Founder, Altus Exports
Altus Exports is an India-based merchant export company that gives international buyers a single, accountable partner for sourcing from India.
Indian manufacturers use it to reach global markets without building an entire export organisation of their own.
12
Export industries from India
India + USA
Direct buyer support
End-to-end
Sourcing to shipment
New Delhi
Merchant exporter base
The working idea
His work sits at the intersection of global trade, supplier networks, B2B marketing and execution: identifying the right market, the right product and the right customer — then delivering with the quality, documentation and consistency international buyers expect.
That combination is uncommon. Many export businesses are strong on product and weak on market. Others can sell, but struggle to execute. Saurabh's career has been built on both sides of that equation — commercial development and operational delivery — which is the foundation of Altus Exports.
The path here
His professional journey combines first-hand export work with brand strategy and the discipline of building a company that actually serves international customers. Each chapter added a capability that Altus Exports now uses on behalf of buyers and manufacturers.
Early career
As Country Manager for Zinc export with Hindustan Zinc Ltd (Vedanta Group Company) to Southeast Asia and SAARC nations, Saurabh handled bulk B2B zinc trade — including million-dollar shipments to multiple countries — and spearheaded Hindustan Zinc's export expansion in those markets. That posting taught a lesson that still shapes his work: a shipment is not a relationship — reliability is.
Corporate strategy
At Evalueserve and later JSW Steel, his work centred on branding and marketing strategy. The experience changed how he thinks about exports. Winning international business is not only about finding a product and booking freight. It is about understanding the buyer, shaping a clear value proposition, and positioning Indian capability against global alternatives.
2013
In 2013 Saurabh founded CHOCOCRAFT, a personalised gifting company for corporate and individual customers — then took it international through CHOCOCRAFT GLOBAL LLC. After industrial zinc B2B, this was D2C export: brand, customer experience, and selling directly into overseas demand. Publicly available company information states that CHOCOCRAFT has worked with more than 2,500 companies and served over 100,000 individual customers. CHOCOCRAFT is a separate gifting business, not Altus Exports.
Today
Altus Exports is a distinct company from CHOCOCRAFT. It exists to build a reliable bridge between Indian manufacturing and international buyers: one partner for sourcing, quality coordination, documentation and logistics — so buyers can procure from India with confidence, and manufacturers can export without standing up an entire international sales organisation.
From education to live commercial work
Saurabh did not learn international business from the sidelines. He studied it, then ran it — first in industrial B2B metal exports at scale, then in D2C brand exports. That range is rare in Indian trade, and it is the operating background behind Altus Exports.
Foundation
A B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, then an MBA in International Business from University Business School, Chandigarh. The path was deliberate: product and process first, then markets, trade and commercial judgement — applied immediately in live export work, not left on a certificate.
Industrial B2B
As Country Manager for Zinc export with Hindustan Zinc Ltd (Vedanta Group Company) to Southeast Asia & SAARC Nations, he handled bulk B2B metal trade — including million-dollar shipments to multiple countries. He spearheaded Hindustan Zinc's export expansion in those markets: pricing, negotiation, market development and the operational reliability industrial buyers actually buy.
D2C exports
CHOCOCRAFT was the other extreme. Instead of bulk industrial B2B, it was D2C international gifting — brand, customer experience and selling directly into overseas demand. That is a different muscle from a metal export desk. CHOCOCRAFT remains a separate gifting business. What it added was first-hand proof that export is not only freight and documentation; it is also understanding the buyer on the other side of the transaction.
Million-dollar B2B zinc programmes and D2C brand exports demand different instincts. Altus Exports is built on both: industrial commercial discipline, and an understanding of the customer that most trading companies never develop.
In his words
I didn't start Altus Exports because India needed another trading company.
I started it because, after working on international exports and building a business of my own, I saw the same problem repeatedly: India has exceptional manufacturing capability, but international buyers often struggle to find the right suppliers, and Indian manufacturers struggle to build reliable international sales channels.
Altus Exports was created to solve that gap.
Two audiences. One partner.
Altus Exports is built for both sides of the same gap. Choose the path that matches your business.
International Buyers
I help international companies identify products, evaluate suppliers, negotiate commercially, coordinate quality, manage documentation and deliver shipments.
Source from India with one accountable partner
Indian Manufacturers
I help Indian manufacturers identify markets, find buyers, build export sales channels and convert international opportunities into repeat business.
Build your international business without building an export team from scratch
How he works
His approach to global trade is organised around five operating principles.
01
The right product in the wrong market is still the wrong opportunity. Demand, competition, pricing, regulation and buyer requirements come before the export plan — not after the first quotation.
02
International buyers need partners who can hold quality, pricing and delivery over time. Supplier selection and qualification are not a sourcing formality; they are the foundation of repeat business.
03
A buyer should not have to manage a dozen factories to build an India programme. A capable export partner consolidates communication, quality, documentation and logistics into one accountable relationship.
04
International trade is relationship-driven. The first order is a proof point, not the finish line. The real work is converting a trial shipment into a programme that both sides can plan around.
05
India offers manufacturing depth, craftsmanship, materials and cost competitiveness. The opportunity is to combine those strengths with the quality systems, communication and documentation international buyers already expect.
What I Bring
Not a list of skills. The capabilities that decide whether an India sourcing relationship actually works.
01
Understanding what buyers in different markets actually need before recommending a product.
02
Access to manufacturers across multiple Indian product categories and manufacturing clusters.
03
Experience with pricing, negotiation, buyer acquisition and international sales.
04
Unlike a traditional trading company, I understand both product and demand generation.
05
Sourcing is only the beginning. Quality, documentation, production and logistics determine whether the relationship survives.
India has the manufacturing capability. The opportunity is to connect that capability with the right customers in the right markets.
Saurabh Mittal · Founder, Altus Exports