Helping to Create Beer Imbued with Welfare

For over a decade, Malteries Soufflet India has been diligently managing a comprehensive barley supply chain through its agricultural initiative known as the ‘Barley Prosperity Program.’ Jean-Marc Leclercq, Managing Director, Soufflet Malt India (P) Ltd., says that under the Barley Prosperity Program, farmers are assured a predetermined buy-back price based on Minimum Support Price (MSP) along with a premium, thereby mitigating their exposure to pricing fluctuations.

Barley Prosperity Program is managed through a digital platform called ‘M-krishi,’ which allows Malteries Soufflet India to follow all its farmers closely in terms of agro-practices - issuing recommendation, farm input application, yield estimation, etc.

Malteries Soufflet India, in its relentless pursuit of enhancing farm yields and augmenting farmers’ incomes, collaborates with its breeding partner to conduct diverse trials including varietal, agronomic, and multi-location trials, evaluating over 200 varieties annually. Presently, the company boasts a farmer database exceeding 25,000 individuals and was engaged with over 10,000 farmers during its Crop 23 campaign, procuring approximately 40,000 metric tonnes of 2R barley.

Kimaya Himalayan Beverages has entered into collaboration with Malteries Soufflet to contribute to the taste profile of its beer. It has been procuring its malting needs out of barley from the in-hou se agro programme of Malteries Soufflet India. The partnership between the parties is creating value for every player across the entire supply chain.

According to Abhinav Jindal, Founder and CEO of Kimaya Himalayan Beverages, at the heart of their beer BeeYoung’s distinctive taste is their careful selection of high-quality malt sourced exclusively from Malteries Soufflet, a prominent name in the malting industry.

The two-row barley used to make this crafted brew is grown in India and acclimatised to Indian climate and further meticulously monitored and supported by experts to get the same quality as European varietal 2 Row barley, thereby contributing to creating a brew with unique and enjoyable taste profile. Elaborating on this supply, Jean- Marc Leclercq informs that the barley provided to Kimaya Himalayan Beverages is directly sourced by Malteries Soufflet India from its registered farmers through its ‘Barley Prosperity Program’ across Rajasthan. To ensure varietal’s purity, Malteries Soufflet India is managing the entire upward supply chain from varietal identification, seeds multiplication, seeds preparation and treatment until distribution.

“We can also provide barley from a specific area or district to Kimaya Himalayan Beverages in case they express interest in traceability or specific origin,” Jean-Marc offers.

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