Bengaluru: Think of areca nut and the two things that come to mine are the thin slices of the nut heaped on the beetle leaves by the ‘paanwalas’ and those addictive and hazardous chewing products that come in flashy plastic sachets! It is very rare that someone attaches healthy attributes to areca nuts.
Areca nut is often looked at as a culprit harming the lives of people because it is one of the most important ingredients going into making products that are considered being hazardous to health. Hence every time the government thinks of banning areca, the growers are left in the lurch.
Here in Shivamogga district of Karnataka lives a young scientist, who has taken upon himself the responsibility of bringing some respect to areca nut by showing the world that this commercial crop has much more to offer!
Meet 33-year-old Nivedan Nempe, the man on the mission of bringing back areca its lost glory by making a range of people-friendly products using areca nut. After making areca tea and hand sanitizer, Nivedan has surely changed the way people look at areca.
Areca is one of the major commercial crops of the country. It is grown extensively in all the southern states beside northeast Indian states. However, the repute that the crop has earned over the years leaves the areca growers in worry because the sword of banning chewing products keeps hanging over their heads.
Early life
Nivedan hails from a village named Nempe in Shivamogga. He pursued his primary education in his native place. He completed his high school education in a government school in Mandagadde. Later, he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the National College of Pharmacy in Shivamogga.
He was a bright student, who had a great inclination towards research. As a Pharma student, he had presented a research paper at the International Pharma Conference, held at Gulbarga. His paper had impressed many scholars across the globe and subsequently the scholars from the Swinburne University of Technology for Higher Education in Goods Manufacturing. And Management Technology, Australia invited him to their college for higher studies. He accepted the invitation and completed his post-graduation there. Later, he worked as a Business Development Consultant across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore. Nivedan also had a stint as a consultant in Dubai but the love for his motherland and an ambition to serve his country brought him back to his village.
Amelioration of his rural folks
After returning to his village, Nivedan was determined to do something that could touch and change the lives of the people living in the rural pockets. His main focus was to help the areca nut growers, who are in large numbers in his own village. Because he understood the consequences that these farmers faced due to frequent fluctuations in price.
Making of the entrepreneur
This intense urge to change lives made Nivedan start his own company named ‘Mystic Aromatics’ in 2013 in Mandagadde. This company initially began with producing perfumery products and gradually spread its wings in various vertices through its Research and Development work. Though Nivedan’s primary focus was on areca. He wanted to find innovative ways of using agricultural produce along with its conventional consumption.
Nivedan’s field study revealed that a massive number of families in the state were dependent on areca nut. Both directly and indirectly for livelihood and this pushed Nivedan to start research on finding out ways to add value to areca and thus came his new venture.
However, it was a tightrope walk for Nivedan because he was thinking of working with a crop that was considered as a ‘slow killer’. As a pharmacist, Nivedan started working from various angles on the areca nut. After reading research papers published on areca, he learned that areca contains aqueous tannins. Anti-oxidants, Proline (Amino Acids), and digestive enzyme enhancing agents. With all the information he had gathered he started working on a new product.
The jaw dropper!
Nivedan, after all the hard work and research introduced to the world a new product that left jaws dropped- Areca tea! The tea has now made its presence felt at the international level too.
His invention became so popular that it bagged the ‘Innovative Product of the Year award’ 2014-15 at the All India Technical Management Council, under the ‘Make in India Excellence Award’. With an FSSAI certificate for the production of Areca Tea, Nivedan has also received Intellectual Property Rights from the Patenting Authority. The fragrance of the tea crossed the Indian border. Delegates from China visited him to discuss value-added product development from Areca.
Blessing during pandemic
When the pandemic hit and most companies started making sanitizers. Nivedan once again proved his mettle by making a sanitizer from areca! His hand sanitizer contains 70% alcohol, areca nut extract, orange oil for perfuming, and gelling agent. It also came as a big blessing to the areca growers during the lockdown.
Mystic Aromatics has bagged six national awards for its creative inventions across different sectors. The company has tied up with many companies in various segments not only in the country but across the globe.
However, areca tea continues to be the flagship product of the company. The products include areca nut (regular), areca tea (Tulsi), areca tea (Mint), areca tea (Ginger), and areca tea (Lemon).
According to Nivedan, areca nut acts as an appetizer and as an effective digestive agent. It increases the flow of saliva and aids digestion. It is also used to stimulate the appetite.
