NuFFooDS Spectrum December 2020

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4 EDITORIAL NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Home FBOs under lens

Dr Milind Kokje operators were registered near the deadline.
Chief Editor This highlights the problem and the task ahead
for the FSSAI. In an interview in September
Making it mandatory for even home 2013, the then FSSAI chairperson had said that
chefs selling food to register with or registering a large number of small, unorganised
obtain license from the Food Safety food sellers was the biggest challenge as
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), they were in millions. FSSAI had to extend the
depending on their business size and turnover, is deadline for their registration several times. Still,
an important step ahead in the food regulator’s by now how many of them are registered and
mandate of ensuring total food safety. While how many left out is anyone’s guess. They were
the move has been welcomed by many, it has at least seen on the roads, in open places and
also unnecessarily evoked opposition from hence easy to locate. The problem is much more
some. Those who are dissatisfied over it must complex when it comes to home food makers
understand that this is not a new rule introduced as they may not be easy to locate.
by the FSSAI. It is very much an integral part of
the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSSA), The FSSAI has taken a lot of effort to ensure
which states that any entity handling food food safety. It has not only set standards,
commercially will have to either register with or increased the number of labs for and testing
obtain a license from the food regulator. and simplified the process of registration and
licensing, but has also been successful in
Traceability of the food in case of any connecting with people at large, making them
problem like food poisoning, is one of the most aware about food safety and its various aspects.
important aspects of the Act. For this purpose, ‘An aware consumer will start demanding safe
registration of every Food Business Operator food compelling the FBOs to observe all norms
(FBO), even the home-based FBOs, with the food of safe food’, was the principle behind this.
regulator is crucial. The FSSAI has just extended
this rule of registration now to home-made food Despite these efforts by the regulator, the
sellers too, as per the spirit of the Act. Those adulterated food quantum is still growing.
with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh FSSAI’s latest annual report said that 28 per cent
will require only registration while the ones with of the food samples it tested in 2018-19 were
higher revenue will need to obtain the license. found to be adulterated or sub-standard. It is
three per cent more than the previous year and
The FSSAI registration or license has a 10 per cent more than 2012-13. A parliamentary
certain benefit, which has been acknowledged standing committee asking the FSSAI to nudge
by some of the home food chefs while reacting states/union territories for taking seriously the
to the rule in the media. From the consumers’ unethical practices in food safety matters due to
point of view, registration with the food regulator rising adulteration, is quite significant. Keeping
is a sign of confidence and trust. It could tabs on every single FBO, big or small, is very
be beneficial to FBOs for the growth of the important, which is possible by ensuring their
business since by creating trust and developing registration.
confidence a business tends to attract more
customers.

However, for FSSAI, it is an uphill task to get
the numerous home FBOs registered. If they
come forward on their own it will be easier. But
if they do not, they will have to be traced. In one
district of Tamil Nadu, only 91 home-based food

Volume 8  |  Issue 4  |  December 2020
www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

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6 INSIDE NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

18

COVER STORY

IMMUNITY BOOSTERS
SALE REACHES
HISTORIC HIGH IN 2020

The year 2020 began with the food and beverage (F&B) 23 GAINING THROUGH
industry expecting to see a growth rate of 7.2 per cent by DIGITAL SALES
moving towards investing constructively in science and
technology (S&T). But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic casted 26 RISE IN IMMUNITY/
a spell of uncertainty across the world leading to a slowdown. NUTRITION PRODUCTS
Soon after, the industry began to observe a shift in consumer
trend towards organic and healthy diet comprising of 30 PREFERENCE FOR
immunity boosting ingredients. As a result, companies started PACKAGED FOODS
re-wiring their business strategy by developing and delivering
creative and innovative products to help people enhance their 32 FOOD SAFETY
immunity and gain strength to tackle the pandemic.
32 SLOW RECOVERY

34 FOCUSING ON
EXPANSION & GROWTH

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in INSIDE 7

Opportunities REGULARS

38 Editorial 4

Commercial seaweeds Video Snippets 8
farming gaining popularity
Policy and Regulatory News 9
FSSAI Initiative Finance News 11

42 Company News 12
Start-Up News 14
Maximize health by
minimizing salt, sugar and fat World News 16
People News 44
Inoshi Sharma, Academic News 46
R&D News 47
Director, Social and Behaviour Supplier News 49
Change Division (SBCD), FSSAI

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8 VIDEO SNIPPETS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Inoshi Sharma, Acknowledgements
Director, Food Safety The cover story was a refreshing read.
and Standards Thank you for the feature.
Authority of India,
New Delhi talks about - Dr Mudra Kapoor, Mumbai
the protocol involved
in testing fortified Really liked the way the article has come out and
foods in labs. the headline especially, ‘Investors keeping an eye
on green companies’, because of my personal and
Scan the QR Code » professional inclination towards veganism.
Thank you.
Mili Bhattacharya,
Senior Manager, - Siddharth Kothari, New Delhi
Scientific Nutrition
& Regulatory Affairs, Thank you so much for the regular coverage on
Coca Cola India, FSSAI.
Gurugram shares her
view on reformulation - Ruchika Sharma, New Delhi
of sugar towards
calorie reduction. Appreciate the feature in the cover story of
NuFFooDS Spectrum.
Scan the QR Code »
- Dr Marquess Raj, Chennai
Dr Bhavna Sharma,
Head- Nutrition Thanks for your feedback. We have taken note of
Science Division, your suggestions and will surely try to incorporate
ITC, Bengaluru gives the content accordingly in coming issues. Please
her perspective on keep sending us your feedback and updating us on
the consumption of your views about the issue and keep giving your
superfoods. opinions on the content.

Scan the QR Code » – Editor

Please send your feedback to
[email protected]

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in REGULATORY NEWS 9

FSSAI launches FSSAI extends FoSCoS
to entire nation
PAN India
From November 1, 2020, the Food Safety and Standards
surveillance of khoya Authority of India (FSSAI) has extended the Food Safety
Compliance System (FoSCoS), being operational in
Federation of Sweets and Namkeen nine states/ union territories (UT) viz Tamil Nadu, Delhi,
Manufacturers recently met the Food Safety Gujarat, Odisha, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Puducherry
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and and Ladakh from June 1, to the entire country. FoSCoS
raised the issue of adulterated khoya being is conceptualised to provide one point stop for all
supplied to them. As a result, a pilot survey was engagement of a food business operator (FBO) with the
conducted by Department of Food Safety, Delhi department for any regulatory compliance transaction.
under the guidance of FSSAI by placing Food FoSCoS has been integrated with FoSCoRIS mobile
Safety on Wheels (FSWs) at Mori Gate Khoya app and will soon integrate with present IT platforms
Mandi in Delhi from August 31 to September 4, of FSSAI such as INFOLNet, FoSTaC, FICS etc. Sample
2020. During this survey, khoya samples were management, improvement notices, adjudications,
tested by the FSW staff for three parameters audit management system etc. activities/ modules will
viz. titratable acidity, maximum added starch be enabled in phased manner in future. Technologies
and added sugar in khoya. A part of the khoya such as GPS location tagging, picture capture etc.
samples were also sent to the state food testing will be utilised in future to ensure transparent and
laboratory for testing of other five parameters viz. accountable extension field services such inspections
urea, detergent, neutralizer, baudouin and B.R. and sampling. In future it will be integrated with other
reading. Considering that there was some failure platforms of government such as GST, PAN, MCA etc.
in the samples collected at Delhi during the pilot to ensure a 360 degree profiling and validation of
survey, it has been decided to conduct a PAN – businesses. All manufacturers holding valid FSSAI
India khoya quality survey. The Commissioner license shall be needed to modify their license to
Food Safety of all states/union territories (UT) choose from the available list of standardised products
have been requested to select khoya mandis before a prescribed date.
in their respective states/UTs especially in big
cities; and encourage khoya buyers to get their
khoya sample tested. The final survey results will
help in identification of the key hot spots for
adulteration of khoya in different parts of the
country and strengthen efforts at the states/UTs
level in devising targeted enforcement drives in
the coming months.

Govt frames FSSAI Amendment Bill 2020

The Ministry of Health and been proposed to bring regulation a new section to define penalties.
Family Welfare has framed the of the animal feed, thus extending It includes proposing of enhancing
Food Safety and Standards FSSAI’s jurisdiction over the animal maximum fine against violations
(Amendment) Bill 2020, feed industry. The government has from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. The
introducing 70 new amendments also decided to specify standards centre also proposes to simplify
in the 2006 FSS Act to revamp for food contact material. This the process of serving notices to
huge parts of the FSSAI would mean that it will specify a food business operator, who is
functioning and its jurisdiction. standards for packaging materials. running unsafe restaurants or any
Under the amendments, it has The amendments have introduced other establishment.

