The Covid -19 pandemic disrupted several lives and livelihoods across the world. MSMEs, the backbone of the Indian economy took a beating forcing many small businesses to shut down. The media was rife with vivid images of workers undertaking arduous treks to their hometowns as their employers could not afford to employ them.

The situation was however different at Munshi Panna Masala Udyog (www.munshipannamasale.com), a private limited located at Etmadpur, Agra. This spice company that has been a household name for the last eighty years was committed to protecting the safety of its employees without reducing production capacity.

Nitin Goyal, one of the directors of Munshi Panna in an interview with BWA said, “Safeguarding our employees was our primary concern. To ensure this, protocols like maintaining social distancing; wearing face masks; introducing hygienic checks at production levels; sanitizing distribution vehicles and setting up sanitization tunnels for full-body sanitization were put in place. We set up living accommodations at the factory premises. Our employees are like extended family and have been with the company for several years. To boost their morale, I too stayed at the factory premises. We were thus able to ensure that there was no disruption in the supply chain”.

Image Courtesy: www.munshipannamasale.com

Nitin Goyal aged 33 is a third-generation businessman with Munshi Panna Masala. He was barely twelve years old when he started taking an active interest in the company. He said, “Although I was interested in studying further, the company that was started by my grandfather and uncle needed all our support to make it a success”.

From its humble beginnings as a small ‘Kirana’ shop selling herbs and spices near Agra railway station, today Munshi Panna Masala is a 100 Crore Company - thanks to the dedicated efforts of Vishnu Kumar Goyal, his wife Krishna Goyal and their two sons Sachin and Nitin Goyal.

In 1940, brothers Munshilal and Pannalal, who were primarily agriculturists forayed into trading herbs and whole spices. In 2000, the company created a robust network of over 150 distributors and one lakh retailers covering four states - Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. According to Nitin Goyal, “the biggest challenge we faced was to change people’s attitudes towards buying pre-packaged ground and blended spices. We were successful in converting a lot of people into loyal customers because of our commitment to maintaining quality, authenticity, and consistency”.

To keep up with the growing demand, Munshi Panna has invested in state-of-the-art machinery from Japan which has helped automate the entire spice making process- right from cleaning, to roasting, to grinding, to packaging and dispatching without compromising the taste. Spices are bought from known suppliers at the peak season to ensure freshness and flavour. When it comes to taste and range of products, the team at Munshi Panna has a pulse on the evolving palates of customers. Vishnu Kumar Goyal, the senior director and head of the family adds, “Our commitment to maintaining the highest quality of formulated spices has been the hallmark of Munshi Panna Masala. We have come a long way since 1940 to win customer loyalty and trust. It is this very quality that transforms our customers into creating delicious food and becoming master chefs!