Mane Kancor Ingredients is scaling its sustainable mint supply chains for the flavor and fragrance industries, as it aims to bolster its business against the market challenges of high cultivation costs, reduced productivity, climate change and market fluctuations. 

Geemon Korah, CEO of Mane Kancor, says that the company narrowed its focus in this area after realizing that farmers were abandoning the cultivation of mint due to the continuous increase in the cost of inputs. He further discusses the technological advancements that are helping retain productivity in this field.

“[The compounded challenges] increased the cost of producing peppermint oil, while alternative synthetic variants were 25 to 30% cheaper,” he remarks.

He further adds that the globally increased demand for natural and organic products during the pandemic has encouraged international producers of mint-based products to turn to India, as the country produces 85% of the world’s supply of mint.

A new system introduced called Early Mint Technology helps farmers increase their yield by 20%, reduce their cost of cultivation by 20% and the need for irrigation by 25%.Greening up mint cultivation
The Kochi-based Mane Kancor’s Mint Sustainable program, introduced in 2016, addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals from nursery to distillation.

Mane Kancor introduced modern cultivation practices and supported mint growers from the nursery stage. “We introduced a technology called Early Mint Technology (EMT) with the help and guidance of scientists from CIMAP (Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants),” details Geemon.

According to research by Mane Kancor, EMT helps farmers increase their yield by 20%, reduce their cost of cultivation by 20% and the need for irrigation by 25%.

“We are now collaborating closely with the CIMAP to provide the latest high-yielding, climate-resistant planting material. CIMAP has also developed the latest variety of the crop ‘CIM UNNATI,’ which is claimed to increase yield by 20%,” says Geemon.

Agronomist training
Mane Kancor agronomists have trained some 7,000 farmers in sustainable farming practices and prepared them for certification by an external auditor under the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) program of the platform Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), to facilitate their access to better markets and prices.

All the fields of these farmers are geotagged and geotagged with remote sensing services and satellite images to ensure the traceability of the raw materials produced.

On the ground, Mane Kancor supports local steam distillation plants dedicated to peppermint oil production and improves distillation efficiency. The company also provides a direct link to the market for sustainable mint farmers through a minimum support price set at the beginning of each season. 

In addition to the menthol and mint oil manufacturing plant in Bareilly, the company is expanding capacity at all of its manufacturing facilities in India.

Mane Kancor’s innovation center, located in Angamaly, India, is home to expert analytical teams and technologies that conduct research on innovations in many natural product segments and product development initiatives.