Company Facts
Name – Cocoguru Coconut Industries Private Limited

Registered Office
IV-616, Sri Rama Building, Main Road,
Yelmudi, Puttur Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District,
Karnataka State, India. PIN – 574201

Business Activity – Manufacturing of Coconut based products, Presently Pure Coconut Oil

Promoters –
Shivashankar Bhat – Chairman
Keshava Ram – Managing Director
Santhosh – Director
Gayathri Devi – Director

Incorporation Date – 2nd September, 2010 (World Coconut Day)

Why Cocoguru Coconut Industries?
Cocoguru’s brand vision is simple: “spreading the benefits of coconut to people.” The brand was launched in early 2010 to direct Sri Rama Industries’ focus on manufacturing coconut-based products. Now, the business activities of Cocoguru are separated into a new company. Having the same product brand and corporate brand simplifies the branding process.

Dissecting each aspect of the name, we have

• Cocoguru – Trademark, brand name
• Coconut – Vision, brand essence is about coconut.
• Industries – Business activity is not just about trading/marketing; it also involves manufacturing

Why a Private Limited company?
Forming a company is not compulsory as

The cost of incorporation and the procedures and regulations are high in a company.

All the promoters and top management personnel are in the same family

The company has no external equity investors as of now

Yet we have formed a company because

• It enables the separation of personal and business activities
• It enables us to raise funds through the sale of equity when chances of raising debt funds have exhausted
• It enables professional management by bringing in professional managers on merit, and families can cede day-today management activities to them.
• Promoters are very serious about the business and want to scale it to a high level and become a Public Limited company.

What is the future of Sri Rama Industries?
Sri Rama Industries is a proprietorship concern that started in 1987 with Shivashankar Bhat for coconut oil manufacturing.

• The existing manufacturing setup at Parladka will be tailored to provide job work services. Whereby local farmers can get oil extracted from their own copra using our facility.
• The existing retail outlet cum copra collection centre at Yelmudi will be used to distribute Cocoguru Company’s products to the local, Puttur market and collect copra on behalf of Cocoguru Company.
• The 1st floor of the building at Yelmudi will be rented out to the company for its Registered Office.
• Sri Rama Industries being the owner of trademark Cocoguru, will license it to the company for marketing its products.
• Sri Rama Industries will also carry out non-coconut-based businesses like trading in Til Oil, Pepper, and Honey.

What now/next for the Company?
The company has the following agenda for the next 1 year.

• A new factory, a new site, to manufacture and pack coconut oil
• The factory will be highly mechanized/automated/modern, with ISO 22000 Food Safety Management standard.
• Have a copra crushing facility of 15 tons in 24 hours
• Acquire all the necessary licenses and commence production in 6 months.
• Spread the market/distribution network for Cocoguru products from Puttur to Dakshina Kannada.
• Begin supply of edible copra and by-products like Oil cake and 2nd quality copra. 

Company got incorporated on 2nd September, recognized as World Coconut Day. For the company that does its business with coconuts, its truly a great day to be born. Seek the blessings and everything (kalpa) of ‘Kalpavrisksha’ for the company’s great future.

If a 250-page book has to be written exclusively on one product, without much repetition, making full sense with understandable logic, by a veteran nutritionist, then this should suggest how miraculous the product (Coconut Oil) should be. Now, why isn’t there a similar book that talks about the so-called healthy and widely used oils like Sunflower Oil, Soyabean Oil or Hydrogenated Oils (Vanaspati)?

Book is smartly organised because the author understands that readers have been misinformed so far. In the first chapter he works on dispelling the deeply held myths. In the next he builds the foundation by discussing about the basic of fats and human body. In each of the subsequent chapters he discusses each one of those benefits giving scientific reasons and examples. To conclude he guides the reader on how one can buy and use coconut oil.

Summary of the book
The truth about the miraculous benefits of coconut oil has been hidden by Western companies to protect their business interests. Tropical oils like Coconut Oil and Palm Kernel oils used to be popular in America and were a threat to their domestic soyabean oil industry. In order to popularise their products, they had to prove that tropical oils were bad. So, they funded research to say that coconut oil contains saturated fats, which are the cause of heart-related diseases. They proved this by testing using hydrogenated fat on rats. Later, they went on a massive campaign against tropical oils and promoting their oils. The domestic edible oil companies made their money, but with it went the health of the average American. He has acquired obesity, heart disease and many others.