10 REGULATORY NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

MoFPI approves 21 PM inaugurates
projects leveraging
investment of Rs 443 Cr Nutrition Park for

Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meeting chaired children in Gujarat
by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Food Processing
Industries has approved 21 projects, leveraging investment Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently
worth Rs 443 crore supported with a grant of Rs 189 crore under inaugurated various projects under Integrated
the Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition. Eight Development of Kevadia in Gujarat. The
projects leveraging investment worth Rs 62 crore with grants projects include arogya van and arogya kutir,
of Rs 15 crore under the Backward and Forward Linkages (BFL) and children nutrition park, among others. The
Scheme have also been approved. These projects are intended Arogya Van has five lakh plants of 380 different
to benefit farmers and consumers. The officers have been species spread over an area of 17 acres.
urged to expedite the implementation of approved projects. Arogya kutir has a traditional treatment facility
The 21 projects are likely to generate employment for nearly named Santhigiri wellness centre, which will
12,600 people and benefit 200,592 farmers. These projects provide healthcare based on ayurveda, siddha,
are spread across the 10 states of Andhra, Gujarat, Himachal yoga and panchakarma. World’s first-ever
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Nagaland, Punjab, technology-driven nutrition park for children,
Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The objective of the Children Nutrition Park is spread over an
the BFL scheme is to provide effective and seamless backward area of 35000 sq ft. A nutri train runs across
and forward integration for the processed food industry by the park to various exciting theme based
plugging the gaps in the supply chain in terms of availability of stations. It will raise nutritional awareness
raw material and linkages with the market. through various edutainment activities like
mirror maze, 5D virtual reality theatre and
augmented reality games.

Telangana opens women owned food processing unit

Allola Indrakaran Reddy, Minister of Telangana State, Ministry of Tribal
for Endowment, Law, Forest and Affairs and Agribusiness and Innovation
Environment, Telangana, recently Platform (AIP) by the International
inaugurated a food processing Crops Research Institute for the Semi-
unit owned and run by women, in Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad.
Utnoor, Telangana. The Komaram This collaboration aims to localize
Bheem Peanut Chikki Industries production and address malnutrition,
that the minister opened is wholly besides improving economic
owned by first-generation tribal conditions of tribal communities. The
entrepreneurs. The unit will supply to food processing unit is designed and
government nutrition programmes equipped with machinery as per Food
and anganwadis in the tribal region. Safety and Standards Authority of
This food processing unit is part of a India (FSSAI) guidelines. It will ensure
successful collaboration between the production of nutritious food products
Tribal Cooperative Finance Corporation meeting national and international
(TRICOR), Tribal Welfare Department market standards.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in FINANCE NEWS 11

NMC buys supplement brand from Aurobindo Pharma

New Mountain Capital (NMC) a leading vitamins, minerals and wholly owned subsidiary
announced that it has reached supplements brand focused on vital Aurobindo Pharma USA
a definitive agreement with human health areas including sleep, Inc. in 2014 for
Hyderabad based Aurobindo mood & stress, brain health, beauty $132.5 million.
Pharma to acquire Natrol and and immunity. Founded in 1980,
combine it with Jarrow Formulas, Natrol has grown to be the leading
another New Mountain Capital natural sleep brand. Natrol is trusted
portfolio company. The transaction by consumers across the globe
worth $550 million is expected and has an established reputation
to close by January 2021 subject for scientific efficacy, high quality
to customary closing conditions and innovation. Aurobindo Pharma
and regulatory approvals. had acquired Natrol Inc. and
Headquartered in the US, Natrol is other affiliate entities through its

LTS Investment Britannia signs MoU
with investment plans
Fund picks stake of Rs 550 Cr in TN

in Vikas Multicorp In a bid to address the growing demand of its products, Britannia
Industries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
LTS Investment Fund has picked up a stake with the Tamil Nadu (TN) government to increase its investment
in New Delhi based fast-moving consumer in the state. The partnership is yet another milestone for the
goods (FMCG) major Vikas Multicorp (VM). company given its robust performance over the last two
LTS Investment Fund has picked up 34 lakh quarters despite the background of the pandemic. The formal
shares at an average price of Rs 7.65/share. signing took place in the presence of Edappadi K Palaniswami,
The company had recently announced that Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu. Britannia announced that it has
it will enter the food protection and personal enhanced its investment plans from Rs 300 crore to Rs 550
hygiene segment of the FMCG industry with crore over a period of seven years in Tamil Nadu. With this,
an investment of approximately Rs 100 crore the company would also generate a total of 1000 direct and
in two years. The company has ventured into indirect employment opportunities in the state. The proposed
the food protection and personal hygiene plant with a land requirement of 85 acres, will manufacture a
segment of FMCG industry with the acquisition variety of snacking products from the company. The company
of prestigious brands for aluminium foil and is also looking at an overall capex of about Rs 700 crore to set
tissues homefoil, chapatiwrap, cleanwrap up new facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar, while
and mistique. VM intends to acquire further also expanding manufacturing capabilities of existing plants in
businesses as well as expand its footprint all Maharashtra and Odisha.
over India as the demand for aluminum foil
and tissue paper products in India has been
growing at a fast pace and is expected to
continue to grow in view of present per capita
consumption is quite low.

12 COMPANY NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Amul Danone India unveils
introduces zero added sugar variants
more camel
milk products Danone India has announced the launch of zero added sugar variants
of Protinex in chocolate and vanilla delight flavours in a bid to fulfil its
After the successful launch of camel commitment to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s
fresh milk, camel long life milk Eat Right movement. It had pledged to reduce sugar in its portfolio by
and camel chocolates, Amul has 20 per cent by 2020 in an endeavour to bring healthier food choices
forayed further into value added to Indian consumers with its health food drinks (HFD) brand Protinex
camel milk products by launching that has a rich
its newest offering in the form of heritage of over
camel milk powder and camel milk six decades.
ice cream. Camel milk is known to With its mission
to bring health
have numerous health through food to
benefits. It is rich in as many people as
minerals, improves possible, Danone
gut health and helps in aims to address
boosting immunity. protein deficiency
among Indian
Used for thousands consumers.
of years across Protinex offers a
various cultures, diverse portfolio of
the milk even protein choices suited for customized needs, tastes and lifestyles, such
finds mention as Protinex Original with hydrolysed protein, tasty chocolate, vanilla
in ayurvedic delight, Protinex Lite (scientifically formulated zero added sugar variant),
texts for its many Protinex Mama: specialized protein nutrition for pregnant women &
benefits. Camel lactating mothers etc. Through initiatives like The Protein Week, Danone
milk contains an strives to create awareness about relevance of protein in daily life.
insulin-like protein,
which manages Intas Pharma launches
sugar level in the Thymotas to fight COVID-19
blood. Camel
milk powder is a Ahmedabad based Intas pharmacologically beneficial
product, which
can help not just Pharma has announced the properties. Thymoquinone has
in management
of diabetes but launch of Thymotas, a novel, been developed as a stable,
its prevention
as well. With patented research formulation standardized and ready-to-use
increasing
awareness, the of thymoquinone that fortifies tablet by Intas for the first time
demand for such
camel milk products are on the immunity and ensures higher in the world. Thymotas fortifies
rise. Rising demand, limited supply
in the market and high pricing by success in fighting infection. immunity and fights infections
existing players, has led Amul to tap
into this enormous opportunity and Thymotas has been tested through multimodal actions
enter the market. Amul camel milk
powder is priced at approximately clinically as a significant add- such as anti-viral, anti-bacterial,
one fourth the price of similar
product currently available in the on to the standard COVID-19 anti-inflammatory, immuno-
market.
treatment. Thymoquinone modulatory and antioxidant.

