Some rumours spread in the local circuits that the food department had raided our oil mill, massive adulteration had been detected, and we closed the matter by paying a hefty bribe. When whispered carefully, people believe it to be true. It is spread like wildfire when you say it is a secret and not to be told to anyone. The gossip carries more weight when it is that of a famous brand that people trust. Negative news attracts people and brings the haters together. Such rumours are good for us in a way, as the brand gets more entrenched in people’s minds. But, few people believe this misinformation, and we wish to clarify this officially from our side.

Cocoguru brand has been built to benefit farmers and consumers. It delivers quality coconut oil to consumers who are repaying their faith in us. The brand is growing stronger by the day, getting into newer territories, adding more products, and improving its quality. You don’t have to believe us or the rumours unquestioningly. You may consider the following points before you form an opinion:

Premium product
Cocoguru is sold at a premium compared to other brands in the local market, so cutting costs by adulteration is unnecessary. It is not sustainable to sell at a premium by delivering inferior adulterated products.

Read more: cocoguru.com/blog/yet-another-price-increase

Brand
We believe in the power of the brand. We appreciate that the brand as an asset is more valuable than all the physical assets like land, buildings, plants and machinery, saleable inventory, etc. So, every activity we do should be geared towards building and nurturing the brand. Adulteration or shortcuts are the quickest ways to kill it. The Cocoguru brand is already 14 years old and built to last. We are in it for the long term, not just for short-term profits.
Read more: cocoguru.com/blog/adulteration-in-coconut-oil

Consumer push instead of retailer push
Cocoguru products are sold because of consumer demand in retail stores. In contrast to push by retailers for their benefit. To sustain this cycle, we should continue to satisfy and delight consumers rather than bribe retailers with better margins and payment terms.
Read more: cocoguru.com/blog/how-do-we-set-mrp

Sold at Super Markets and e-commerce portals
High-end, quality-conscious consumers buy our products through modern trade supermarkets and various e-commerce portals. Our challenge is to stand their scrutiny of quality and standards. They don’t stress us on prices, so there is no need for adulteration.
Read more: cocoguru.com/blog/cocoguru-is-now-available-at-reliance-smart-stores

User reviews
Please don’t believe what we say; it is better to think what other users have to say. In the days of social media and user-generated content, people are happy to review and recommend products based on their experience. Check the reviews and comments on social media platforms like Facebook & Instagram and eCommerce portals like Amazon & Flipkart. At the Amazon portal, 1000s of consumers buy coconut oil from us every month, and almost 3000 consumers have reviewed the products with a 4.3 to 4.4-star average rating. Check our ranking in the best sellers rank for coconut oil; it is in the top 20 list and among the top 8 brands in the country.

fssai random checks
Food Safety department conducts random tests of food products from the market. They don’t inform us; they test for quality at the CFTRI laboratory and take action based on their report. This way, fssai is supposed to ensure that the food products consumers buy from the market are safe. Our products have been picked and tested at Kasaragod, Udupi, Mangaluru, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu and are always safe. Yes, the department officials take bribes from brands and restrain them from acting against brands if they get satisfactory amounts from them. However, Kerala’s food department is very strict with coconut oil as it is their staple edible oil. They have listed a widely sold coconut oil from Karnataka as adulterated.
Read more: indiafilings.com/learn/fssai-food-testing-procedure/

Laboratory testing
If you are not convinced, test a random sample against the parameters listed by BIS for coconut oil at any laboratory and find the results for yourselves. The test parameters and the results we obtained are here.

Full accounting and Invoicing
All the transactions carried out at Cocoguru are accounted for and audited by multiple government revenue departments, such as Income Tax, GST, APMC, Labour, Factories, Food, etc. All the transactions carry a legal Invoice or document. So they can be traced and scrutinized.
Read more: cocoguru.com/statutory-info

Transparency and Information
We believe in transparency, and all information is easily available to anyone who seeks it. We don’t fear competitors copying our ideas, as that alone won’t give them the success that we have achieved. Our website is highly informative and detailed, and our social media pages are continuously updated and informative. We share our information only when we are confident about our activities, and it is good for the consumers.

Factory Visit
We work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm from Monday to Saturday. Anyone interested is welcome to visit the oil mill. There is no need to inform us; randomly visit. The randomness of visits gives us no scope for any particular “preparation”. Experience the cleanliness, methodical process, and quality of raw materials and finished products. Ask us if you have any queries about the products and processes, and we will happily answer whether you buy the product from us or not.
 

Cocoguru is the pioneer and the only brand to make roasted coconut oil for cooking in the coastal Karnataka region. Marketing is very risky because of several myths that consumers have about it.

