PICKLES AND PICKLEBALL. Viju Jacob, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Synthite Industries | Photo Credit: ILLUSTRATION: PARTHA PRATIM SHARMA

As you walk into the lobby of the picturesque Ramada resort overlooking the scenic Vembanad lake in Kumbalam, on the outskirts of Ernakulam, a huge screen catches your eye. A video plays on loop, showing the inauguration of a pickleball court, with spice oleoresin and essential oils exporter Synthite Industries’ executive chairman and managing director Viju Jacob doing the honours in a sporty T-shirt. Even as we watch the video, the man on the screen arrives to greet us. He is a bustling, energetic presence — he tells us he has been showing the hotel (owned by Synthite) to an architect for expansion ideas. We are ushered into a coffee lounge in the lobby where Jacob excitedly outlines all the plans he has for the new pickleball and padel courts at the Ramada.

“Every Saturday, Sunday we will have a training programme for schoolchildren to play at the pickleball court for ₹200 an hour. Normally the fee is ₹800 per hour... we are providing the children coaching too,” he says. Adjacent to the state-of-the-art courts is the renovated Riviera Gardens (a sister property of Ramada), which Jacob tells us is being pitched as a budget-friendly staycation destination with a pickleball package thrown in.

The Synthite factory is at Kolenchery, about 25 km from Ernakulam, but Jacob often holds his business meetings at the Ramada. He now plans to expand his hospitality interests with a property in Munnar. “It is under discussion and similar opportunities are being evaluated,” he says.

Tea and coffee are ordered and arrive with a choice of scrumptious cookies. Jacob asks for black coffee and tells us that the first thing he drinks in the morning is black coffee with ghee, as it raises blood ketone levels and lowers insulin level. “Black coffee keeps me alert,” he says, adding that he also drinks two to three glasses of fresh lime soda with green chilli every day. “Green chillis have antioxidant properties,” he says.

Jacob sure knows all about food properties, being in the spice extraction business, so we don’t argue with him.

Synthite Industries — founded by his father, CV Jacob, in 1970 — is the world’s largest producer and exporter of spice extracts, oleoresins, and essential oils, supplying flavour components to the likes of Nestle, Unilever and Pepsico, and has a commanding 35 per cent global market share. In four key crops — paprika, turmeric, pepper and capsicum — it has near 20 per cent market share.

But Jacob has his fingers in many pies, from realty (Riviera Retreat, Spice Villas) to nutraceuticals. His father was one of the first investors in CIAL, which operates Kochi airport, and Jacob today occupies a director’s post, taking a keen interest in aviation.

After taking over the reins at Synthite, which was primarily B2B, he led the group into several downstream B2C expansions, including artisanal chocolate brand Paul & Mike, which is served to us along with our coffee and has some unique flavours like Sichuan pepper and orange peel, and Balkan rose. We learn that the brand is named after two legendary Latin American cocoa farmers. Jacob launched NatXtra, a neutraceutical B2C, in 2020. Synthite also owns the consumer spice brand Kitchen Treasures.

Consolidated, the group recently hit $500 million (about ₹4,790 crore) in revenue and made headlines as Jacob projected a revenue target of $1 billion by 2030.

How will he do it in such a short time, we ask him. “In the food industry we still have 60 per cent more headroom. People want different things every day... different flavours and different taste products are coming up,” he says.

“I often go to the shops and see what new products have come in. I buy a couple of products, especially supplements, to figure out which is the most popular ingredient today,” he says.

The big orders for natural essences include vetiver oil, ginger oil and garlic oil, he says. “The perfume industry is going to change altogether because consumers are rejecting synthetic aromas, and the industry is moving more and more into natural scents, which gives us a lot of headroom,” he adds.

The US is curbing the use of synthetic colours and moving to natural colours. “So I got an order for 200 tonnes of paprika and 300 tonnes of curcurmin within one year,” he says.

In India, Synthite is watching with interest the growing focus of regulatory body FSSAI on the use of artificial flavours. “For us, the opportunity lies in supporting customers with high-quality, natural and compliant flavour and ingredient solutions that meet evolving regulatory requirements and consumer expectations,” he says.

Paul & Mike is not too well known outside Kerala. Jacob admits he has to raise visibility for the B2C brands. “Our focus will be on increasing brand awareness, reaching more consumers and expanding into new markets. The level of investment will depend on the growth opportunities we see in each market,” he says.

As our coffee cups run empty and the afternoon light fades over Vembanad lake, we realise that Jacob, with his restless energy and eye for changing consumer tastes, could well hit the $1-billion mark — flavourfully!

Published on September 28, 2026