(Thymotas) is the active biological Thymotas' anti-viral effects have

component of Nigella sativa, been demonstrated via an in-vitro

also known as kalonji or black test against SARS-CoV2 and has

cumin. There are various scientific tremendous potential as a potent

publications available that add-on to the standard treatment

prove thymoquinone's multiple in COVID-19.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COMPANY NEWS 13

Jiva Ayurveda brings
tulsi drops to boost immunity

Mother Dairy Faridabad based Jiva Ayurveda off harmful infections that cause
has expanded its healthcare cold, cough, and fever naturally.
initiates milk products portfolio with the It is loaded with antioxidants
launch of Jiva Panch Tulsi that improve the functioning
sales operations Drops, a 100 per cent ayurvedic of the digestive organs by
formulation that helps naturally flushing out the toxins from
in Bhopal boost immunity and provides the body. It also helps control
effective protection from blood sugar levels and prevent
Mother Dairy, a subsidiary of the cold, cough and viral fever. its complications. It can be taken
National Dairy Development Board The product has with a glass of water or tea (1-2
(NDDB), has announced the launch anti-bacterial,
of its milk sales operations in Bhopal. anti-viral and drops), twice or thrice
After Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur, anti-fungal daily. Tulsi Drops
the company has forayed in the city properties
of Bhopal as part of its expansion that provides is a combination
strategy in the state of Madhya complete of five species
Pradesh. Mother Dairy, as part of protection of basil (Tulsi) -
the launch, is introducing four milk against many
variants namely full cream milk, pathogens vishnu, shweta,
double toned milk, super T milk responsible kapuri, van and
and India’s largest selling cow milk for human ram tulsi. It is
variant. The range will be made infections. It can prepared from
available across 1500 outlets spread be used to ward a high-quality
across the city, which will be further distillate of
strengthened to 2500 outlets. For Tulsi
its milk supply in state of Madhya leaves.
Pradesh, Mother Dairy sources raw
milk from farmer-centric institutions Abbott India launches
situated in and around Madhya Duphalac Bears
Pradesh, which is being processed
and hygienically packed in associated Abbott has recently launched Duphalac Bears in India, a new product
plants in Dewas and Morena. The featuring fruit-flavoured gummy bears designed to support children’s
company is also working towards digestive health, helping them live healthier lives. Duphalac Bears,
series of initiatives aimed to create launched in strawberry fruit flavour, is a food supplement and meets
awareness about the brand and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations. It
benefits associated with the newly provides the advantages of a trusted prebiotic and encourages the
launched milk range in the region. growth of good bacteria in the digestive system while reducing levels
of unfriendly bacteria. In addition to helping raise levels
of good bacteria in the gut, Duphalac Bears contains
lactulose, a prebiotic derived from milk, that
promotes gastrointestinal health. The prevalence
of childhood constipation ranges between 0.7
per cent and 29.6 per cent, and most cases tend
to occur during the age of toilet training, when
children are two to three years old. The digestive
system is home to trillions of bacteria, some of
which are a key part of digestive health as they
can help process food. These ‘friendly’ bacteria are
nourished by prebiotics such as lactulose, which
promotes a healthy intestinal balance for children.

14 START-UP NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

FreshToHome Pure Scan AI, ICRISAT create
raises $121M aflatoxin rapid detection technology
in series
C funding Chennai based startup Pure Scan AI the fluorescence by cameras with
and Hyderabad based International filters. Images are processed and
Bengaluru based Crops Research Institute for the the fluorescence degree and
FreshToHome, a fully Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have pattern are fed into a learning
integrated online brand developed a portable aflatoxin model that predicts the quantity
in fresh fish and meat detector. The device has recently of aflatoxin present in the sample
e-commerce, has raised won the Inspire Challenge by to an accuracy of 1 part per
$121 million in Series C the CGIAR Big Data Platform by billion error margin. Aflatoxin, a
funding led by Investment Consultative Group on International carcinogenic mycotoxin found in
Corporation of Dubai (ICD) Agricultural Research in France, at groundnut and other produce e.g.
- the principal investment the recent Big Data Convention, maize, chillies, rice, tree nuts etc.
arm of the Government earning a $ 100,000 grant to build produced by a fungus Aspergillus
of Dubai, Investcorp - a and scale up the device. Utilizing flavus, can cause liver damage,
leading global manager of the blacklight fluorescence feature malnutrition, immune suppression
alternative investments, of aflatoxin, this device captures and cancer.
Ascent Capital - a leading
India-focused growth capital OZiva launches supplement
provider, US Government's for women’s bones
development finance
institution - DFC, the Allana In line with raising bone-health awareness, Mumbai based startup OZiva
Group and other investors. has launched HerBones. The product features a remarkable array of 100
Iron Pillar, the lead investor per cent plant based and vegan ingredients that aim to strengthen bones,
from Series B participated in support healthier joints and prevent calcium loss in women by maintaining
this round with a significant optimum hormonal balance in women. HerBones is targeted towards
investment of $19 million. women aged 25 years and above with potential calcium deficiency. OZiva
Barclays was an advisor for
the transaction. FreshToHome HerBones, the plant-based
has approximately 1.5 million nutritional supplement, provides
B2C orders per month and 420 mg calcium in elemental
$85 million annualized sales form that has three times higher
on the platform. Support absorption rate as compared
from its existing large Middle to rock and synthetic calcium.
East-based investors such as It is also fortified with 400 IU
CE-Ventures - the corporate of Vitamin D3, 40 mcg Vitamin
venture capital platform K2-MK7, 12 mg Vitamin C that is
of Crescent Enterprises naturally sourced from Lichen,
significantly helped in aiding flower oil extract, and Acerola
its expansion in the UAE, Cherry, respectively. What makes
where it is already one of the OZiva HerBones even better is
top 5 e-grocers. its 100 per cent clean and plant
based ingredients unlike other
supplements available in the
market. It also contains naturally-
occurring substances that enhance calcium absorption and bone power.
It is packed with essential bone-strengthening elements such as calcium,
magnesium, and boron from Lithothamnium calcareum - a marine algae,
which is well-endowed with necessary properties that boost bone structure
and function.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in START-UP NEWS 15

Blue Tribe provides IIT-D startup brings
antimicrobial water
alternative to meat storage containers

consumption in India Mixing traditional science with nanotechnology,
Nanosafe Solutions, a startup incubated at the Indian
Sandeep Singh, market for plant-based Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) has developed a
Managing Director meat. The company range of antimicrobial i.e. antiviral, antibacterial and
and promoter of is equipped with antifungal water storage containers and launched it
Alkem Laboratories a fully-functional, as AqCure, which is based on
has launched India’s state-of-the-art R&D the inherent antimicrobial
first plant-based meat lab and a strong properties of copper. AqCure
company, Blue Tribe to supplier network for is a patented technology
provide an alternative base ingredients and in which active nano-
to meat consumption flavour profiles. The copper is released in
in India. Blue Tribe is startup is ready to step a sustainable manner
a personal venture into the market with from a polymer matrix.
to replace the usage ready-to-cook plant- The released copper
of meat in the food based chicken nuggets makes the outer and inner
supply chain in India. and minced chicken surface of the container
Over 60 per cent of that are every bit as antimicrobial, reducing
the population in India delicious as animal transmission of microbes
are non-vegetarian, meat and replicates the upon direct contact, and
making it a viable same nutrient profile. making the stored water
microbiologically safe.
Additionally, the released
copper in water is within
permissible limits and thus
fortifies stored water as
copper is also an essential
micronutrient, needed for
growth. The concept has also won the Biotechnology
Ignition Grant (BIG), sponsored by the Department of
Biotechnology (DBT).

Vieroots steps in with next-gen natural nutritional supplements

Vieroots Wellness Solutions, a health nutritional supplements. The invested an undisclosed amount
startup, based out of Bengaluru and startup is backed up by Bollywood in this startup, taking the valuation
Kochi, has now stepped into the actor Suniel Shetty, who has of Vieroots at Rs 100 crore within
market. Vieroots is the brainchild months of its pilot launch. While
of serial entrepreneur and peak the Vieroots formulations are based
performance coach Dr Sajeev Nair, on nutrients validated by modern
where he leads the team of doctors, medicine, most of the supplements
health researchers, geneticists, are 100 per cent naturally sourced
ayurvedic doctors, dieticians and from ayurvedic herbs and vegan
software engineers. Vieroots’ core sources. Vieroots’ supplements
products include EPLIMO, a unique include antioxidants, detoxifiers,
AI-powered personalised wellness gut-brain synergisers, prebiotics and
app and next-generation natural metabolic balancers.

