Sharmmili: Returning to India to Build PureMe Organics and Reimagine the Jaggery Industry

With a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from an Australian university, I was ready for the usual "secure future" I had been trained for: overseas experience, high-paying jobs, and structured career development plans.

When I informed my father that I would be returning to India, he smiled at me and said, "Are you going to become Swadesh’s Shah Rukh Khan?"

To my father, returning to India after a global academic journey looked like abandoning success.

To me, it was the first time I was defining it.

I did not want to create success without impact.

Over 60% of the world's jaggery is sourced from India. There are more than 60,000 cottage industries across the rural landscape, supporting approximately 10 million artisans, as well as 5 million small farmers.

There are also several recent surveys released by the Indian Government's Union Ministry of Finance that estimate that more than 60% of cottage industries are closing for a variety of reasons, including lack of modernization, lack of systematic planning, and market exposure, among others.

Instead of viewing a declining "industry," I saw an entire "industry" waiting on engineers to step in to offer technical solutions.

Thus, PureMe Organics was established as the first #MadeInIndia Research Brand for jaggery.

In order to develop our products further, we began with research and development in the field. We collaborated with several different jaggery farmers to determine how to: Increase production through better equipment, increase energy efficiency through improved energy systems, improve the method by which the molten jaggery is processed in pans, and reduce the amount of jaggery that is lost after it is produced through the implementation of structured storage systems.

Our model connects farmers directly to increase their income stability and reliability. While nearly 30% of the rural workforce in this ecosystem was once made up of women and casual workers, we have now created formal jobs through our work. Today, PureMe operates as a women-owned, women-led business.

To date, we have connected 12 jaggery processing facilities and over 500 farmers; created a processing capacity of 50 tonnes/month; developed 10 new stock-keeping units (SKUs); expanded our geographic footprint to 15 cities and over 350 retail locations; and are also contract manufacturers for the TATA Group's Trent Hypermarket (STAR).

Globally, jaggery is experiencing over a 6.5% compound annual growth rate as consumers increasingly demand clean-label alternatives.

Leaving my career to work in this industry was not a sacrifice.

It was a strategic decision to use engineering as a means to rebuild an entire ecosystem.

Connecting farmers, women, technology, and consumers who are ‘conscious’ about what they purchase and consume.

And this story continues to evolve.

– As narrated by Sharmmili, penned by the Rolling Authors® Team. Visit www.rollingauthors.com, the studio behind bestselling authors.