Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar:
₹440 Cr Fresh Capital.
The Aeroplane Is Ready for Takeoff.

The Rice Exporter That Decided To Finally Tell India About Itself

From Amritsar to Your Pantry: The Aeroplane Story

Imagine your grandmother’s kitchen shelf. On it sits a red-and-blue Aeroplane packet of aata. Maybe some besan. Perhaps a jar of mixed spices. You’ve probably never thought about who made it, where it came from, or whether the founder was sitting in a board meeting wearing his chappals.

Now imagine that company deciding to go public after 23 years of staying happily private. That’s Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar (Exports) Limited — better known as Aeroplane, the FMCG brand your mother swears by and your father has definitely never heard of.

Founded in 2003 by Jagdish Kumar Suri, Rahul Suri, and Ramnika Suri, the company processes basmati rice, exports to 38 countries across four continents, and sells flour, spices, and staples under the Aeroplane brand in India. They’ve got 100 registered trademarks, 40+ sub-brands (including “Aeroplane La-Taste” and “World Cup”), and manufacturing facilities in Amritsar and Safidon that hum quietly while everyone else chases unicorns.

The financial story? Revenue grew from ₹1,317 crore (FY23) to ₹2,004 crore (FY25) — a 52% jump in two years. PAT nearly tripled from ₹17.50 crore to ₹60.82 crore. EBITDA margins expanded from 6% to 8.18%. And then, like a plot twist in a Hindi movie, the promoter family decided: “You know what? Let’s invite the public to the dinner table.”

The IPO opens March 24, closes March 27. Listing expected April 2. By then, the entire investing community will be asking: Is Aeroplane a genuine growth story, or just a well-run family business finally admitting it needs cash?

They Sell Stuff Your Mom Already Owns (And You Don’t Know It)

The business model is straight out of a economics textbook from 1995. Buy raw agricultural commodities. Process them. Slap a brand name on it. Sell it. Repeat. Seems boring? It is. Seems profitable? Also yes.

Aeroplane operates across two verticals. First: Rice Products. They process basmati, kolam, sona masuri, idli rice, ponni rice — basically every rice variant that’s ever existed in Indian kitchens. They export these internationally to 38 countries. Second: FMCG. Aata, maida, sooji, besan, salt, sugar — all the staple foods your mother buys in bulk because “it’s 5% cheaper per kilo.”

The operations are vertically integrated. They procure directly from farmers, store in their facilities, process through mills, package under the Aeroplane label, and distribute through channels both domestic and international. The supply chain is a moat that nobody talks about because — let’s be honest — supply chains are boring. But they’re also incredibly sticky.

Two manufacturing units: Unit I in Amritsar (Punjab, the rice heartland), Unit II in Safidon (Haryana, the grain heartland), and one packaging facility in New Delhi. Total workforce: 225 permanent employees. This is not a 10,000-person startup. This is a lean, operationally efficient business that mastered logistics before Delhivery became a verb.

When Revenue Grows 52% in Two Years, Everyone Notices