16 WORLD NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Sri Lanka reduces Bangladesh plans
hunger levels moderately
cultivation of more
Sri Lanka ranked 64th out of the 107 countries in the
2020 Global Hunger Index (GHI), with a score of 16.3 bio-fortified crops
and has a level of hunger that is moderate. The 2020
GHI examines levels of hunger in 107 developing Bangladesh has initiated to increase the production
countries and scores them based on four indicators - of bio-fortified crops aiming to reduce nutrient
the prevalence of undernourishment, child stunting deficiencies of the people. Bangladesh government,
(low height-for-age), child wasting (low weight-for- Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and
height), and child mortality. Despite efforts to increase other development partners have been working
the nutritional level of Sri Lanka's children, the country jointly to meet the nutritional needs of the people.
still experiences a malnutrition burden among its The government has fortified social safety net
under-five population and behind the developing programmes by providing the poor with food
country average in child stunting. Examination of its and cash assistance during the pandemic. It is
GHI indicator values reveals that while the prevalence implementing a project for enrichment of vitamin-A
of undernourishment, child stunting, and child and mineral in food. A 2013 law for mandatory
mortality have declined moderately, child wasting enrichment of vitamin-A in edible oils and the
has gone up. According to the 2020 GHI report, 7.6 Iodised Salt Act-2020 are among the government
per cent of Sri Lanka’s population is undernourished. measures to ensure nutrition. The government is
It also showed the country recorded a 15.1 per cent also moving with a plan to enrich vitamin-A in flour,
of wasting and 17.3 per cent of stunting rate among made of wheat and maize, to significantly improve
children under five years. The under-five mortality rate nutrition. Also, the National Food and Nutrition
stood at 0.7 per cent. Security Policy (NFNSP 2020) will be incorporated in
the eighth five-year plan.

Pakistan invests Rs 350 Bn in malnutrition project

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) under the age of two. The federal
has approved a project worth Rs 350 government would provide for
billion aimed at addressing malnutrition nutrition supplementary commodities,
and stunted growth among children capacity building of new and existing
in Pakistan. It has been agreed that healthcare workers, research and
50 per cent of the amount would be monitoring while the provinces would
provided by the federal government contribute towards implementation
while the remaining cost would be through lady health workers and
borne by provincial governments for community health workers. It would
five years. The project will target 30 per also identify the target population
cent of the country’s population with and handle programme management,
15 million women of the reproductive institutional arrangement, evaluation
age group and 3.9 million children and data sharing.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in WORLD NEWS 17

Nestle introduces nutritional FAO
solutions for cellular ageing
introduces
Switzerland based Nestlé Health Science has announced the launch of
Celltrient Cellular Nutrition, a breakthrough and comprehensive range of food coalition
nutritional solutions that work cell by cell. The specialized Celltrient range
is formulated with cellular nutrients that help address three of the main alliance for
drivers of Age-Associated Cellular Decline (AACD) that can lead to reductions
in daily energy, muscle function, immune support, and overall health. The sustainability
Celltrient product range features cellular nutrients studied in more than 20
clinical trials in humans. The cellular nutrients in the Celltrient range help to The need for concerted
replenish NAD+, which is important for natural energy production, renew the action to prevent the
power plants in muscle cells, and replenish essential building blocks for the COVID-19 international
protective antioxidant glutathione. health emergency from
triggering a catastrophic
CCEP acquires Coca-Cola world food crisis received
Amatil for A$10.8B a welcome new tool as
the Food and Agriculture
The Board of Directors of Coca Cola European Partners (CCEP) has recently Organization of the
made a non-binding offer to acquire 69.2 per cent of the entire existing issued United Nations (FAO)
share capital of Coca-Cola Company (CCL), a leading consumer goods company formally launched the
in Western Europe, which is held by shareholders other than the Coca-Cola Food Coalition. A network
Company (Independent Shareholders), to be affected by means of a scheme of of networks, the Food
arrangement. Moreover, it has entered into a non-binding head of terms and Coalition is a voluntary
cooperation letter with The Coca-Cola Company (KO), setting out the terms multi-stakeholder and
on which CCEP proposes multi-sectoral alliance set
to acquire KO’s 30.8 per up to support innovative
cent interest in CCL, initiatives to ensure global
conditional upon Australian food access, increase the
regulatory approvals and resilience of agri-food
the implementation of the systems and put them
scheme of arrangement. on a more sustainable
Taken together, the course. First suggested by
proposal implies an equity the government of Italy
value of CCL on a fully and with more than 30
diluted basis of approximately A$8.7 billion and an enterprise value (EV) of countries having already
A$10.8 billion. Coca-Cola Amatil Limited including subsidiaries, group entities expressed interest in
and related bodies corporate, is one of the largest bottlers and distributors of joining, it will support
ready-to-drink non-alcohol and alcohol beverages and coffee in the Asia Pacific existing and future
region. CCL is the authorised bottler and distributor of KO’s beverage brands in efforts to overcome the
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. pandemic's disruptive
impacts and help countries
get back on track to
achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG)
by 2030, particularly those
of ending hunger and
poverty.

18 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

IMMUNITY
BOOSTERS
SALE REACHES
HISTORIC
HIGH IN 2020

The year 2020 began with the food
and beverage (F&B) industry expecting
to see a growth rate of 7.2 per cent by
moving towards investing constructively
in science and technology (S&T). But
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
casted a spell of uncertainty across the
world leading to a slowdown. Soon
after, the industry began to observe
a shift in consumer trend towards
organic and healthy diet comprising
of immunity boosting ingredients. As
a result, companies started re-wiring
their business strategy by developing
and delivering creative and innovative
products to help people enhance their
immunity and gain strength to tackle
the pandemic.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 19

The year 2020 began with the food and beverage but out-of-home consumption, which generates the
(F&B) industry expecting to see a growth rate highest margin, came to nearly a standstill. In addition,
of 7.2 per cent by moving towards investing trade disruption impacted import and export of essential
constructively in science and technology (S&T). With commodities like rice, pulses, edible oils etc.
India emerging as a global food basket, the industry
announced plans to address the existing challenges However, the F&B sector started picking up the
of unhealthy eating, poor nutrition, sustainable pieces soon after and set out in a new direction guided
packaging and supply chain management etc. in 2020. by innovation and technology. The industry realized that
But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic casted a spell of good nutrition is crucial for health, particularly in this
uncertainty across the world leading to a slow down. critical time when the immune system needs to fight
back. The industry began to observe a shift in consumer
Although the spread of the coronavirus started trend towards organic and healthy diet comprising of
relatively late in India, compared with other countries, immunity boosting ingredients. As a result, companies
the lockdown had a huge impact on the food and started re-wiring their business strategy by developing
beverage sector. For instance, food-services and and delivering creative and innovative products to help
poultry got affected severely due to rumors around people enhance their immunity and gain strength to
the coronavirus on food safety. Consumers started tackle the pandemic.
consuming less chicken and the Indian poultry industry
saw a significant reduction in revenues. F&B companies “We have ramped up our focus on product
started facing significantly reduced consumption of innovation with an aim to build a
products as well as disrupted supply chains. Supply localized consumer-centric portfolio.
challenges grew with disruption in logistics and labor
movement impacting raw material availability, Our latest product VIO spiced buttermilk
and the slow movement of finished products to further expands Coca-Cola’s existing portfolio
stores leading to low inventory and possible of beverages, providing more choices to the
stock-outs. consumers”, shares Sunil Gulati, Vice President,
Technical & Supply Chain, Coca-Cola India & South
At-home consumption increased, West Asia, Gurugram.
With immunity in the limelight, companies
started capitalising on its association with COVID-19.
In a chemist shop that is usually filled up with
pharmaceutical drugs, one could see the growing
demand of herbal supplements, nutritional products,
health juices etc. on the shelves. The industry took notice
of the fact that people have started to revisit their diets
and habits by adopting an ayurveda way of life.
For instance, the key products of Ernakulam based
Arjuna Natural, such as BCM-95, the world’s most
researched bio-available turmeric extract and Shoden,
the world’s most potent ashwagandha helped millions
boost their defenses against the pandemic and the
attendant stress worldwide. Similarly, Bengaluru based
Sami Sabinsa saw good growth in its immunity based
herbal ingredients and essential minerals, such as zinc
and selenium, owing to the thousands of articles and
videos underscoring the importance of these ingredients
during the initial phase of this pandemic.
Global science-based company Royal DSM also
saw an increase of demand in end-market sales in
human nutrition products. Across India and the rest
of the Asia Pacific, the company observed an increase
in manufacturers creating products that are rich in
micronutrients by way of food fortification as consumers
started becoming gradually more aware and conscious
about their health and immunity.
Further for Himalaya Drug and Dabur, the surge in

