Although one’s schooling years feel like a predetermined roadmap, before you know it comes the time when you are swung into the real world – one filled with boundless opportunities and risks.
Navigating to pursue a career of choice sometimes feels overwhelming, more so starting something singlehandedly from scratch. It requires vision, determination and trust in oneself. But as it is said, not taking that risk is the biggest risk you ever take and lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Sairaj Dhond did take that risk.
“I always had this one aim to build a brand that could be called a Goan brand, that would be made in India and that would go all across the world,” says Sairaj, as he looks back at just four years ago when he began from scratch.
After pursing law studies for five years and practicing for almost a year, Sairaj, who grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, was keen to start something of his own and inspiration was just lurking around the corner.
BACKYARD SUPERFOOD
“It was in early 2020 that I came across a video by Palki Sharma Upadhyay, titled the new superfood of the world, jackfruit,” Sairaj recollects and adds, “It literally blew my mind. It got me thinking, here’s a fruit that literally grows in our backyard and rots and no one even cares about it and suddenly the world was calling it a superfood.”
That single thought prompted Sairaj to look deeper and explore the fruit found in many Goan backyards. “I came to realise it wasn’t jackfruit, but rather a jackpot. There was so much that could be done with it, from that moment the journey started,” he states excitedly.
Sairaj went on to build India’s first jackfruit company, Wakao Foods, a name that encompasses the brand’s young-spirited nature. With products like jackfruit sausages, jackfruit burger patty, butter jack (a take on butter chicken made of jackfruit), vegan BBQ jack, Wakao allows consumers to relish jackfruit in an easy, ready-to-eat/cook format.
“In India, 1.4 million tonnes of jackfruits are grown each year and nearly 75 percent of it goes to waste, so we are putting that jackfruit to use,” Sairaj says, adding that Wakao products have zero preservatives with a shelf life of one year (with no refrigeration required).
Wakao Foods products are available for purchase on their website www.wakaofoods.com and also online on Amazon, Big Basket and stores like Delfinos, Magsons, Prime Mart in Goa. The products are also exported to US, Dubai, Norway, Netherlands and Singapore.
TOUGH TIMES
Some may concur it’s not the easiest starting a business in Goa, but aren’t the bumpy rides the most memorable ones? “There were many tough moments and we had to plough through them,” Sairaj remembers.
The biggest challenge the brand encountered was soon after it was launched in December 2020, when the pandemic caused havoc across the world.
“Our manufacturing takes place in Kerela. During Covid, with the high number of cases, travelling and meeting people became difficult. It was one of the toughest times,” says Sairaj who has gone on to deal with other distribution and logistics challenges by developing warehouses across metros that has sped up delivery services.
Having witnessed the change himself, Sairaj believes Goa is moving towards developing a startup culture.
He opines, “There’s a huge push for startups in Goa, right from setting the Startup Cell to creating a Founders Club and I think the government is working on things that need improvement, like more startup friendly policies, fast and easy ways of getting certification and more. Things are looking positive.”
THE RECOGNITION
Although Sairaj chuckles when asked about the brand's popularity and soaring jackfruit prices, he says, “I don’t think that’s true, but I’m happy to see jackfruit finally getting its due. Even at the G20 finale hosted by PM Modi which had various heads of State, a jackfruit dish made it to the table.”
The brand also pitched at the popular Shark Tank India TV series and Sairaj shares that the experience was a great one, “I keep telling everyone I had a life pre and post Shark Tank. The platform with its visibility and pan-India viewership has really done the world of good to the startup.”
Embracing the journey ahead, the brand is now moving towards introducing more products and starting their very own QSR – quick service restaurant.
“We plan to start it with the name Wakao Eats, where people can directly have dishes made from our products. It’s going to be a big pivot and change for us in the lifecycle of our startup,” he shares excitedly.
On a concluding note, Sairaj has some advice for those starting out. “Identify the real problem that you are trying to solve. A lot of people get distracted with the glamour and the whole fun element of starting a brand,” he says and adds, “The goal is to add tremendous value to the lives of your customers, only then starting a brand makes sense. That’s the most important thing.”