Aelea Commodities is an Indian cashew processor that turns raw nuts into food, fuel, feed and fertiliser - four revenue streams from a single raw material - and it is building that integrated chain step by step, funding each expansion with the cash flows of the one before. Founded in 2018 and led by a chairman with 25 years of financial-management experience, the company has scaled its Surat factory from 40 to 140 metric tonnes per day and is now constructing a second facility to convert what was once waste into industrial oils and carbon products. The recurring approach is circular: process the nut, sell the kernel, then extract value from the shell and husk that others discard - a “waste to wealth” logic that explains every move the company makes. # Business segments A single integrated cashew business that earns from kernels today and is layering on by-product processing, other nuts and fruits, and eventually staple grains - each stage built on the processing backbone of the one before. ## 1. Cashew kernels: the cash engine that funds everything else **The company buys raw cashew nuts, mostly from Africa, processes them into graded kernels at a 140-tonne-per-day plant, and sells them to domestic and international buyers - a high-volume, working-capital-heavy business where scale and sourcing discipline determine the margin.** - **African nuts, bought through traders** - roughly 95% of raw material comes from Africa via merchant intermediaries in Singapore or Dubai, because African cargoes are larger and cheaper than Indian nuts, which helps the plant run consistently at high utilisation. - **Three levels of processing** - the factory produces Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 cashew products, a broader range than most Indian processors offer, so it can serve customers who want plain kernels as well as those who need roasted, salted or flavoured variants. - **Back-to-back buying and selling** - the company buys raw nuts and sells kernels in tandem, maintaining what management calls an “impressed inventory” rather than betting on price movements, which protects it in a market where raw-nut prices vary by origin, moisture and nut count and are hard to benchmark. - **Scale as a barrier** - the cashew industry is fragmented with low entry barriers, but many small processors become unviable at higher volumes because their cost structures cannot match Aelea’s plant scale, giving the company an advantage as it grows. - **Brands exist but B2C is tiny** - the ‘Tryble’ and ‘Supreme’ brands sell in both business-to-business and retail channels, yet consumer pouches account for only about 1% of total sales; the company is not spending on e-commerce or advertising for that segment until it has a broader product basket. ## 2. Cashew by-products: the waste-to-wealth engine under construction **The shell and husk left over after kernel processing are being turned into cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) oil, biochar and activated carbon - products sold into automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical markets - with a dedicated new factory now being built.** - **Three colour-coded value stages** - the company maps its chain in green blocks (kernel processing), yellow blocks (second-level products from shell and nuts) and orange blocks (tertiary outputs like biochar, activated carbon and high-value fuel), so every part of the nut has a commercial destination. - **Phase 3 goes further downstream** - the roadmap includes converting CNSL and real cake into high value products such as cardanol and activated carbon, which have applications across industrial sectors. - **A new factory with its own power** - Unit III at Vasaravi, Surat, on 412,000 square feet of acquired land, will house the by-product processing lines and integrate 4 MW of renewable energy, while rooftop solar has been completed and installed at the existing facility. - **Certified green credentials** - the company plans production of cleaner certified ISCC EU biofuels and ISCC plus industrial oils, which opens doors to buyers who require verified sustainable supply chains. ## 3. Other nuts, fruits and future commodities: the diversification pipeline **Beyond cashew, the company intends to process and trade almonds, walnuts, dates, pistachios and makhana, and eventually enter rice, sugar and wheat - a long-term plan to replicate its processing model across adjacent agricultural goods.** - **Five nuts and fruits on the near-term list** - almond, walnut, dates, pistachio and makhana are targeted for processing, with an aim to do half the volume through retail, value-added products and institutional channels, supported by Indian consumption growth rates of 2% to 10% annually across these categories. - **“Three whites” for the longer term** - future plans include export-focused rice processing with preferential access to Africa, conversion-focused sugar with similar Africa access plus Indian retail premium, and India-centric wheat processing into products like semolina and rava. - **Supply-chain deepening, not just trading** - the company buys from the supply ecosystem on a no-credit basis to secure better margins, moving closer to the source rather than simply trading commodities. - **Retail through government-premium stores** - the plan envisages around 100 franchise-operated retail outlets under government premium-store formats to sell high-quality products directly to consumers. # Group structure and partners **Two wholly owned subsidiaries were incorporated in late 2025 to house the green-energy and nuts-and-fruits businesses separately, keeping each vertical distinct while the parent provides capital and operational oversight.** - **Aelea Green Energy Limited** - incorporated in October 2025, this subsidiary holds the renewable energy, biomass, sustainable biomaterials and waste-management activities, and the board has since reviewed tolling arrangements and capital plans between it and the parent. - **Aelea Nuts & Fruits Limited** - incorporated later in October 2025, this subsidiary houses the processing, manufacturing, trading and distribution of nuts, fruits and related value-added products, sitting within the FMCG and agri-export sector. - **Parent as capital allocator** - Aelea Commodities Limited owns 100% of both subsidiaries and has been evaluating equity infusions and deployment of investment funds into each, treating them as distinct vehicles for distinct value-chain stages.