20 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

“We are further FMCG market is expected
strengthening our to grow at 9–10% in 2020
Direct-to-Customer
initiative and provide Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector
our products at the is India’s fourth largest sector with household
customers’ doorstep.” and personal care accounting for 50 per cent
of FMCG sales in India. Growing awareness, easier
- Dilen Gandhi, access and changing lifestyles have been the key
Senior Director, Marketing – Foods category, growth drivers for the sector. The urban segment
(accounts for a revenue share of around 55 per cent)
PepsiCo India, Gurugram is the largest contributor to the overall revenue
generated by the FMCG sector in India. However, in
“The industry will have to the last few years, the FMCG market has grown at a
adapt to this evolving faster pace in rural India compared to urban India.
landscape; look and Semi-urban and rural segments are growing at a
invest in digitization rapid pace and FMCG products account for 50 per
and automation, so that cent of the total rural spending.
consumers expect a safe and
secure food supply.” Market size: The retail market in India is
estimated to reach $ 1.1 trillion by 2020 from $ 840
- Ashwin Bhadri, billion in 2017, with modern trade expected to grow
Chief Executive Officer & Founder, at 20-25 per cent per annum, which is likely to boost
revenue of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
Equinox Labs, Mumbai companies. Revenue of FMCG sector reached Rs 3.4
lakh crore ($52.75 billion) in FY18 and is estimated
“As many restaurants are to reach $103.7 billion in 2020. FMCG market is
closed and people are expected to grow at 9–10 per cent in 2020.
still skeptical about
ordering food from Rise in rural consumption will drive the FMCG
outside, packaged food market. It contributes around 36 per cent to the
items have come as a rescue overall FMCG spending. FMCG urban segment
for preparing many dishes witnessed growth rate of 8 per cent, whereas, rural
at home and sometimes improvising them segment grew at 5 per cent in the quarter ended
too. Overall, the average purchase value per September 2019.
customer has gone up in the third quarter
after facing a dud in the first two quarters.” Investments: The government has allowed 100
per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food
- Amrinder Singh, processing and single-brand retail and 51 per cent in
Director, Bonn Group of Industries, Ludhiana multi-brand retail. This would bolster employment,
supply chain and high visibility for FMCG brands
“In 2017, the Indian market across organised retail markets thereby bolstering
held only 2 per cent consumer spending and encouraging more product
market share of the launches. The sector witnessed healthy FDI inflow of
global nutraceutical $16.28 billion during April 2000–March 2020.
market and its
estimated valuation stands at Road ahead: Rural consumption has increased,
around $5 billion as of 2019. It is led by a combination of increasing income and
expected to reach $11 billion by 2023, increasing higher aspiration levels. There is an increased
at a CAGR of 21 per cent. By 2023, India is also demand for branded products in rural India. The rural
expected to hold at least 3.5 per cent market FMCG market in India is expected to grow to $220
share of the global market.” billion by 2025 from $23.6 billion in FY18.

- Dr Anish Desai, On the other hand, with the share of unorganised
Strategic Medical Affair, market in the FMCG sector falling, the organised
Adroit Biomed, Mumbai sector growth is expected to rise with increased
level of brand consciousness, augmented by the
growth in modern retail. Another major factor
propelling the demand for food services in India is
the growing youth population, primarily in urban

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 21

Recent developments in the FMCG sector “We have ramped up
our focus on product
● In September 2020, Orkla, a Norway based
consumer goods company acquired 68 per cent innovation with an
stake in eastern Condiment
aim to build a localized
● In May 2020, Tata Consumer Products Limited
(TCPL) acquired PepsiCo’s stake in NourishCo consumer-centric
Beverages Limited.
portfolio.”
● Nestle plans to invest Rs 700 crore ($ 100.16
million) to open a new plant in Sanand for Maggi. - Sunil Gulati,

● ITC to invest Rs 700 crore ($ 100 million) in food Vice President, Technical & Supply Chain,
park in Madhya Pradesh.
Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, Gurugram
● Patanjali will spend $743.72 million in various
food parks in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, demand has been seen particularly in its pure herbs
Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. range such as guduchi, tulsi, amalaki, ashvagandha, and
others. “The health supplements business for Dabur
Source: IBEF reported a 70.8 per cent growth during Q2 of 2020-21.
The ayurvedic OTC range grew by over 56 per cent while
Government initiatives the ayurvedic ethicals business ended Q2 with an over
26 per cent growth. From April to June, we saw a nearly
● The Government of India has approved 100 per 7-fold growth in demand, compared to last year, for
cent FDI in the cash and carry segment and in Dabur Chyawanprash. Other ayurvedic products like
single-brand retail along with 51 per cent FDI in ashwagandha, giloy ghanvati, health juices like amla
multi-brand retail. juice, giloy-neem-tulsi juice etc., have also reported
strong growth”, says Mohit Malhotra, Chief Executive
● The government has drafted a new Consumer Officer, Dabur India, Ghaziabad.
Protection Bill with special emphasis on setting
up an extensive mechanism to ensure simple, Likewise, sales of multivitamins, particularly vitamin
speedy, accessible, affordable and timely delivery C, and dietary supplements saw a jump in April and
of justice to consumers. May, especially on online pharmacy platforms, as wary
customers rushed to shield themselves from COVID-19.
● The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is beneficial for In fact, endless hours being spent in front of screens due
the FMCG industry as GST on food products and to the current work from home scenario, intensified by
hygiene products have been reduced to 0–5 per COVID-19, is opening up a white space opportunity for
cent and 12–18 per cent respectively. vitamins, minerals and supplements players in India.
While three in ten users are taking mineral supplements
● GST is expected to transform logistics in the such as calcium, iron, zinc and multivitamins; eye health
FMCG sector into a modern and efficient model and beauty are high on people’s agenda now.
as all major corporations are remodelling their
operations into larger logistics and warehousing. The current pandemic has turned everyone’s
attention towards the role of nutraceuticals in building
Source: IBEF immunity. Nutraceuticals are now finding an increasing
acceptance in the treatment and prevention of chronic
regions. India has a large base of young consumers diseases, degenerative diseases, lifestyle management
and wellness due to a new awakening and awareness
who form majority of the workforce, and due to time amongst people.

constraints, barely get time for cooking. “In 2017, the Indian market held only 2 per cent
market share of the global nutraceutical market and
Online portals are expected to play a key role for its estimated valuation stands at around $5 billion as
of 2019. It is expected to reach $11 billion by 2023,
companies trying to enter the hinterlands. Internet increasing at a CAGR of 21 per cent. By 2023, India is
also expected to hold at least 3.5 per cent market share
has contributed in a big way, facilitating a cheaper of the global market. Newer innovative formulations
like gummies, shots, biscuits, dispersible tablets,
and more convenient mode to increase a company’s beverages are being liked and gaining popularity.
Nutritional genomics, nutrigenetics, molecular nutrition,
reach. It is estimated that 40 per cent of all FMCG clinical efficacy and safety of nutraceuticals are being

consumption in India will be made online by 2020.

The online FMCG market is forecast to reach $45

billion in 2020 from $20 billion in 2017.

It is estimated that India will gain $15 billion a

year by implementing GST. GST and demonetisation

are expected to drive demand, both in the rural and

urban areas, and economic growth in a structured

manner in the long term and improved performance

of companies within the sector. Source: IBEF

22 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

extensively discussed. With rising awareness, physicians, customer with minimum touch”, mentions Amrinder
patients and consumers are keen on the effectiveness Singh, Director, Bonn Group of Industries, Ludhiana.
and safety of these products”, points out Dr Anish Desai,
Strategic Medical Affair, Adroit Biomed, Mumbai. In line with this, packaged food manufacturers have
now adopted direct-to-consumer or D2C business model
The changing consumer preferences are also moving to bolster sales by investing in e-commerce services.
toward packaged food owing to the pandemic. In India, While few companies are putting energy into offering
the majority of people still prefer unpacked food but the products using their own delivery networks, others
the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed this are taking the approach of using third party online sales
preference and slowly and steadily we are seeing a shift platforms.
towards packaged food in tier 3 cities too. Since social
distancing will be the new norm, people are preferring Although online sales are currently offering many
packed food leading to an increase in the sales of ready- benefits to the manufacturers who can now even market
to-eat and ready-to-cook food. minor products whose demands had been too small to
be stocked in general stores, this trend may fall down
“As many restaurants are closed and people are still after the pandemic ends.
skeptical about ordering food from outside, packaged
food items have come as a rescue for preparing many “We are further strengthening our direct-to-
dishes at home and sometimes improvising them too. customer initiative and provide our products at the
Overall, the average purchase value per customer has customers’ doorstep. By complying with the safety
gone up in the third quarter after facing a dud in the norms of social distancing and contactless delivery, we
first two quarters. Another trend, which is expected want to ensure that our consumers have uninterrupted
is development of e-packaging, in which minimum and safe access to our products”, says Dilen Gandhi,
manhandling is involved and product reaches the Senior Director, Marketing – Foods category, PepsiCo
India, Gurugram.

