Smile & Take - Zcorp Organic
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sundar Raj, Founder, and CEO of Zcorp Organic, located in Thrissur, Kerala, India.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Food is an inevitable part of our life. In decades the evolution of food culture has been drastic that has both pros & cons. Nowadays, changing food cultures are causing an increase in lifestyle diseases in all age groups. Our vision at ZCORP is to provide a sustainable healthy lifestyle through our various innovations. ZCORP verticals spread from seaweed farming, food &beverages, health & wellness, and pharmaceutical R&D. our present products are in food & beverages & health & wellness; in past years, we launched our two most brands, SMILE & TAKE & CAMOLI. SMILE & TAKE is our general eatable brand that is focused on providing healthy general eatables in the form of cookies, biscuits & other snacks with the enrichment of seaweeds to improve their nutritional properties & added advantages of various bioactive compounds. We developed our own technology & process to turn seaweeds into potential food sources that can be blended with various food products to improve & increase the value addition. "A healthy generation of humans with happy minds." ZCORP
Tell us about yourself
I (sundarraj) started this journey in my last year of college with a small dream my first startup (byown) was in prosthetics & orthotics. I founded it in 2016; we successfully made prototypes & govt funds were initiated due to some delays with funding agencies; the funds were delayed for a long time because of a lack of funds I couldn't take off my startup. My dream was a sustainable healthcare startup. That's why I started in prosthetics; due to the weak market situation, I couldn't grow that was time 2018, I accidentally came to know about seaweeds and future technology in Biotechnology & healthcare; with the help of scientists from ICAR-CIFT I studied seaweeds & its various functionalities for one year there I developed seaweed based functional food technology the journey again started in 2018 I registered my company as private limited in 2018 with self bootstrapped fund I started working on the product & launched it successfully in 2019 of May. After a year of sustenance, the Corona Pandemic made my startup down. In 2021 I planned to shut down my startup & move; that's the time when my auditor helped with introducing some angel investors. There is 2021; the journey again started; now successfully launched two products in seaweed & we are growing.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I always think change should come from us. So when I started the food business. I first changed the way I eat. Then I came to know what my customer needs. I made my customer's snacks guilt-free & nutritious.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Keen innovation. Daily you need to learn something new this cycle of new learning won't stop. If you stop, you will fail. In your busy schedule, you should make time to learn new skill sets.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be a pessimist always.
- Perseverance is key to sustainability.
- Don't wait for anything or anyone; keep walking forward.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://zcorporganic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sundarraj.legends/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundar_rajr/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundar-raj-/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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