History

Shivashankar Bhat Bonanthaya graduated with a science degree from Karwar. At the age of 21 he set up a rice, coconut and groundnut oil mill in Palacode, Tamil Nadu, with financial support from his maternal uncle, who later became his father-in-law.

It was a hard time to begin. India was in a socialistic era, when doing business was widely looked down upon. Supplying oil to a trader meant only hoping to be paid, because enforcing the law was practically impossible. He came from a family with no business background, had no related education or work experience, and was working in a different land from the one where he was born and brought up. It was a tremendous risk and a leap into the unknown. But he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and he did gain: valuable business experience, and a wife.

Despite the challenging environment, he ran the mill successfully for nine years.

He married, handed the mill over to his younger uncle and moved to Bengaluru. There he worked with his elder brother on fabrication and a high-tension tower construction project.

The work meant constant travel across the state, from Bidar in the far north to Chitradurga in the centre and Kolar in the south, and dealing with the government and its officials. For a man of principle, this was tough and not sustainable. The family was growing too: Keshava Ram was born in 1982 and Santhosha in 1983, and continuous transfers were not good for a young family.

Driven by a vision to start something in his native Puttur for the benefit of locals, he founded M/s Sri Rama Industries at Parladka, Puttur, with a flour mill and a coconut oil mill. It was inaugurated on 8 January 1988.

• Started with a single rotary machine for oil extraction.
• Opened a sales-cum-copra collection counter in a rented room at Yelmudi.
• Business model: job work. Growers could extract oil from their copra for a service fee.
• Won goodwill and recognition in Puttur and nearby villages. Summers became especially busy.
• Added a second rotary machine, extended the factory building to include a godown, and later added two more rotary machines to meet demand.
• Moved the counter to a dedicated building on Yelmudi Main Road.
• Began marketing branded coconut oil under the “Santhosh” brand, in tins, cans and pouches, to wholesalers in Puttur town.
• All this with the support of a few trusted employees.

Santhosha, the younger son, completed his BL and LLB at Vivekananda Law College, Puttur. At 23 he joined the family business, committed to taking it forward.

He was the natural successor. He had been keen on the business since childhood and, though the younger brother, was the more responsible one. He had assisted his parents with operations and learnt the business inside out beforehand, so joining was a mere formality.

For a family business, the next generation joining hands is a huge milestone. It means what has been built can last another generation, perhaps 40 more years, and growth need not slow down: it only gets more fuel and power. It also keeps the family together, supporting each other.

He may not have brought modern technology and management know-how, but he brought a great deal of local knowledge and contacts, and his friendly, helpful nature was liked by many.

Keshava Ram, the elder son, completed an MBA in Marketing at NMIMS, Mumbai. Before that he had worked for four years in the software industry in Bengaluru, after graduating in Computer Science Engineering from SJCE, Mysuru, in 2003. At 27 he returned to Puttur with a vision to grow the family business through technology, branding and modern management practices. His full story is in How Cocoguru Started.

• The existing brand, Santhosh, was considered too common.
• A new name, Cocoguru, was coined to reflect the vision of spreading the benefits of coconut to people.
• The trademark was applied for, the domain www.cocoguru.com secured, and social media handles created.
• The logo and brand identity were designed.

With the focus on branding, products began to be packed as Cocoguru in pouches, PET bottles and tins. Automatic packing machines were running from January 2010. The project was supported by the Technology Mission on Coconut of the Coconut Development Board and financed by Karnataka Bank.

• An additional floor of about 1,000 sq ft was built above the existing factory.
• Installed: 3 packing machines, 2 filling machines, a compressor and accessories.
• An oil vending machine in the sales outlet dispensed loose oil to consumers.

On World Coconut Day, 2 September 2010, Cocoguru Coconut Industries Private Limited was incorporated to take the work of Sri Rama Industries to the next level. The brand vision of spreading the benefits of coconut to people was already in place, and the company took the same name. We chose a private limited company so that personal and business affairs stay separate, professional management is possible and the business is ready to grow. Read the full story in our blog post.