Saturated fats are highly stable as all the carbon atoms have formed bonds with hydrogen atoms and carbon atoms bond with each other through stable single bonds. Unsaturated fats have a few double bonds between carbon atoms and they are free to break down into toxic free radicals and oxidation causing rancidity. Oxidation and free radical formation are accelerated when heat, light and pressure is applied. That is why Coconut oil can be stored conveniently for 2 years while other oils hardly last 6 months.

Fatty acids have chains of varying lengths of carbon atoms; ones with less than 12 carbon atoms are medium chains, and those with more than 12 atoms are long chains. The shorter the length, the easier it is to digest. Fatty acids found in coconut oil are medium chain, and they are quickly digested by a lever to get energy while other fats are stored. That is why replacing other oils with coconut oil can promote weight loss. Also, coconut oil is used by athletes who need a quick burst of energy.

Coconut Oil has excellent anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties with no side effects. That is why it is among the ultimate natural medicine. If people learn of this, pharmaceutical companies will lose business in the long run. Coconut oil is used in most Ayurvedic therapies, and ancient Indians were aware of its benefits. AIDS has no cure, and AIDS patients are advised to consume coconut oil as it gives them immunity that they severely lack.

Coconut Oil is a great anti-oxidant, removes dead cells and gives complexion to skin and hair. It is very good at preventing premature aging of skin.

Coconut Oil can be Virgin or refined(RBD – Refined, Bleached & Deodorized). Virgin is one which is extracted by least amount of processing, it has the natural coconut smell and taste. In Refined version it is subjected to about 200 degree heat and chemicals, it is bland and will not overpower the taste of food on which it is used. Author recommends the Virgin Coconut Oil.

This is just a summary, and the book contains a lot more interesting facts and analyses to make it a fascinating reading experience. I am both delighted and angered by reading the book. I am delighted because I have grown up (and still continue) consuming coconut oil for all purposes (edible and cosmetic). Never knew such wonderful properties of coconut oil. Angered because American companies and doctors have maligned people from consuming coconut oil into unhealthy, refined and hydrogenated oils. The author and I don’t suggest that Coconut Oil is the only healthy oil. Other healthy fats are Butter/Ghee, Olive Oil, Til Oil and Palm Kernel Oil in raw form. But Virgin Coconut Oil is the healthiest of all.
Read the book online @ Google Books
Buy the book @ flipkart.com

It is logical that per unit cost of a commodity sold in bulk is less than that sold in lesser quantity. But that difference isn’t very significant. Ideally, if 1 litre of coconut oil pouch costs 60 Rs, 100 ml pouch should be around 6.5 Rs if not just 6 Rs. Government tax laws makes it costlier.

Here is how
Pure coconut oil is used all over India as a hair oil (cosmetic purposes), but people of coastal Karnataka and Kerala also use it for cooking (edible purposes). Edible items are considered essential commodities and are taxed less. The government, in its bid to differentiate the usage of pure coconut oil, has come out with this dubious way of classification. All packets above 200 are for edible purposes and attract no excise duty and 4% VAT. All packets at or under 200 gms attract 8.24% excise duty and 13.5% VAT OR combined (8.24% + 13.5% + 8.24%*13.5%) 22.85% ~ 23%. So, a 100 ml pouch, which was 6.5 Rs without tax, now becomes 8 Rs after tax, i.e. 80 Rs per litre. 1 litre pack, which was 60 Rs before tax, will become 62.4 Rs after tax. That is a difference of 17.5 Rs or 28%!

Why is this dubious?
Lower end consumers like the daily wage workers who use coconut oil for cooking like to buy in smaller quantities. They have to shell out 28% extra for an absolutely essential item like edible oil despite their inability to afford. Government is essentially heavily taxing those poor consumers while it should have done it otherwise.

This anomaly presents a great opportunity to unorganized coconut oil manufacturers to avoid taxes and sell cheap gaining a clear 23% (combined tax) price advantage over branded organized players. The consumers at this segment are extremely price conscious and are willing to switch brands for price difference. How can brands compete with them?

A more sensible way is to classify based on whether they follow the food standards, i.e., the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), and have an Edible Oil Packing (EOP) License. Those brands that follow PFA guidelines and have EOP licenses should be considered essential and hence less tax.

News item about the same issue – Marico will move court on the coconut oil excise notice, and Dabur may follow suit.