the small cottage to a bigger processing unit near Sydney Point, and saw growth in folds it was not only in the financial aspects of the small industry but also boosted the moral of the employees, suppliers and buyers of this rapidly growing Industry

The growth of Mapro was not alone, the growth in the yield and cultivation of Strawberries was even many more folds higher. Strawberries were now the first most popular identity of Mahabaleshwar and the produces from Mapro were the sweet memories of Mahabaleshwar.

The result was very simple and known the intake of Strawberry at Mapro was now in tones. Mapro was not only a medium of buying the Strawberries and processing, it was an avenue to suffice the various industries requirement of strawberries, and a single platform for the Strawberry growers.

Mr. Mayur Voras commitment towards the society was the basic element in the support of growth of strawberry cultivation, his innovative attitude, knowledge and supportive nature revolutionized the Strawberry cultivation, many of the agricultural problems and marketing grievances saw a one roof solution.

1987 was marked with a mile stones achievement for Mapro with the commissioning of the processing unit at village Gureghar.

The growth on the Mapro end was embarked with a many fold growth to the Strawberry cultivators with every day opening to a new avenue be it information, marketing, collaboration, exploiting government agencies and mediums and very often Mapro filled the gaps of the financial constrains serving as a pacemaker for the Strawberry cultivators.

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The innovative ideas brought By Mr. Mayur Vora cooked the finest recipes of fruit produces and was now diversified to a very large scale industry supplying Strawberries & Strawberry produces to major Industries also.

The Gureghar sight was soon popularizing as Mapro Garden a service point to serve the customer in a Mapro style.

Mapro Garden has been developed as a relation marketing a ground to experiment, study rehearse and understand the buyers taste and perhaps why has been the first biggest popular tourist destination any where in Mahabaleshwar.

Supported and Managed by Mrs. Rajvi Vora Mapro garden is the only processing unit which allows you to actually visit the spotless clean HACCP accredited and ISO 9001 2002 certified kitchen.

So popular and confident of its produces that you are virtually allowed sample all the produces

Mapro Garden an expression by itself, a experience in it surrounding is perhaps why people keep visiting, & perhaps why it is the most popular tourist destinations in the hill station today.

Ingrained with customer care, service and satisfaction, it only experience of its kind. Is the most popular organization among the local students a place where hundred of students have worked as in term trainees, and very proud responsible social beings of the society today.

February 12th 2006, a mile stone achievement in our history, the inauguration of Mapro Food Park, Village Shendurjane took place at the hands of Hon Prithviraj Chavan, Minister for the Prime Ministers Office.

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Mapro Strawberry Festival

Mapro Food Park houses the state of the art, biggest cold storages of western Maharashtra with a capacity of 4000 metric tones. Centralized Ware houses for raw materials & finished goods and dispatch terminals, indigenously developed syrups & jams processing unit with a capacity of 40,000 liters of syrups or 7 tones of jam per shift Pasteurizing unit with a capacity of processing 7 tones of fruit pulp per shift & will be soon commissioning 8 tones capacity of soft confectionaries. Love for what one has been doing, pursuing a good cause, a strong determination & commitment towards the society with a social cause has born fruits to a small kitchen to one of western Indias leading fruit processing unit Mapro Foods Private Ltd. Mapro strawberry Festival Celebrated during the Good Friday Weekend marks the celebration of the peek yield of the delicious mouth watering red berry .strawberry The major inviting event of the strawberry festival is the free farm tours, where the tourists are able to make visits to the farms in the surrounding villages. Allowed to experience the village side, the food and pluck and eat as much strawberry as you want

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Mapro Garden the venue of the Strawberry festival serves baskets full of strawberry; all free eat as much as you can

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Interesting facts about strawberry

Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside. The average strawberry has 200 seeds. The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen. To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals. In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return. Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin. Needless to say, she did not bathe daily. Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring There is a museum in Belgium just for strawberries

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Strawberries are a member of the rose family. Ninety-four percent of US households consume strawberries. Americans eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus another 1.8 pounds frozen per capita.

Strawberries are low fat, low calorie; high in vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, potassium Strawberries, as part of a 5 a day fruit & vegetable program, can help reduce the risk of cancer & heart attacks. In medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity. Folk lore states that if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, youll soon fall in love In France, Strawberries were thought to be an aphrodisiac. A soup made of strawberries, thinned sour cream, borage, & powered sugar was served to newlyweds.

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Over 53 percent of seven to nine-year-olds picked strawberries as their favorite fruit Fifty percent of the worlds favorite fruit, the only fruit in the world to play a medicinal, cultural, social, traditional and even architectural role in day to day life. Historical facts confirm to Strawberries first cultivation in ancient Rome a fruit cultivated all over the world -A member of the rose family, strawberries contains salicylic acid, which rids the skin of dead cells, allowing it to absorb moisture more efficiently. Strawberries also have a mild bleaching effect on the skin and help heal blemishes. Strawberries make an excellent cleanser, moisturizer, and skin-softener. They are rich in healthy-skin vitamins A & C and have a neutral PH so they are mild.

