Interview of Shariful Alam Pavel, CEO, My Organic BD
- Tell us a bit about yourself.
Shariful Alam Pavel: My name is Shariful Alam Pavel. My last certification is MBA from BRAC University. I worked with different private companies and multi-national companies for the last 8 years. Based on the experience and knowledge I gained in my job, I established MyOrganicBD.com, an online store Brand that specializes in selling organic foods and products. Alongside, I also have a Marketing agency called Shape Communications Bangladesh where I am serving as Brand Manager.
- Tell us a bit about organic food.
Shariful Alam Pavel: Organic crops are produced using natural fertilizers. It does not contain any harmful chemical materials such as preservatives, pesticides or fertilizers. This is basically organic crop. Various crops such as rice, wheat, jute, honey, vegetables, dairy products can be called organic if they are produced in such manner.
- What made you decide to establish MyOrganicBD.com?
Shariful Alam Pavel: The foods that we are taking nowadays contain a wide range of chemicals. These are applied at different stages, starting from production to packaging. Many of these materials are very harmful for our health as well as the environment and the overall natural eco-system of our country. The main goal behind establishing My Organic BD is to spread awareness among people about organic food and encourage them to buy organic foods for the long-term benefit of their health as well as the environment. Our slogan: Safe food, Save Life.
- Tell us a bit about the health benefits of organic foods.
Shariful Alam Pavel: Organic food is highly beneficial to health because they contain very little or almost no chemicals. Hence, it does not have any negative effects on human health. Though price of the food is high, people still buy them because nothing is more valuable than their health and life. We must take organic food for a healthy life. It ensures our good health.
- Tell us about the vision of My Organic BD.
Shariful Alam Pavel: If you look at the worldwide statistics of the cause of death, you will see that most of the people died due to contamination caused by environmental pollution and harmful chemicals. With My Organic Bd, we aim to sell foods and other products that are produced organically and are beneficial to health and nature. In the next five years, the entire agriculture system of Bangladesh will be switched to either organic production or minimum safe production. As a result, there will be no harmful chemicals in the food. Within next Five years, There will be ZERO contamination food in Bangladesh.
- Tell us about the mission of MyOrganicBd.com
Shariful Alam Pavel: Our mission is to spread awareness among people about going organic and the effect of using chemicals and pesticides on human health as well as environment. In the process, we aim to encourage farmers to grow organic food.
Still today, majority of the farmers in our country do not know how to grow organic food properly. We hope to provide them necessary assistance to grow organic crops efficiently.
- What is the current condition of organic food market in Bangladesh?
Shariful Alam Pavel: Bangladesh is an agro-based country and organic food will further improve the living standard of our people. There is huge demand of organic foods in Bangladesh. In addition, there is a big international market for organic products and it is growing every day. With necessary technical and financial support, our farmers can grow organic crops and export them as well. By exporting organic crops, we can earn foreign currencies. Government should work on this matter with the farmers.
- Tell us a bit about the organic products that are currently available in our country.
Shariful Alam Pavel: The organic food market has not fully developed in our country. First, we have to set necessary standards and process for producing organic food. With proper steps, we can quickly develop quality organic products such as organic foods, organic fertilizers, lifestyle products etc. The farmers should use compost manure. The processing of organic foods should use very little or no chemicals. This will be beneficial to both human health and environment. Already many countries around the world are producing organic crops. We should learn from them.
- Tell us about the future plan of MyOrganicBD.com
Shariful Alam Pavel: Spreading awareness as well as popularizing organic products is a big challenge. Our goal is to spread awareness and popularize organic food among people. We want to sell quality organic products at affordable price. We cannot do it alone. We need government’s support as well as the support of other private organizations that are engaged in this industry. At present, availability of organic food is very low because small companies or retail outlets produce their own products and sell through their own channels. We must develop suitable supply chain for organic foods.
Success story:
People who bought products from us gave very good feedback. I shall not mention anyone’s name. This particular customer buy honey, Black seed oil and ashwagandha powder and he was very satisfied with the quality of the products. Many customers contact with us by email. They want to buy more products from us in future.