All micronutrients are destroyed during roasting.
Oil millers who can’t invest in roasting equipment and take the risk of marketing it just mislead consumers. They claim their oil has all the micronutrients, like vitamins, remaining intact. The fact is that coconut oil is 100% fat, with no micronutrients. If they are present in traces, they are retained even after roasting. Nobody consumes coconut oil for its vitamins; it is for its fat. Roasting of copra is not a process that destroys the properties of coconut oil. It is a small process that only enhances the fragrance and taste of coconut oil. People equate roasting with refining. Refining is a highly complex process that people think of, but roasting is a small process, like drying copra.

The oil’s colour is yellow. Hence, it is inferior.
Oil extracted from copra that has gone bad will be of darker colour. Oil extracted from copra after roasting is also darker or yellow in colour. But they cannot be equated. The point is discussed in detail in this post. Why is Cocoguru coconut oil yellow in colour? The English metaphor “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is appropriate here. Smell it and experience it entirely before judging the oil.

It is not suitable for cooking; it is appropriate only for hair.
It is an edible oil, highly recommended for cooking. In addition to normal cold-pressed coconut oil, roasted coconut oil also adds to the flavour, aroma and taste. The whole kitchen and dining will be scented with divine coconut flavour. Heating food items moderately is not bad, in fact it is good and sometimes essential. Rice has to be cooked with steam, chapathi has to be roasted before eating. We never say rice or wheat has lost its quality in the process.

It is not naturally possible to have such a sweet aroma and taste; it must be perfumed.
I have heard these objections many times from retailers. I show them by drinking a few drops of oil to convince them. Sweet aroma and taste are emitted after the roasting of copra pieces. Experience the difference between raw ground nuts and roasted ground nuts. The more you heat tea leaves, the more aroma and flavour they emanate.

Shelf life is high because of the use of preservatives.
Roasting of copra dries out any moisture still left in the copra. Moisture causes rancidity in oil. This is the reason cold-pressed oils and wood-pressed oils go rancid fast as they contain too much moisture. Heating also sterilises the bacteria and fungus in copra. So, shelf life is enhanced without adding any preservatives.

Mr Narayana Bhat was a Production Supervisor with us and retired from service on 31 August 2023. This is an event worth writing about as it evokes mixed emotions, including pride and voidness.
He joined Cocoguru almost 10 years ago, in February 2014. He was referred by Keshava Ram’s classmate Shivashankar Shastry, his brother-in-law. He travels 40 km every day from Kanyana to work. He worked in various departments like Stores, Logistics, Purchase, Oil Extraction, Canteen, Campus, etc. His notable contributions have been

• Developing and maintaining a beautiful green campus by planting 150 trees and conserving water
• Significant changes in company logistics, selling old vehicles
• Implementing commission/piece work-based payments to labourers
• Getting work done efficiently by people yet having fun doing them
• Organising events like Independence Day, birthday celebrations, Ayudha Pooja and Deepavali
• Maintaining cordial relations with land neighbours and Karpadi temple management
• He helped maintain a very jovial and productive work environment throughout.

He will be 57 years old in about 15 days. His son completed Mechanical Engineering at Nitte and was placed at a private firm in Bengaluru. He announced his decision to retire during his last birthday celebration on 23 September 2022, and he was waiting for his son Ashlesha to start working. He would like to improve and expand his present agricultural farm and build his dream house, as the old house is not in good condition. He ultimately leads a happy and peaceful life in the village with his dear wife, Mrs Uma, and pet animals.

The company is proud to have an employee who has worked with them for almost 10 years and leaves only for an unavoidable reason like retirement. Many people leave for better prospects or when they are not happy working there. But it is difficult to replace him with someone who can do all the jobs with a can-do attitude. It is an aspect of nature, and we need to move on.

We organised a small event on the closing hours of 31st August to honour him and celebrate his contributions to us. Many employees who worked closely with him spoke eulogies of him. Murali (Operations Head) is his direct boss, Keshava Ram (Managing Director), Naresh Kumar (Sales Manager), Shiva Kumar (Finance Manager), Suprabha (Brand Manager), Karthik Rai (Financial Accountant), Shreekrishna Shastry (Public Relations Officer), Jagganath (Expeller Operator) and Shivashankar Bhat (Chairman) all spoke for a couple of minutes with their heartfelt messages and wished well for his retired life. Narayana Bhat likes to be jovial with ladies, and they were all emotional when they realised that he would not be working with them the next day. Shivashankar Bhat honoured him with his wife, Mrs. Uma. He spoke briefly with usual humour and ended with a small Kannada poem. A cupboard was given to him as a compliment as he built a new house. The event ended with dinner supplied by Cocoguru Adigemane. People he was leading were looking up to him to guide him for work even after working hours.

We all at Cocoguru would like to thank him for his contributions to us and wish him a happy retirement with his family.