A company that began as a textile trader in 1993 and is now a BSE-listed micro-cap stitching together India’s premier agricultural research institutions to build a pipeline from farm to functional ingredient - that is Nutricircle Ltd. It transformed into a pure-play nutraceutical business under the leadership of Managing Director Hitesh Mohanlal Patel, who took control in 2013 and later consolidated his holding to over 62% while converting personal loans into equity to recapitalise the company. The recurring approach is to secure a long-term, sustainable supply of native crops - quinoa, millets, chickpea - through contract farming and institutional tie-ups, then apply R&D to isolate plant proteins and develop nutrition products, a philosophy articulated consistently across every annual report. # Business segments A single engine - plant protein ingredients and nutrition products derived from indigenous grains, built on a foundation of research partnerships and contract farming, now reaching for international markets through a distribution agreement and a newly incorporated European subsidiary. ## 1. Plant protein and nutrition products: from Indian farms to functional ingredients **The company isolates protein from quinoa, millets, chickpea and other native crops using research partnerships with India’s top agricultural institutes, then sells the resulting concentrates and flours as ingredients to food, beverage and nutrition companies - with a newly signed exclusive distributor now handling all sales.** - **Research partnerships are the R&D backbone** - the company has tied up with NAARM for a quinoa incubation and demonstration centre on 1.8 acres, with NAARM for nutritional flour and noodle technology, with the Indian Institute of Millet Research for plant protein from jowar, ragi and bajra, and with ICRISAT for high-protein chickpea cultivars, so it accesses institutional science rather than building a large in-house lab. - **Farmers grow the raw material on contract** - quinoa cultivation has been taken up on about 30 acres through a tie-up with farmers at Nagar Karnool, giving the company a dedicated supply chain without owning farmland, though crops have been vulnerable to adverse climate. - **The product range now spans 28% to 95% protein content** - launched as the “Next Generation of Plant-Based Proteins” at Gulfood Dubai 2026, the line includes protein concentrates and isolates from foxtail millet, amaranth, pearl millet, horse gram, lentils and high-protein chickpea, targeting food and beverage, nutraceutical, sports nutrition, pharmaceutical, bakery and snack manufacturers. - **One exclusive distributor handles the entire sales pipeline** - a five-year agreement signed in August 2025 with Barentz Distribution India gives Barentz exclusive rights to market, distribute and resell Nutricircle’s products in the territory, with all customer enquiries routed to Barentz and purchase orders accepted up to 115% of the estimated annual volume. - **A European subsidiary opens the door to international markets** - Nutricircle Europe ApS was incorporated in Denmark in May 2026, wholly owned, to develop, produce and trade plant-based ingredients and food products, though it had not yet commenced operations at incorporation. # Group structure and partners **A tightly held promoter-led company with no operating subsidiaries as of the last balance-sheet date, but with a web of institutional research partnerships that function as its de facto innovation engine.** - **The board is five-strong with three independents** - the Executive Managing Director is joined by a Whole Time Director and three Independent Directors, while the statutory audit is handled by NSVR & Associates LLP and secretarial audit by M/s Jain Mayuri & Associates. - **Research muscle comes from outside the company** - partnerships span NAARM, PJTSAU, the Indian Institute of Millet Research (an ICAR body), ICRISAT, and AgHub (the agri-innovation hub of PJTSAU), with AgHub holding board observer and inspection rights but no claim over Nutricircle’s intellectual property. - **A state-government MOU signals geographic expansion** - an agreement with the Government of Assam proposes up to Rs. 100 crores of investment in a food-processing and black-rice protein isolation project, valid for 12 months from February 2025. - **An acquisition is in principle on the cards** - the company decided to acquire Himalaya Nutravedics India Private Limited as a going concern, with final cost and payment mode to be settled.