Last week the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority fielded a different personality at a session on retail and domestic markets for organic foods during BioFach 2012.

It was none other than former Indian cricketer Dilip R. Doshi, who has already earned a name in retail trade by being the first in the country to get permission to import luxury items such as Mont Blanc.

“I am still involved with Mont Blanc,” the man who bamboozled even greats like Greg Chappell Down Under with his left arm spin says, when confronted with his new role in organic food.

His performance at the session was akin to his debut Test at Chennai in December 1979, getting a well-settled Graeme Wood trapped in front of the wicket.

Just like the way he went on to pick six wickets in his debut innings for 103 runs, Doshi went on to impress the small but a knowledgeable gathering at the event with his view on retail market for organic food.

Now the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Entrack Group of Companies, Doshi says he has been watching the development of organic food market for the last two decades.

“I have been always impressed by Germans, especially my partner firms since they don't want even to take one-billionth chance of contamination in plants,” he told the audience.

In fact, Doshi, based in the UK, has another first to his credit. He was the first person to introduce German organic products in India. He set up his first retail outlet at Ahmedabad in November last year. “In the next few months, we will have outlets in Mumbai and Bangalore too,” he says adding that his retail outlet has been named as Organic ‘Haus' or ‘House' as it is known in German.

“ I have borrowed a lot of design for my outlet from here. I want customers to get a feel of the exotic experience of being in Germany,” said the former cricketer, whose first scalp in one-day cricket was Greg Chappell. It was again a memorable debut picking three wickets for 32 runs off 10 overs.

“We have to create awareness and desire among people about organic products,” says Doshi who has 898 first class wickets to his credit. His online shop for organic products will be active by August.

On the sidelines when asked about how different it is for him in organic retail market compared to the 22-yards on which he had many a batsman stumped with his deceptive flight, he says, “In cricket, you need talent and a bit of luck. In this, you need vision and have to put in lot of hard work.”

On what made him take to marketing organic food, he says it is his own initiative to bring “right and good things” to India.

“I don't think you need more money to eat healthy food. You can eat well (healthy food) with a regular income. You have to be confident about these things,” he says.

When the topic is switched over to cricket, he dismisses the performance of the Indian team in Australia as one that is not worth discussing about. “It is difficult to talk about that from here. We have to find out why and how things are not clicking for our team,” he says.

And then he turns to India's reluctance to chase, what experts feel, a gettable target in West Indies early last year.

“We failed to chase what we should have. Perhaps, our confidence dipped from then onwards,” he says.

Has he done anything in management or marketing to foray into retailing? “No, I just did basic graduation. Rest all have been my own initiative,” says the 64-year-old veteran as he moves on with confidence. The same confidence with which he made his debut at the age of 32, considered by many as too old!

(The trip for BioFach 2012 was sponsored by Nuremberg Messe GmbH in collaboration with the APEDA).

> mrsubramani@ thehindu.co.in

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