Dr. Mahendran R., the Founder Chairman of Expovan, is a multifaceted professional who is a Doctor, Agriculturalist and Entrepreneur from Pollachi, Coimbatore District of South India. Born in 1963, Dr. Mahendran began his education in the coveted Nilgiris schools from the age of four - to start with at the Elkhurst Prep school, then The Laidlaw Memorial High School, Ketti and later with St. Joseph's High School, Coonoor.

After schooling he went on to pursue medicine from Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore. He was the first batch to join this college and he graduated as a gold medallist in Bangalore University. His thirst and desire to serve humanity continued as he went to obtain his MD in Internal Medicine from Stanley Medical College, Chennai in 1990.

Dr. Mahendran’s humble roots from a family of agriculturists only pushed his passion further and he conceptualised and experimented with various intercropping trials along with their existing coconut plantations. His journey into the world of vanilla began in 1994. His ideas bore fruition and he has emerged as the pioneer in the cultivation of Vanilla as an intercrop in India. Destiny chose Dr. Mahendran, to cultivate a foreign orchid that no one in the land had grown commercially before. Cultivating vanilla, the modest orchid that produces the world's second expensive spice after saffron, was the start of an earnest and honest effort with over a course two and a half decades in the field covering research, ideation, experimentation and various processing methods.

Expovan was started with this very same purpose and continues to expand and enhance the vanilla industry, even today. Currently, it is the largest processor of natural vanilla in India. The product line includes gourmet and extraction grade vanilla beans, vanilla extract and vanilla powder which is sold both domestically and internationally to countries such as the United States, Europe and Australia. Under the trusted vision and leadership of Dr. Mahendran, Expovan has proved its ability to meet the quality expectations of end users in the International Vanilla Industry. Pollachi’s Vanilla is now on par with it’s Madagascar counterparts thanks to his unrelenting efforts.

Another noteworthy venture by Dr. Mahendran is the Indian Vanilla Initiative, that Dr. Mahendran flagged off in 2016. Dr. Mahendran conceptualised a revolutionary initiative that supported farmers and vanilla cultivation in India by providing saplings, cultivation techniques and related education, and set minimum support prices for the network of Indian vanilla farmers across the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Dr. Mahendran’s pursuit and passion to revolutionize vanilla cultivation in India has borne fruit and continues to expand and enhance the meticulous labour of love that vanilla cultivation is. In addition to the entities of Expovan and the India Vanilla Initiative , he launched natural vanilla in India under the now renowned retail brand Goodness Vanilla in 2017.

Along with all the above accomplishments, Dr. Mahendran is a loving husband, doting father and a grandfather . He pursues his equestrian passion as well. A man with multiple feathers in his hat, his love and passion for the show jumping discipline in equestrian sports continues to be a part of his lifestyle and activities.