There are where few humans whose thoughts and intentions work in collaboration with their business. Mr. Gian Chand Arora, the founder of IG International Pvt ltd. in his splendid journey has been a visionary and today, the Indian fresh fruit industry is really thankful to him for his vision and dynamism which has made it possible to provide a full basket of imported fresh produce to the nation while opening up new world markets for Indian produce to be exported and relished by global consumers and now Mr. Tarun Arora with his expert skills have nurtured the brand thus serving numerous households that brought to life a small business into a large scale organization.
The Splendid Journey:
Established in 1970, IG started by trading Indian productions and gradually, evolved as a global import and export giant. With every gear, the organization scaled new heights and explored more avenues of opportunities to cater to Indian and global market. Post the incorporation in 2000, they began the first wholesale outlet came in 2006 and spread their arms to new businesses such as:
- In 2008, IG strengthened its operations by forming a group company called IG Logistics, which today owns a fleet of 130 refrigerated trucks and trailers.
— In 20014, completed 14 cold storage facilities across 10 different cities in India.
— In 2018, 16 cold storage facilities became operational. fruits like Peaches, Nectarines, Avocados, Blueberries were introduced in the Indian market.
— The year 2019, saw the largest consignment of apples from Stemilt (USA) arrive where we marked the arrival of 1000 containers from one company in the USA to IG in India.
— In 2020 we celebrated our 50-year anniversary.
— 2021 gave us our first blueberry commercial harvest.
IG International is one of the largest Importer of fresh fruits in India and we are in operation for more than 50 years. We import Premium fresh fruits, also known as club variety, from established and leading growers all over the world, to a tune of more than 80,000 Metric tons annually from around 22 countries.
They have a large logistics infrastructure with cold storages spread across 16 destinations in India, around a hundred reefer trucks and, a centralized IT-enabled operation for efficient monitoring and management. IG International is also into fruit growing with orchards in India and Europe. In Madhya Pradesh, in India, we are cultivating premium Blueberries, licensed by Australia’s Mountain Blue for the domestic market and for export as well. In the Czech Republic, we have orchards cultivating cherries and apples. We also have a logistics venture, IG Logistics providing third-party logistics in India.
Mr. Tarun Arora: The Motivation behind IG
An inspiring journey that started five decades ago, today, is a renowned name in the business world. Mr. Tarun Arora, the Director of IG International Pvt. Ltd. has seamlessly spearheaded the organization with his intelligence and ideations for adapting new innovations. The successful director believes in, “Create a sense of purpose for yourself. And, work hard, work smart. Always!”. He is the motivation behind the huge workforce.
The productive work culture at IG evolves from teamwork. A sense of purpose among the employees arising from a shared vision of the company, values, and workplace ethics makes our employees happy, dedicated, and committed workforce. A spirit of camaraderie and customer-oriented attitude at all levels attribute to our productive work culture.
The pandemic has changed what we consider the workplace. There are some works that can be done from home while there are some works that have to be done at offices, on-site, in markets, etc. We’re challenged to redesign the hybrid workplace with physical health and safety as top priorities. Driving and sustaining growth is especially difficult to achieve in this environment. To reboot growth, as leaders, we have to really understand the status of the market and consumer behavior, their needs, wants, and desires based on the level of devastation they’re experiencing.
Every challenge has a silver lining. Constant innovation is the new normal. Business processes have to be reconfigured and calibrated as per changes happening at the speed of light. This also breaks the monotony out of routine work. Facing and accepting new challenges every day and working around them keeps us motivated.
“I believe the energy of the company begins with leadership. If we are not excited and inspired, the teams won’t be either. Energy, enthusiasm, and motivation flow top-down. We stay focused on solutions and keep sharing enthusiasm with all teams. All our team leaders in each department try to build a stronger relationship with their teams with empathy and support. By creating a happy and healthy work environment across different verticals helps us in each one of us being more productive.”
-Tarun Arora, Director, IG International Pvt. Ltd.
It is the values that the organization is built on that has survived the tough times and overcome any challenge that comes their way. This is one of the sole reasons they are doing well even in the pandemic.
IG has witnessed unprecedented demand for IG Imported Fruits across consumer segments and becoming increasingly popular because of their quality, health benefits, and nutritional value, especially as an immune booster. India, as a country, has been particularly lacking in the cold storage management that prevented it from being a major Asian market. IG has been constantly striving to address this issue in view of the future growth prospect. IG International is looking to invest up to USD 10 million in expanding its cold storage network and plans to open more plants in major regional hubs in India. So, obviously, we’re bouncing back.
