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Microgreens are being termed as the next wonder food with amazing nutrient contents. It is highly popular in the Western countries and the trend is picking up fast in India. Young Swaraj Agarwal has been pioneering the use of microgreens in India. His company Micro Treasures has been selling microgreens online and popularising the use of these nutritious food items. BE’s Saptarshi Deb spoke to Swaraj Agarwal.

Q) Microgreens are still quite new to the Indian market. How did you conceptualise an entrepreneurship model based on something so new to the market? How has been your experience with Micro Treasures?

A) I agree that microgreens are quite new but we have received tremendous response from our customers. We launched a year and half ago and till date we have successfully fulfilled more than a thousand orders. Microgreens have been around for a long time abroad and they are gaining quite a lot of traction in India. Many restaurants in India already use microgreens regularly as garnishing. What is relatively new is growing and consuming microgreens at home. However, people are learning about microgreens at a fast rate and the demand is growing. Initially we were serving customers through word of mouth but now I have designed a mobile app and website through which people can purchase the goods.  

Q) Please take us through the benefits of microgreens? Can it be easily cultivated at home?

A) Microgreens are tiny plants and are usually a few inches tall. What is special about them is that although they are so small, they have almost 40 times the nutritional value than their fully grown mature counterparts. For example, cabbage microgreens contain 54.6 times the amount of iron and eight times the amount of zinc as the mature vegetable. Due to the high nutritional content, microgreens are very effective in boosting immunity and protect us from chronic diseases like cancer. Microgreens are also extremely beneficial for hair, skin, and for incurring weight loss. It can easily be grown at home. In fact, I always say that the best way to consume microgreens is by growing them on your own - at home. Although we supply grown microgreens too, you can easily buy microgreen starter kits which are available on our website. All you need is trays, soil, seeds and water and you are ready to go!

Q) Please tell us about your business model. How far is it dependent on the digital medium?

A) Since we don’t have retail presence, Micro Treasures runs solely on digital platforms. We are active on social media and get high activity on our mobile app (MicroTreasures) and related website.

Q) Apart from selling microgreens, you are also doing your bit to popularise these items. How have you gone about popularizing microgreens and what has been the response?

A) To spread awareness about microgreens and its benefits we regularly conduct workshops, although they have been virtual since the beginning of the pandemic. Recently, we collaborated with Canfem, a social enterprise which works with breast cancer patients. I acted as a panellist alongside Dr. Indu Bansal Aggarwal, Senior Consultant and Oncologist, Department of Radiation Oncology in Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Gurugram and Dr. Rachna Chhachi, a nutritionist and cancer coach from New Delhi and the webinar was titled ‘Nutrition and Breast Cancer Care’. I spoke about microgreens, their benefits, and how to grow them. This webinar was viewed by over two thousand people. I have also conducted microgreens distribution drives where I distributed broccoli and mustard microgreens along with packets of pulses and rice – which together is a complete meal. We were able to do so only with the profits earned through Micro Treasures and the money raised from our well-wishers. 

I have also conducted an intensive research study titled ‘Benefits of Microgreens: How are microgreens effective in boosting immunity and curing cancer?’. Here, I have combined scientific research on the nutritional value of microgreens, compared empirical data and explored the effectiveness of microgreens in boosting immunity and protecting against cancer. The research paper has been published in the International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research. Recently, I also recently launched my book ‘My Endeavours with Microgreens’ which serves as a complete guide to growing microgreens and also portrays what top nutritionists and patients who have benefited from microgreens say about microgreens.

Q) You are seventeen and you already have a promising entrepreneurship under your name. What next? Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

A) With Micro Treasures growing every day, we hope to expand at a faster rate and go international. We have plans of conducting distributions drives in other Indian cities as well - once the pandemic is better. In the next five years, I hope to see people with healthier immune systems with the help of microgreens. We want to help the underprivileged and make their lives healthier and happier.