About Sona Trading Company
Four decades spent cleaning tamarind properly. That is the whole business, and it has not changed since 1980.
It began in 1980, with a complaint
Sona Trading Company was started in 1980 by Mr. Shahul Hameed.
In those days tamarind was sold more or less as it came off the tree — seeds, shell and fibre still in it. Every household sat and picked it clean before cooking.
He took the view that this was the seller's job, not the customer's. So he worked out how to clean tamarind properly and sold only the pulp.
That one decision is still the entire business.
What we actually do
We buy tamarind from small farmers and local traders around Palakkad.
It is cleaned in three stages — before moulding, during moulding and after moulding. Seeds, shell and fibre all come out.
Then it is pressed into slabs and packed in a facility kept to strict hygiene standards, meeting the government rules for food packing. Raw material is handled well away from packing, and staff follow set hygiene rules.
Nothing clever about it. It is simply done properly, every batch.
Who buys from us
Some of India's best-known food brands have bought from us for decades — Eastern, Double Horse, Kitchen Treasures, Lulu Hypermarket, Fair Export, Unitaste, Kanchana, Mia, Shahi Foods, Ajwa, Jaleel Cash & Carry, Kozhikoden's and Shahala.
We also export to the Gulf, including Trus Holding in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
They come back for one reason: the tamarind is clean, and it is the same every time. A brand cannot build a recipe on an ingredient that changes batch to batch.
We buy from small farmers
Tamarind is not a plantation crop. The trees grow on their own, scattered across the district, and the fruit is collected by families and small traders.
We have bought from many of the same people for years. That relationship is what lets us turn down what is not good enough — which is the part of quality control nobody sees on the packet.
Still run the same way
The standard Mr. Hameed set in 1980 is the one we still work to. Clean it properly. Pack it properly. Say plainly what is in the packet.
We are in Kollengode, in Palakkad district, Kerala — and we are glad to hear from anyone, whether you want a single block or a container.
Talk to us
Sona Trading Company, Chickanampara, Kollengode, Palakkad, Kerala 678506, India.
Phone +91 4923 262891 · reachus@sonatamarind.com