Dry fruits seller Bolas Agro to open 100 more stores in Karnataka

Bolas Agro Pvt Ltd, a dry fruits seller, plans to open 100 more retail stores in Karnataka in 2024-25.

Bola Rahul Kamath, Director, told businessline that the company has opened around 70 stores across Karnataka in the last three years, including 20 in Bengaluru alone last year. Outside Karnataka, it has one store each in Goa and Mumbai.

“We are targeting to open another 100 outlets across Karnataka in 2024-25,” he said., adding that there was good response in tier-2 and tier-3 centres also.

He said the company is able to sell dry fruits at an affordable price as it has the advantage of backward integration in the form of a cashew factory at Kedinje in Udupi district, Karnataka. The factory can process 200 tonnes of raw cashew nuts a day, he said.

From cashew to dry fruits

After selling cashews over several decades, the company expanded its dry fruits offerings after the implementation of GST, he said.

Prior to GST, dry fruits attracted 14.5 per cent VAT in Karnataka, and 5 per cent in Delhi, he explained adding, “Implementation of GST provided a level-playing field for the dry fruit trade.”

Apart from dry fruits such as cashews, almonds, pista, and walnut, it sells exotic ones such as macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts.

Sweets retail

On the company’s entry into sweets retailing, he said there was demand for cashew-based sweet products such as kaju kathli from existing customers. “Now we have around eight types of dry fruit-based sweets,” he said. Bolas also markets honey, and namkeens.

The company plans to venture into more southern markets outside Karnataka. “Our aim is to become a one-stop solution for all dry fruit requirements,” Kamath said.