In my last post, you heard a little about the decline in the honey industry in Coorg. Recently, I’ve been hearing some buzz about a dynamic young entrepreneur from Coorg who is making waves in the business of honey in India. Naturally, I had to make a beeline to the source, to find out more! Chayaa Nanjappa is the owner of Nectar Fresh™, a company she founded, and now runs along with her business partner, Mr. Rajappa. In conversation with her, the energy and enthusiasm were palpable, as she shared the details of how she got started in the business of processing and marketing honey.
Chayaa was born in South Coorg (Nalkeri). An only child, she describes her childhood years as being sheltered, and very conventional. She studied in Mysore, attending Teresians, and Christ the King Convent for pre-university. For personal reasons, she had to discontinue her formal education but pursued her interest in current affairs, and gained a diploma in mass communications by correspondence. She says she loved gardening, and cooking, and there were no early indications of the dormant entrepreneur in her. There was no background of business entrepreneurship in the immediate family either, as both her parents were teachers.
In her late twenties she moved to Bangalore, where she was determined to make her own way. Finding her feet in an urban environment for the first time, and despite the lack of a degree in hospitality management, Chayaa impressed enough at the interview to land a job in public relations at a leading hotel in Bangalore.This was a field she thrived in, and she recalls her time in the hospitality industry with great fondness.