To top it all, the ongoing pandemic is catalysing
digital transformation across the F&B industry.
Companies are gradually leveraging digitalization
advantages in everything from restructuring the value
chain to embracing virtualization to capitalizing on
the full breadth and power of technology. For instance,
Amway India has recently announced an investment of
Rs 150 crore to boost its manufacturing automation and
to strengthen its digital capabilities.

“The industry will have to adapt to this evolving
landscape; look and invest in digitization and
automation, so that consumers expect a safe and secure
food supply. Moreover, working on minimization of
human contact even post pandemic will be extremely
important and replacing paper with automated
processes and digital information will be the new
convention”, says Ashwin Bhadri, Chief Executive Officer
& Founder, Equinox Labs, Mumbai.

In spite of all the challenges posed by COVID-19
in 2020, the F&B industry has worked its way out
successfully by adopting numerous strategies. With few
segments doing better than the others currently, the
industry is likely to make up for the losses and get back
with full capacity in 2021.

But before we bid goodbye to the pandemic year,
NuFFooDS Spectrum brings to you viewpoints of
industry players across different segments on how they
sum it all up in 2020.

Dr Manbeena Chawla
[email protected]

With inputs from Akshay Nayak

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 23

GAINING THROUGH DIGITAL SALES

“Strong performance continues have become increasingly conscious about the food they
in e-commerce channels” consume and there is a big shift in preference towards
trusted brands. In-home consumption of our core
The COVID-19 crisis is having an categories, such as, ghee, butter, paneer, and cheese, has
extraordinary and far reaching seen significant increase in the pandemic period. The
impact on our lives. We have stood company has delivered a steady and encouraging
by our nearly 100,000 dairy farmers performance in the wake of a challenging economic
in these difficult times and have environment.
ensured that every drop of milk they
gave us has been taken into our - Devendra Shah,
factory for processing. Recognising the Chairman, Parag Milk Foods, Mumbai
difficulties the MSMEs are going through, we are
ensuring continuity in timely payments which is inherent “The availability of Lavazza
to our values. Similarly, we continue to work closely with coffee in e-commerce platforms
our coffee farmers, spice growers and have extended our was further strengthened”
support to numerous farmers in Karnataka by sourcing
substantial quantity of tomatoes from them through our The year 2020 was a mixed one for
suppliers to ensure there is no distress. We accelerated Lavazza India. With a leadership
our digital engagements across key parts of our position in B2B channels, especially
portfolio, put out innovative campaigns to engage the
consumers in many, while ensuring judicious application in hotels, restaurants and cafés
of marketing spends in line with the current business (HoReCa), the pandemic saw a
scenario. Boosted by an increase in in‐home pause in the double-digit growth
consumption, our key brands like maggi noodles, sauces, rates we are used to seeing. Due to
kitkat, munch, nescafe witnessed double digit growth. the hospitality and corporate offices
Demand in out of home channels improved during the shutdown resulting in low consumption of coffees. On
year but continues to be impacted due to the overall the other hand, we saw a surge in consumption at
environment. We continued our strong performance in homes, through the retail channel. The availability of
the e‐commerce channels, which grew by 97 per cent Lavazza coffee in e-commerce platforms was further
and now contributes about 4 per cent of domestic sales.” strengthened and we are seeing an interesting shift in
the consumption pattern. 2020 has helped us re-look at
- Suresh Narayanan, our home/ retail portfolio and strengthen our offerings
Chairman & Managing Director, Nestlé India, Gurugram by adding new products in existing and emerging
categories.
“In-home consumption of our core
categories significantly increased” - Jai Ganesh Ramnath,
Managing Director, Lavazza India, Chennai
We were able to sustain certain
cost-optimisation and productivity
enhancement measures

implemented during the
pandemic that enabled us to
report improved profitability.
During this difficult period, we have
ensured uninterrupted milk
procurement from our farmer network. In line with our
commitment of meeting evolving consumer needs and
providing health and nutrition to consumers across the
country, we have enhanced our premium, subscription
based, unique farm-to-home offering ’Pride of Cows’
through the addition of the perfect curd and single
origin ghee to the product mix this year. Consumers

24 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

“Digital technology was ready-to-cook mixes, chutneys and pickles were
used to fulfil our customers’ requirements” delivered with this collaboration. During the ongoing
pandemic, we have witnessed a significant rise in
To engage our customers, we consumption of our packaged ethnic food products as
initiated activities at four levels with most households preferred to cook at home. Moreover,
our brand portfolio. We conducted we have also seen significant rise in online sales. In fact,
the online sales in the last six months have gone up to
activities with doctors’ level, about 7 per cent of the total sales from, 2 per cent before
chemists level, patient’s level and the COVID-19 period in February. Apart from having our
even for other healthcare own shopping website, we have also partnered with all
professional and service providers major e-commerce players, including flipkart, big basket,
including police or home guards. We milkbasket, grofers and others.
provided Mulmina, a natural immune booster, and
antioxidant to boost their immunity and morale to fight - Sanjana Desai,
against pandemic. As a responsible pharmaceutical Executive Director, Mother’s Recipe - Desai Foods, Pune
company, we extended our social responsibility and in
turn it helped to maintain our business and grow. Seeing “Focus was shifted in a
the sharp rise in the demand for nutraceuticals during big way to online business”
this pandemic, the company is planning to strengthen its
presence in nutraceutical market. Reduced human This has been the year of
contacts with rising digital interactions are anticipated to tremendous learning and taught us
set new normal in this pandemic COVID-19 world. So, to ways of doing business effectively
engage our customers we used digital technology more
and fulfilled the requirements. Digital platforms in amidst the various constraints. At
coordination with conventional methods transformed supply chain front we have done
our company business. major overhauling to ensure
smooth procurement from our
- Rajesh Jagdale, manufacturers and supplies to our
Managing Director, Jagdale Industries, Bengaluru distributors and retailers. We have also shifted our focus
in a big way to online business and developed the entire
“Significant rise in online supply chain to cater to customers directly at thousands
sales was observed” of pin codes.

Our factories were only partially - Vinay Jain,
functional as there were a lot of Chief Operating Officer, Onelife Nutriscience, Mumbai
restrictions on the availability of
“D2C helped us serve
raw material, packaging material, the customers seamlessly”
supply chain, logistics and very
limited labour. After the initial two 2020 is going to be the year that
months of disruption in most of us will never forget - be it
manufacturing, now we are fully back personal or professional. Though
on track. The overall food consumption, particularly
consumption of packaged food, has seen a big jump 2020 has been a tough year for
since home-confined households looked for alternatives most of us, we have learnt some
to eating out. We have continued to ramp up our valuable lessons. From a business
offerings to target convenience. Our panipuri chutney perspective, this was a year that
and as well as ready to cook spice mixes like egg curry, saw many companies and startups go
shahi paneer and paneer tikka masala were recently out of their way to reach their end consumer to fulfil
launched and have been a big success and, going their needs, and ensure that they stop at nothing. At
forward, we will continue to expand our offering with Timios, I can say that we have had a successful run this
products that help our consumers in the kitchen. At a year. From the time lockdown started, there was an
time when the supply and distribution of essential food increasing demand for healthy food products and this
were disrupted by the lockdown, we partnered with trend worked in our favour as our products are created
companies that specialized in hyperlocal delivery as well with natural ingredients. To cater to the increasing
as last mile food delivery platforms to deliver our demand, we introduced direct-to-consumer (D2C)
products at our consumers’ doorsteps. Our most popular channels to explore newer categories of consumers,

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 25

strengthen communication, and easily connect with sales have seen a drop as people are choosing to stay
existing customers. The core of any brand is to be home and order online over going out into stores.
available to the end user with least friction and in the Though slowly we are seeing retail patterns coming back
most convenient way. Given the current situation, D2C to normal as lockdowns ease and the fear related to
is the best option and helps us serve the customers corona drops around the country. We have definitely
seamlessly. One of the key lessons learnt this year is the seen consumers become more health aware during this
importance of innovation and the only way to emerge period as they look more deeply into the nature of
stronger from the current situation is through products. This has been great for us as we are able to
innovation. Brands that have innovated have found further educate them about clean eating and truly
ways to survive through this pandemic. Implementing healthy foods, allowing consumers to understand what
new processes to ensure great customer experience, sets us apart in the market.
implementing out of the box methods to engage with
customers are some of the ways to create an - Seema Jindal Jajodia,
unforgettable experience. Founder, Nourish Organics, New Delhi