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Any fleshy fruit that grows seasonally in coined as a berry, the traditional practice to protect the fruit from the weather, the texture and moisture of the soil straw was brought in to use while cultivating traditionally, and hence straw below & the berry above helped to coined the term logy Strawberry

Strawberry as seen around the world Areas where it grows in abundance, America 5 lakh 25 thousand metric tones Second higest is spain 1 lakh 75 thousand metric tones Followed by China with 1 lakh fifty thousand metric tones India 20 thousand metric tones that is India grows only 2 % of the worlds strawberry grown America can make 3 garlands across the globe of strawberry fruit Grows wild in England in a variety Staple fruit of Wimbledon

Local strawberry facts Sir john Malcolm in the early 18th century developed this as a hill retreat for the British officers especially to escape the Indian summer heat. Sir, J Malcolm built cottages, Hospitals, recreation centers. It was the ear of the arrival of the British culture, life styles and which also brought to Mahabaleshwar the cultivation of vegetables and fruits.and are marked as the arrival of Strawberries to the hill station During the British regime prisoners of war who served as the servants and care takers to the British families, were actively involved in the cultivation of Strawberries. The local population and British servants who stayed back still practiced the cultivation of Strawberries, and is now a major crop of the plateau 1 cup of strawberries contains 50 calories only Season from to November to first of June till monsoon starts Area under cultivation near about 2200 acres in Mahabaleshwar Thesil 1400 Farmers families covering 34 villages cultivate 20 thousand metric tons of strawberries First consumption in the local market then nearby metros and last to fruit processing industries Highest local one day production can cross 120 tones Traditional varieties before 1992 are Austrilian , banglore, Nigro Latest verities are as follows , imported from California are Sweet Charlie, Rubygem, Camarosa, Albion, Festival, Winter down, with sweet Charlie being the most popular variety

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Sweet Charlie

Rubygem

Camarosa

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Albion

Winter down

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OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The project is prepared to fulfil various objectives. The objective to prepare this project is: I. II. III. For better understanding of the working of the food industry. To make the students understand the importance of quality and hygiene. To understand how the firm works in a real world.

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OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

During our visit to Mapro Foods Pvt. Ltd and while preparing this report, I observed various things. They are: Mapro takes special care of hygiene and quality. We found all the labours directly involved in the production were wearing gloves and hair caps. To take care of hygiene outsiders or visitors were not allowed to enter the production area. To see the production operations, a balcony was there i.e. from the top. They send their employees to different countries like in China to work there and also for trainings. Whenever there is any damage in the machines then those employees are called back for repairing the machines. These machines are not repaired in India as they are extremely costly. There is more than 118000 metric tonnes of consumption of the strawberry throughout the year. They manufacture luxury chocolates like Mazana. It is found in special stores as this chocolate is not preferred by the normal people due to its cost. It is sold at the price of Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 per piece. Mazana is generally exported. Falero has a monopoly type of market and this product earns more than 60% profit on its sales. There are 500 local employees. There are 100 contract labourers employed as well.

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This company grew without the help of any kind of advertisement. It is known by its product and quality and not because of the external advertisements.

The company earns a profit of about 40-50% profit in an average. Mapro is the first company to introduce pectin jellies and fruit sweets in India. Mapro has been growing consistently at the rate of 25-30 per cent in the past few years. The Company has expanded capacity to now produce 30000 MT of processed frozen foods P. A. It is setting up a Frozen and Fresh Food Distribution Chain in Indian Metros to service the fast growing modern Organised Retail Supermarkets being set up in India.

Estimated Annual Sales (USD): US$5 Million - US$10 Million. Mapro has achieved ISO-HACCP, ISO-9001 status certified by BVQI.

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REFERNCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

I took certain references and various help while preparing the product. The internet was the main source from where we found the information and also the employee of the firm Mr. Mangesh Sarode who was our guide during our visit to the company. The list of URLs used for the reference is listed below: 1. http://www.maprofoods.com/ 2. http://www.trademart.in/MAPROE218.htm 3. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Mapro-Foods-Plans-To-Spread-Its-Wings/89342 4. http://www.foodindustryindia.com/newfood 5. http://agriculture.indiabizclub.com/manufacturer/mapro_food 6. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2006/09/15/stories/2006091500090200.htm 7. http://www.tradenote.net/trade1_companies.html 8. www.indiacatalog.com 9. http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=17811&sectionid=32 10. http://www.haldiram.com/ 11. http://www.kissanfood.com/

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