When Tamil Nadu’s R Natarajan dropped out of school to sell fruits with his brother in 1953, little would he have known that his business started from a pushcart would be valued at Rs 800 crore one day.

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A 10-year-old Natarajan would man a pushcart of mangoes and apples in Coimbatore with his brother who was a year older. This was their only source of income after their father, the family’s only breadwinner, passed away.

R Natarajan worked as a sales-boy-cum-cleaner in a fruit shop and later sold fruits at railway stations and bus stands. The brothers saved about 25 paise each day and 12 years later opened their first fruit store — Pazhamudir Nilayam — in 1965 with an investment of Rs 300.

It was the first of its kind that came up with the concept of fair, fixed prices and sold items by their weight instead of by the dozen.

Fast forward to 2023, Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam (KPN) is a prominent fruit and vegetable chain based in Tamil Nadu that is now valued at Rs 800 crore, according to Moneycontrol. According to its report, private equity firm WestBridge has picked up a nearly 70 percent stake in an all-cash deal for Rs 550-600 crore. The deal values KPN at Rs 800 crore, as per the report.

The remaining 30 percent will stay with the promoters, and Senthil Natarajan, R Natarajan’s son, joint owner of the chain and the current managing director, will continue to run operations.

Back in the day, the two brothers initially also sold fruit juice where sales were rising. Since they offered just pulp and no added water, customers were eventually compelled to buy fruits as well.

“The outlet did not prove very profitable at first, because there was a general misconception that shops selling fruits were expensive, while local markets were not. But the advantage we had over others was that the fruits we sold were of good quality and were available at a fair price,” R Natarajan told The News Minute in 2016.

According to the report, initially, there were no profits and they used to sell the unsold fruits on their pushcarts. But gradually, they were able to stop pushcart sales and in 1983, they began selling vegetables as well.

Eventually, KPN had four outlets that functioned out of Coimbatore. These were divided between R Natrajan and his three brothers, with all of them maintaining separate accounts for their shops, a practice that is followed even to date.

In 2012, they formally established KPN Farm Fresh with a 60 percent stake in the company, while the balance was distributed among partners in existing KPN outlets, according to a media report.

The chain is said to have a revenue of Rs 400 crore and is profitable. While it currently has stores across Tamil Nadu, it is looking to expand in other southern states as well. The WestBridge deal was concluded a few weeks ago, according to Moneycontrol.

As per the 2016 report from The News Minute, the chain had 56 outlets spread across Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, of which the other brothers operate between them nine outlets located in different parts of Tamil Nadu.

The company has one 20,000 square feet warehouse in Coimbatore and another 1.5 lakh square feet warehouse located in Vanagaram, on the outskirts of Chennai, according to The Weekend Leader report.

The Moneycontrol report points out that WestBridge Capital’s infusion of investment in KPN Farm Fresh to buy a majority stake comes at a time when it has generally slowed the pace of deploying capital, given the macroeconomic concerns. As against 25 companies in 2022, the private equity firm has invested in just one deal this year.