- Aswani Chaitanya, “Use of digital technology around business
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Timios, Bengaluru operations has been strengthened”

“Our D2C sales platform During the lockdown the market
was launched in April” was impacted quite heavily initially
and sales had taken a strong hit. In
Soulfull's performance in 2020 has
been focused to build an agile, a post lockdown scenario there is
responsive, digitally sound a revival of demand and in-home
consumption. Sales is increasing
organization sticking to our both in global as well as domestic
brand's core to consistently offer markets of Cornitos products. We are
our target consumer's values such planning process automation as well as skill
as health, taste and convenience in development of existing workforce to cope up with
innovative ways. At the onset of the increasing demands. We have strengthened use of
pandemic, with sudden shocks to supply chains across digital technology around customers, employees and
larger organizations, Soulfull launched its direct-to- business operations. Cornitos faced operational
consumer (D2C) sales platform in April. With swift difficulties on multiple fronts – labour, raw materials,
change in consumer's purchase behaviour, the company transportation and dip in sales during the pandemic. In
saw phenomenal growth in its e-commerce channels of a post lockdown scenario, we hope for a revival of
~200 per cent. In addition to this, with growing traction demand and in-home consumption so we need to
to its muesli business, it launched two new variants focus on establishing new benchmarks, new strategies
adding to a strong portfolio, followed by a new category with long term planning. An integral challenge
launch in Instant dosa mixes. currently is linking the broken supply chain and
procure raw material. Production unit is bringing
- Prashant Parameswaran, process efficiency at micro level through cost control
Managing Director, Soulfull- Kottaram Agro, Bengaluru on consumables, controlling process waste, process
automation, ensuring breakdown prevention and
“There was an increase in our online sales” increasing production efficiency. We are ensuring
availability of our products to boost sales. We have
We came out stronger as a team, strengthened use of digital technology around
supported each other across roles customers, employees and business operations.
and learned a lot. Most of all our Cornitos social media handles are being used for digital
marketing, online services and e-commerce. Cornitos
team members braved the COVID has recently launched e-commerce website as part of
and worked all through. People our post COVID strategy.
have started to look towards
purchasing healthy foods due to - Vikram Agarwal,
immunity-boosting requirements, Managing Director, Cornitos- Greendot
consumers are more aware and conscious of what they
are consuming and thus we have seen an increase in our Health Foods, New Delhi
online sales and queries for our products. Naturally retail

26 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

RISE IN IMMUNITY/NUTRITION PRODUCTS

“There were spikes in demand “We leveraged this pandemic
for human nutrition products” phase with our diet paradox survey”

Business conditions for nutrition According to recent media reports,
were good overall in the first half of people across India have become
this year, with spikes in demand for cognizant about the criticality of

human nutrition products. optimum nutrition and the
COVID-19 has increased consumer importance of health. Nu-Shakti
awareness of the benefits of a was launched in September 2019,
robust immune system to fend off with an aim to fortify daily meals
the effects of viral infections, with with vitamins and minerals to build
many gradually switching towards high nutrient diets, the nutritional requirements of rural and urban
coupled with moderate exercise, to keep individual consumers. The products Powermix for rice (fortified
immune health at its peak. COVID-19 has given us the rice kernels), Powermix for atta (atta/flour fortifier), and
chance to reinvent systems for the better of the MixMe (fortified orange-flavored beverage mix)
environment and society; this has pushed us to advance increases the micronutrient level of home-cooked
our R&D efforts to further science-based solutions, which staple foods, without altering taste, odour or
are both sustainable and scalable too. appearance of the daily food. As per ICMR RDA each

- Raj Sahetiya,
Senior Business Director, DSM, Human
Nutrition & Health India/ South Asia, Mumbai

“Our key products turmeric
and ashwagandha helped
millions boost their defenses”

2020 is a year, which would be
momentous in history and perhaps
for reasons that were least expected.

The‘once in a century’pandemic,
which many predicted will never
happen due to the advances of
modern medicine occurred and it
took the world by storm. In the early
days of the pandemic, as consumers reached out for
increased supplies to build their immunity and as logistics
and other systems reeled from the strain, priority was
shifted to ensuring safety as well as reaching out to
customers to ensure their needs were met. Despite
challenges, Arjuna Natural made significant strides across
all areas. New safety and hygiene protocols were swiftly
implemented and constantly updated as new information
became available on the pandemic. New patents were filed
and new projects launched. Health, especially building
immunity and recovery, has come back to focus. Also what
came to focus in 2020 is the spirit of innovation and
sharing as nations across the world collaborated to combat
the pandemic worldwide, exchanging data and resources.

- Dr Benny Anthony,
Joint Managing Director, Arjuna Natural, Ernakulam

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 27

serving of MixMe beverage powder provides up to 30 “Immunity-boosting products
per cent of the recommended daily allowance of continue to be the outperformer”
micronutrients for a child between 7 and 9 years. Our
endeavour is to continue creating awareness about the Dabur India reported a strong
adequate need of nutrition in the daily meal, which is growth in its performance for the
an integral part of our strategy. We also leveraged this second quarter of 2020-21, backed
phase to understand if the ever-growing awareness of
health conscious consumers is translating into action by sustained efforts in driving
through our street survey – India’s Diet Paradox. demand for its ayurvedic
According to the survey, virtually all respondents of the healthcare, hygiene and nutrition
survey (98 per cent) agree that a nutritious diet is products, coupled with strong
essential for a healthy lifestyle, however, 60 per cent of innovation to meet the emerging
the respondents rarely or never make a conscious effort consumer needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
to add nutritive elements or additional supplements to Our domestic healthcare business reported a strong 49
their diet. The survey was conducted with more than a per cent growth, with the recent consumer-relevant
thousand people across all age groups in Mumbai, innovations contributing to around 5-6 per cent of our
Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. revenue. Healthcare, particularly the portfolio of our
immunity-boosting products, continues to be the
- Amit Bose, outperformer for Dabur. This is also in line with our
Business Head, Project Mandi, DSM India, New Delhi strategy of focusing on the consumer health categories.

- Mohit Malhotra,
Chief Executive Officer, Dabur India. Ghaziabad

“We saw good growth in immunity based
herbal ingredients and essential minerals”

2020 proved to be a very difficult year.
The process of unlearning and
learning was at its all-time high. Right

from implementation of SOPs, to
infrastructure change, to supply
chain issues to fast tracking new
product development for immunity
boosting purpose, etc. and the list goes
on. While lockdown worsened the supply chain problems,
our employees could think on their toes and we could then
resume very shortly and were able to serve our clientele
worldwide. The pandemic condition has created a bottle-
neck situation where we have to learn and mend to the
situation within a very short period. We had to work on
every policy to withstand the situational pressure created
by the unexpected pandemic spread. Even though the
supply chain is an upstream business process, failure in
maintaining it can create major issues and can even result
in loss of business. Depending on the own transportation
chains rather than assigning the delivery to a third party
and collaborate with other transporters wherever
necessary: as far as logistic issues are concerned, we learned
the hard way that more the better. More options we have in
our hand, better is our capacity to ensure the smooth
supply. Because ultimately we cannot tell our customers to
wait till we get our transporters back on track.

