Small Nursery Entrepreneur Revolutionizes Lettuce Supply for Chinese Restaurants in Barisal

a small nursery entrepreneur, has achieved economic success by supplying lettuce leaves to meet the demand of Chinese restaurants across six districts in the metropolitan and Barisal divisions.

Operating the Min Garden Nursery near the city’s Outer Stadium, Azad started his venture without any formal training, investing a modest amount of his own capital. Within just two years, in 2009, he earned national recognition by winning second place as a small nursery entrepreneur and received an award from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Motivated by this achievement, he expanded the nursery’s size and began cultivating various fruit, medicinal, flowering, and valuable bonsai plants commercially.

Azad also successfully experimented with growing lettuce leaves in the predominantly winter climate of the country. These lettuce leaves have high demand not only domestically but also internationally, as they are widely used alongside delicious dishes and as decoration in Chinese restaurants. Previously, restaurant owners in Barisal division had to place orders from Dhaka to obtain lettuce leaves. Ripon Karmakar, owner of Young Kai Chinese Restaurant on Bogura Road in Barisal city, praised Min Garden Nursery’s initiative, stating that the local availability of lettuce leaves at affordable prices has greatly benefited restaurant businesses that formerly relied on Dhaka suppliers.