Kashmiri products have a reputation for their extraordinary quality. But sadly, today the industry has become rife with adulteration, chemical processing and unfair price practices.
Zubair Bhatt, the founder of Noorali, an online store that sells dry fruits from Kashmir, wants to regain that lost golden reputation. Here’s a brief glance into his story.
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The beginnings of Noorali
Zubair has grown up watching his family show absolute devotion to farming. From walnuts, almonds to saffron, Zubair’s family in Kashmir has been in the business for ages. Zubair’s fascination and respect for his family values inspired him to take the family business forward.
There were two main issues that Zubair’s family faced:
- Their hard grown dry fruits had to first be sold to middlemen who hiked up the prices unfairly
- The output from these crops have steadily reduced over the years
Zubair took these challenges up head-on. Luckily, this is also when Zubair heard of Instamojo.
So, 4 years ago. Zubair decided to cut out the middleman and also be more in control of their own raw material production. He started his own independent online store on Instamojo and named it after his mother and father – Noor and Ali.
Today, Noorali sells locally grown dry fruits, saffron, berries, honey, walnuts and other rare Kashmiri products.
Related read: How to sell dry fruits online in India: The complete guide
Delivering authenticity with love from Kashmir
Zubair’s mission with Noorali is to ensure customers who asked for Kashmiri products get them without being cheated. Delivering pan-India, Noorali can proudly boast about their products being unadulterated, chemical-free, preservatives-free.
“Other Kashmiri products are seen in stores all around India, mostly they have been in that shop for months. But we only pack orders that have been placed. And then wew ensure it reaches the customers in 3 to 4 business days with the help of Instamojo.” – Zubair, Founder of Noorali
The online store has seen immense organic growth over the last 4 years. Having started with only 10 products, they now have over 50+ products in their catalogues. They are also seeing over 100 orders per month from all over India.
They have also engaged in a reseller program so that their brand gets more reach. Join the reseller program on Instamojo to get an added revenue source and also introduce your brand to the customers of the new seller.
Related read: How to sell organic products online
Government intervention to boost such businesses
Kashmiri products have a lucrative demand globally. But, because of the increasing fraud, the Government of India has stepped in to protect small businesses like Noorali in Kashmir.
With the help of the government, Noorali along with other indigenous dry fruits and textile sellers in Kashmir have witnessed:
- Active efforts to protect the minimum selling price for these sellers
- Export promotions to help these sellers reach global buyers
- Special leases and protection for crops that are the region’s speciality like saffron
- Awarding the GI tag (Geographical Indicator) to certain products from definitive geographical locations so that their authenticity can be verified
These efforts have gone a long way in protecting the interests of such small sellers and helping them expand their business operations.
Values of Noorali
Noorali has strived for the best quality, with utmost sincerity. Their saffron products are GI tagged. Not only that, their products are FSSAI compliant as well.
“We sell to a variety of people. Our customers include local people, tourists, corporate individuals from all over India, defense personnel, etc. Infact, 30% of our customer base is defense personal from North Eastern India.” -Zubair, Founder of Noorali
Zubair and his family consistently uphold fair pay practices when they hire seasonal labourers or take the help of locals.
They also sell their fresh indigenous products to tourists through their offline store set up on NH44 near Pahalgam in Kashmir.
As the tagline on the store says “With ❤️ from Kashmir”, Zubair has been working hard to establish trust between them and the customers.
Noorali and Instamojo: A companionship
The journey of Noorali has inspired us and we are proud to call them our very own Mojo Star!
Mojo Stars is our initiative to highlight and celebrate the stories of extraordinary small business owners who are living their entrepreneurial dreams on Instamojo!
Instamojo has powered more than 20 Lakh+ businesses. Many of them have similar interests to Zubair.
Through their online store on Instamojo, Noorali has been able to reach customers all over India. The platform enabled Zubair and his family to follow their passion and build a successful thriving DTC eCommerce business.
“Instamojo has helped us grow our business. They gave us access to marketing tools and other facilities that we did not have earlier. Instamojo keeps getting better because of regular updates and new features. They recently added the ‘Cash on Delivery’ feature and that has definitely increased our customers” – Zubair, Founder of Noorali
With Instamojo, you can protect your indigenous products by easily setting up your own online store, building a marketing strategy and getting access to customers in over 90,000+ shipping locations!
Start your free online store today
