As Diwali shoppers fill their baskets with almonds and walnuts, few realise that most of these “Indian” dry fruits aren’t truly Swadeshi. There is an intense tug-of-war in marketing this produce, which has a ₹60,000-crore market dominated by nearly 75–80 per cent imports.
Agritech startup KisaanSay is marketing Indian-grown dry fruits as a premium, “flavour-rich” alternative to imported varieties. “We did a blind survey (without revealing whether product is imported or domestic) of consumers’ taste recently at New Delhi’s upmarket Connaught Place area, targeting young people. All of them (100 per cent) rated domestic dry fruits higher, much above imported ones in terms of taste, quality and sweetness,” said Nitin Puri, CEO of KisaanSay.
Puri admitted that consumer perceptions remain skewed in favour of imported nuts. To build awareness, KisaanSay has appointed dealers in Dallas (US) and Dubai (UAE) to export Indian dry fruits—hoping that global recognition will help boost their acceptance at home. The company estimates the market for truly domestic produce at around ₹3,000 crore, a fraction of the overall industry.
