MBA quits job to start mushroom business with wife; clocks Rs24 lakh in Bihar village

While living in Pune, Amit Kumar and his wife Deepika never thought there would come a day when they would leave the city’s glittering life behind and chart a completely new course. Amit, an MBA from Sinhgad Institute of Management, worked in the IT sector. Deepika, with a bachelor's in computer applications, got trained as a baker.

When COVID-19 hit, the couple decided to spend some time at their native place, Lakhisarai in Bihar.

“We came home for a few months but never went back. In 2020, during the lockdown, we started watching YouTube videos to start something from home. We found mushroom cultivation to be a good option given that nobody was cultivating them in Lakhisarai at that time,” Amit tells 30Stades.

The first batch of mushrooms

Deepika and Amit learned from videos, ordered 7 kg of oyster mushroom spawn (seeds) online and put 50 bags in an unused room of their house in September 2020. “Without training, the results were not good. We harvested only around 20kg of oyster mushrooms, but understood that it was a very profitable option,” he says.

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Oyster mushroom bags put in September yield the first harvest in 25 days, followed by two more harvests.

Typically, one bag, with an investment of Rs 35 to Rs 40, including paddy straw and spawns, gives revenues of Rs 140 to Rs 150. So the profit per bag is a minimum of Rs 100, Amit points out.

After the unsuccessful attempt, Amit took a 30-day training at the local agriculture department in Lakhisarai and a seven-day online training from ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research in Solan.

“After that, I put up two huts using locally available paddy straw and bamboo. The flooring was done with mud to keep the structure naturally cool,” he says.

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This time, he put up 6,000 bags. “I purchased 350 kg of spawns at Rs 96 a kg from West Bengal. About 80kg of paddy straw is required for 8kg of spawns and results in about 140 to 150 bags,” he points out.

This time, he harvested a bumper yield, resulting in an output of over 5,000 kg of oyster mushrooms. “Since there was not a big enough market for fresh oyster mushrooms, we dried a big part of the produce,” he says.

Amit sold the fresh mushrooms at Rs 150 per kg and dried ones at Rs 500 to Rs 600 per kg to a wholesale buyer in Jabalpur. “Since then, there has been no looking back,” he says.

Drying, baking and adding value to mushrooms

They now grow button mushrooms also. Deepika started her bakery in Lakhisarai using oyster mushrooms in cakes, cookies, biscuits, breads, buns and other products. “To use our mushroom production, we started making pickles, biscuits and cookies and started sending them to our contacts in the IT sector in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and other places,” the agripreneur says.

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While they grow mushrooms over 4,000 sq ft, Deepika’s bakery is spread over 1200 sq ft. The couple clocked a turnover of Rs 24 lakh last fiscal.

“About half of our turnover is from our value-added business. Button mushrooms are sold fresh daily, while oyster mushrooms are mostly processed,” he says.

The couple is now focused on processing mushrooms into powder and baked goods. “This increases the shelf life, reduces wastage and gives us an edge over other producers who sell only fresh produce,” he adds.

Another turning point for the business was in 2022, when Amit suggested adding oyster chilli to a wedding menu in the village.

“Oyster chilli dish was a hit, and now, we are flooded with orders for oyster mushrooms during the wedding season. Sometimes we cannot meet the high demand,” the mushroom entrepreneur out.

Amit and Deepika also regularly participate in agriculture exhibitions, creating awareness about mushrooms and increasing the demand for their products.

Amit has also trained thousands of farmers in Bihar in the cultivation of both oyster and button mushrooms, creating micro-entrepreneurs. He also sells prepared mushroom bags for farmers for Rs 60 to Rs 70 each. “Buyers just need to put them in their unit or home and take care of them. I guide them about maintenance till the harvest stage,” he adds.

(Riya Singh is a Ranchi-based journalist who writes on environment, farming, sustainability, startups, & women empowerment).

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