Commercial aquaculture in India is of much recent origin. Major initiatives for pond culture of Shrimps started around year 1990 when some of the big corporate houses set up commercial shrimp production farms in coastal parts of the country. Thus, began the gradual progress of Aquaculture Healthcare Industry. Wockhardt was one of the leading Pharma companies in India to be the first corporate house to explore and venture into Aquaculture Health Inputs. Dr.Babu Sudhakar started his career with Wockhardt as a Research Scientist and was assigned a role of designing research based scientific products fo Healthcare in Aquaculture.
“Within few days of my joining the company I had the opportunity to interact with our dynamic Chairman and Managing Director, Habil F. Khorakiwala. It was indeed very inspiring and mesmerizing discussion in which he shared his Vision and Agenda for Aquaculture business” and “I had the great opportunity to work under the leadership of Mr. DK Chopra, CEO of the company. Mr. Chopra played a key role in shaping up my career from a mindset of Research Scientist to a Marketing Professional” mentions Dr. Sudhakar.
Over next 12 years, he gained a successful working experience at different levels of Technical, Marketing and Business Management. As the Head of the unit as Business Manager he was in-charge for domestic and international marketing operations, responsible for seeding & developing business in South-east, fareast and South American countries besides India. “As a first-generation entrepreneur, I established SRIBS BiotechniQs International in the year 2007 for manufacturing and marketing specialty Aquaculture Healthcare products to cater in India and international markets”, mentions Dr. Sudhakar.
Growth Story
By qualification Dr. Sudhakar is a microbiologist who carried out research work for a Doctorate degree in Microbiology from NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Nagpur. He has done his post-graduation - M.Sc. and M.Phil. from School of Environmental Biology, APS University, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India. He further pursued Management Diplomas - DMM from Jamunalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), DBM from NarseeMonjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) from Mumbai. During his research at NEERI, he got an opportunity to present and publish more than 25 research publications at various National and International conferences and journals.
“My research work at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur has enabled me to garner ‘Institutes Foundation Day Award for conspicuous contributions to R&D Excellence’ in 1994-95”, he mentions. Being live-stock culture, Aquaculture input business will always remain a challenging segment. Starting from seeding on day one, till the harvest day every day is a challenge for farmers.Availability of quality seeds, disease out breaks, pond and disease management and then getting appropriate produce price are the key factors which impact business. For Dr. Sudhakar to run his business in an unorganized segment like Aquaculture, where most of the business was being conducted in an unprofessional manner was a huge challenge.
He created an opportunity out of this challenge to build up a niche for the company and the products as per the policies and terms controlled by the company which surely was an achievement. Over the years now the business practices are changing after introduction of GST as also few other regulations, the business is getting more organized.
Work Excellence
Being a science student and a scientist mind-set, helps Dr. Sudhakar understand the technical issues on field. In addition, he keeps himself updated about the technological developments in various aspects of Aquaculture. This helps him in picking and adapting most cost-effective solutions in form of finished products or services. The core strategies for any business, more so in Aquaculture have to focus on demand generation and ability to retain and expand on customers. “Thus, we have built up a strong marketing team to effectively communicate and demonstrate the efficacy and the benefits of our products and technologies.”
Over the years now our brands have become the first choice of Aqua farmers in select market segments, he states. Often Vision for a business enterprise is stated in form of a philosophical statement. In Dr. Sudhakar’s considered view, having a Vision implies visualization of one’s dreams based on an individual’s understanding of current status, future potential, ability to succeed backed by an action plan to realize the dreams. “At SRIBS, me and my Team have a shared Vision to drive our company to be counted amongst the best in Aqua healthcare both for product quality and customer support”, Dr. Sudhakar adds.
Dr. Sudhakar thinks that it’s always important for the senior management of any progressive organization to stay in touch with ground realities, challenges and emerging opportunities at the grassroots level. Now with over 25 years in Aquaculture Industry, he has a network of contacts with varied experiences in Research, New products/ technologies and emerging trends at global level. Hence, he and his team constantly remain updated with latest happenings in the industry.
Having a background of a Scientist and being around for a long time in Healthcare Business, naturally pushed him to explore few other emerging opportunities. In the world we live in, increasing levels of pollution, radiation, coupled with stressful lifestyles trigger Oxidative stress-that is the root cause of many modern diseases. Thus, the initiative to set up SERENE Envirotech Solutions Private Limited was planned in order to introduce Next-gen technological products for Human Healthcare and Wellness segment. One emerging technology innovation is using Molecular Hydrogen as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
My research work at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur Has enabled me to garner ‘Institutes Foundation Day Award for conspicuous Contributions to R&D Excellence’ in 1994-95
Serene has introduced these path breaking technologies for preventive Human Healthcare of which Hydrogen Inhaler and Hydrogen Water Bottles are one. udazH Hydrogen inhaler is India’s first portable personal Wellness Tool. It is a Molecular Hydrogen (H2) generating machine for Human consumption. Hydrogen water bottle generates hydrogen infused water. Several Scientific studies have revealed that inhaling Hydrogen or consuming Hydrogen rich water has selective anti-oxidant and anti-Inflammatory properties to provide amazing health benefits to our body. Within one year of its launch Serene was recognized with four awards. The National Award of “Fastest Growing FMCG product in Healthcare and Wellness” for the brand udazH, ‘Most Admired Entrepreneur' for Dr. Babu for Leadership and Excellence in 2022, the Asia’s greatest brands award for udazH and Asia’s greatest Leaders award to Dr Babu for 2022-23 from Asia One at 19th Asian Business and Social Forum, Bangkok for pioneering work in the field of Healthcare and Wellness.
Looking Ahead
According to Dr. Sudhakar, it has been challenging to associate with Aquaculture sector in the early stages of its commercialization where farmers are practicing traditional ways and unaware of scientific practices. Introducing technological products to farmers who do not understand the concept was very challenging and the only way is to show them the product performance and convince them to use the products. An Aquaculture farmer has to deal with climate changes, disease outbreaks, pond bottom pollution, shortage of seeds and inputs and above all volatility of shrimp prices. Obviously, this makes our job as an entrepreneur much riskier.
“I believe that to be a successful industry leader, one has to relentlessly innovate, update and upgrade your products and services based on changing customer needs to maintain your competitive edge. Improvise - adapt - overcome is the adage I follow to ensure that the organization remains on growth track”, Dr. Sudhakar concludes.
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