A Story 60 Years in the Making
"Long before PIKL existed, this chilli pickle already had a life of its own."
In the mid-1960s, a brilliant food technologist, late Bellari Bhavani Shankar Rao, a gold medalist in food science, started a small manufacturing unit in Bengaluru called AFCON (Annapurna Food Products & Condiments). What began as a passion for food soon became a trusted name in kitchens and canteens across the city.
When his health declined, the business was taken over by my uncle, late D. R. Mallapur, who left his multinational career to grow it further. Under his care, AFCON expanded into a serious operation. We even had a registered honey brand called Sanjeevhoney.
In 1979, I moved from Mumbai to join him. Those years shaped me. I had enrolled at MES Evening College, but honestly, I spent most of my time in the factory, in godowns, in delivery vans, and in conversations with chefs and canteen managers. That food business became my real classroom.
If you name a one-star or five-star hotel in Bengaluru from that era, chances are they served our pickles. From mango and lime to brinjal, appenmidi, grape, and our famous green chilli pickle — AFCON supplied them all.
"Among everything we made, the green chilli pickle was special. It was not brutally hot. It was perfectly balanced. Tangy, bold, addictive. Anyone who tasted it remembered it."
Over time, the original recipes were lost. The factory shut down. Life moved on. But the memory of that chilli pickle never left me.
PIKL is my way of bringing it back.
I hope when you open a bottle, you don't just taste chillies and spice. I hope you taste a story that started nearly sixty years ago.
