Asia Sweets: From tiny tea stall to giant yoghurt producer
The physician father dreamt of his sons growing up as doctors, but it did not happen. The sports-loving three sons tried to become established as players; they even did well in district-level cricket and football competitions. None of them, however, were to become professional players.
Later, at a certain moment the three young men – Nurul Bashar Chandan, Nurul Alam Tutul, Nurul Huda Tilok – decided to start a tea stall selling snacks and sweets. Immediately, it became a success. Over time, the business grew big – not as a tea stall, but rather as a yoghurt producer.
This is the brief story of Asia Sweets, which currently leads the Bogura yoghurt market. The signature item of the region is widely popular across the country for its unique taste.
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"We came into business in 1985. Initially, we sold snacks, sweets and tea. Our tea made with raw milk became hugely popular," Nurul Bashar Chandan, who currently looks after Asia Sweets, said while talking to The Business Standard recently.
People from different parts of the region used to come to the stall to just have a cup of tea. They even had to wait in queues for hours.
"In the meantime, we noticed some wicked people after taking narcotics made their way to our stall for taking our tea. We did not entertain them. One day, we closed down the tea business, but continued snacks selling."
Chandan said the siblings then began to think of some alternative businesses.
"We then planned yoghurt production. Yoghurt has been produced in Bogura for hundreds of years, so why should people buy our yoghurt? Thinking about this matter, we first determined to produce the best quality yoghurt. To make this happen, we needed a good chef, which was rare then."
In 2006, Asia Sweets found a great chef – Riaz Kabiraj – and went into yoghurt production.
"In the early days, we started to beat other prominent yoghurt producers such as Muharam and Gaur Gopal with our unique tasting product. We then gained confidence and went gradually into large-scale production," Nurul Bashar Chandan said, adding that they, meanwhile, stopped selling breakfast items such as luchi, shingara, samucha.
Currently, Asia Sweets with its 200 workers produces a tonne, or 1,000 kg, of yoghurt a day.
The first yoghurt of Bogura is believed to have been produced by Ghetu Ghosh of the Sherpur area hundreds of years ago. Currently, the area accommodates some 400 factories producing 50 tonnes of yoghurt per day. Asia Sweets is the most popular among them.
Local people said Asia Sweets products are widely popular for their quality and taste.
"Asia Sweets yoghurt is the best in terms of quality but their production is limited," said Shajahan Ali, a resident of Chelopara. "They dominate the yoghurt market also for honesty and correct weight," he added.
Bogura Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice-President Mahfuzul Islam Raj said, "Just as Bogura is ruling the country's yoghurt market, Asia Sweets is ruling the yoghurt business in Bogura."
Production limited despite higher demand
Interestingly, Asia Sweets produces a certain amount of yoghurt per day despite higher demand. Usually, its products are sold out by noon.
When asked about the reason behind this, Nurul Bashar Chandan said it happens due to a lack of quality milk.
"There is a huge shortage of milk and good quality milk is not available now. Ten years ago, we could process 8 kg of cream from a maund [about 40 kg] of milk. Now, processing 6 kg of cream is tough from the same amount as the milk is now heavily mixed with water," he added.
Asia Sweets needs at least 60 maunds of milk per day. At the same time, it needs 250-300 kg of cream.
"If we get a sufficient amount of quality milk, we can increase our production manifold, which will also generate huge employment.