- Dr Muhammed Majeed,
Founder and Chairman, Sami-Sabinsa Group, Bengaluru

28 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

“The immunity portfolio helped “Spices sales helped in
us generate additional revenue” our business growth”

2020 for us was like a roller-coaster, Akay is celebrating 25 years in 2020
with several ups and downs. We and has established over these
started very well with the first years in three areas of global
business- nutraceutical and
quarter but with the emergence of dietary supplement ingredients;
COVID-19 our business got oleoresins, natural colours and
affected just like the rest of the essential oils; and spices and
world. However, we realigned and seasonings. In all these three areas we
adapted ourselves with the situation have seen business growth in 2020. Immunity and
and faced the challenges we came across. To reach out to natural food was the key word during this pandemic.
our end consumers, we used different digital initiatives, Spices like turmeric, ginger and all its value added
conducted several campaigns and created a lot of products got a boost globally as an immunity enhancer,
awareness. Additionally, we have also shifted our focus which helped in our business growth. From the
to our immunity portfolio that is EscorZ and Glutathione beginning of the year when news of COVID-19 came
tablets. The immunity portfolio helped us generate from China we instituted very comprehensive control
additional revenue. Thus our exponential growth during measures across all our manufacturing sites and our
the pandemic came from the vitamin C and the team has taken every step to run our plants
immunity portfolio. continuously without break to meet the increased
demand, and using the opportunity to increase our
- Sushant Raorane, business volumes.
Co-founder & Director, Adroit Biomed, Thane
- Dr Balu Maliakel,
“International attention was received Managing Director, Akay Natural Ingredients, Ernakulam
due to our highly researched rasayana”
“2020 has been largely positive
COVID-19 has been the major for the nutraceutical sector”
phenomena in 2020. It has affected
all areas of human life all over the With the uncertainty of the
pandemic wreaking havoc all
world and Maharishi Ayurveda also around, people have realized the
did not remain untouched. During
the beginning of pandemic there importance of preventive
were some logistic problems and healthcare as a lifestyle approach
movement restrictions because of and are including nutraceutical
which we felt some downward trends. Also everybody’s products in their diets and health
attention was to find some very strong, fast acting plans. The consumers now know that
solution to be able to kill the virus instantaneously. not only a strong immune system, but an overall healthy
Because of that nobody considered ayurveda as an and fit body is what it takes to keep diseases at bay.
option. But as the things started unfolding people started People have started exploring the nutraceutical sector
recovering from panic, realised that there is no medicine, that has so much to offer that can benefit their overall
which can kill the COVID-19 virus. It is only the immunity health beyond certain aspects, and have accepted the
of the person, which can save from viral infections or fact that nutraceuticals are the way ahead. It feels like
prevent infections. Suddenly attention all over the world we’re finally achieving the goal that we were aiming for.
started shifting to natural medicines and ayurveda being We have plenty to be optimistic about. With greater
the most advanced and developed system of natural public awareness, the industry is set to see a significant
medicine it started coming in the limelight. Maharishi hike in the demand and supply, but most importantly,
Ayurveda also got international attention because of its we’re looking forward to seeing a positive shift in
highly researched and internationally acclaimed super people’s approach towards preventive healthcare and
Rasayana - Amrit Kalash and various other rasayanas, nutraceutical products. The pandemic sure did teach us
having immunity boosting effects. That gave a good boost some valuable lessons that will help us in the long run.
to the performance during the second half of 2020. But I think an important lesson that is still being missed
by many is the role of nutraceutical products in disease
- Anand Srivastava, prevention. On the other hand, the nutraceutical
Chairman, Maharishi Ayurveda, Noida

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 29

companies learned that we need to be more involved in
the leveraging and sharing of scientific knowledge so
that supplements can be used as prophylactics. Apart
from that, the most important lesson that the industry
learned was that we need to develop a robust supply
chain that can withstand the disruptiveness of such
pandemics in the future, so that the manufacture and
transportation of nutraceuticals to consumers is not
impacted.

- Sushil Khaitan,
Chief Executive Officer & Director,

Purenutrition.in, Bengaluru

“The demand for our fruits has continued” “We introduced products to
improve the immunity of consumers”
2020 is a year that has been very
challenging and transformative. It The COVID-19 pandemic has
stretched our creativity and brought a major shift in
consumption patterns as people
resilience on one hand and tested
our team’s abilities and are giving preference to essentials.
commitment on other. It disrupted Consumers prefer tried and tested
existing operations but created new brands giving preference to quality,
opportunities. Yet, one of the most safety, nutrition and trust during
satisfying experience was receiving a letter from Andhra these times. Enlightlife started the
Pradesh government thanking our team for continued year collaborating with sports academies, corporates,
support to farmers during lockdown when there were no and wellness centers. But currently all these are either
buyers of their produce. Our performance was non-operational or operating with 20-30 per cent
exemplary because we continued to provide support to customers. We have seen surge from tier 2 cities where
farmers, kept our teams safe as they carried on their people are buying immunity booster kits, diabetic
work, provided wages to our labour team even when management kits etc., keeping in mind the current
there was not enough work and serviced out customers situation. We at Enlightlife took few steps to adapt fast to
in most trying circumstances. the situation by introducing products to improve the
InI Farms is a global branded fruit company and immunity of consumers, introducing the Weltreprenuer
COVID-19 created huge supply chain disruptions and programme, which could help people earn additional
uncertainties across the world. From a financial point incomes and educating consumers about importance of
of view, Q1 was most difficult as we could operate nutrition, hygiene, masks & disposal of masks through
at only 50 per cent of capacity whereas Q2 brought videos and blogs.
significant growth specially in domestic markets. While
large parts of supply chain restored to normal in Q2, - M L Amarnath,
air freights have remained high and impacted our Founder & Chief Promoter,
air-freighted business throughout the year. Overall Enlight Life Science, Bengaluru
we expect revenue in FY21 to be similar to FY20 with
lower margins due to higher freight. We believe this
pandemic has prepared us to deal with any crisis in the
future. Even during lockdown, our aim was to bring
back the business to normalcy at the earliest, even if
not at its peak capacity. The demand for our fruits has
continued, and we have noticed behavioural changes
as consumers are looking for healthy and hygienic
options during the pandemic.

- Pankaj Khandelwal,
Chairman and Managing Director, InI Farms, Mumbai

30 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

PREFERENCE FOR PACKAGED FOODS

“A surge of 200% was recorded disruptions. However, we are back to optimum capacity
in RTC/RTE products” utilization, which is close to the same that we had before
the pandemic. Demand from rural areas has gone up,
2020 sure has been a roller coaster which has made up for part of the decline seen in urban
ride with its own ups and downs. areas. We are seeing higher demand for consumer packs
The world and humanity faced its as compared with bulk packs, which are ordered by hotels
and restaurants. This is also due to the fact that even
biggest challenge in the form of though restrictions have been lifted, most people are
COVID-19. However, as a brand avoiding eating out. Moreover, since a lot of focus is on
that constantly strives to learn and safety, customers are increasingly opting for trusted
improve, Nandu’s was quick to packed products over loose or unbranded options. Be it
recognize new business opportunities, edible oils & foods, FMCG or personal care products, it has
innovate and design solutions for customers during the been our endeavour to provide high-quality products to
pandemic. With people staying at home, convenience customers at highly competitive prices. We were able to
became one of the biggest factors to drive ready-to-cook run our facilities even amidst a massive exodus only
and ready-to-eat (RTC and RTE) segment, which saw a because of our workers and have observed resilience of
huge surge in the last few months. With Nandu’s being employees during the trying times. There is traction for
the omni-channel and hyperlocal brand, since March/ trusted, familiar brands. Our ready to cook (RTC) offerings,
April 2020, we have recorded a surge of about 200 per which offer the added benefit of convenience are seeing
cent in our RTC/RTE products. Chicken 65, Chicken high traction. There is also a huge shift from loose to
Nuggets and Schezwan Chilli Chicken have been the big packaged products. We were already working on
hits! The sales trends, so far, have been very encouraging. strengthening our e-commerce presence, but the
Although the sales via our retail stores fell considerably disruption has speeded up the process. We are going to
in March and April, post lockdown, from May onwards focus a lot on tapping e-commerce platforms to reach out
we have been registering a healthy 40 per cent growth to customers.
across all our stores. Our stores are witnessing a surge in
footfalls as new customers are indicating a renewed faith - Ajay Motwani,
in trusted brands like Nandu’s instead of buying meat Head of Marketing, Adani Wilmar, Hyderabad
and meat products from live butchery shops. There has
been a 50 per cent increase in the purchase from our
online ecommerce platforms and also on marketplaces,
such as Dunzo, Swiggy Stores and Zomato Market,
during the pandemic. Also, since Nandu’s is a hyperlocal
brand with fully-integrated operations and the only
omni-channel farm-to-fork player in Karnataka it was
possible to respond swiftly to the disruptions in the
supply chain and logistics.

- Narendra Pasuparthy,
Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Nandu’s, Bengaluru

“RTC offerings are seeing high traction”

The coronavirus pandemic has led to
unprecedented lockdowns and an
adverse impact on most businesses.

Being in the essential commodities
industry, the impact of the
pandemic on us has been relatively
lower. Our operations were impacted
during the initial weeks of the lockdown
as the capacity utilization of our manufacturing plants
came down due to manpower shortage and supply chain

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 31

“New products were launched as pandemic, it’s essential to have a robust digital
demand for packaged foods grew” presence. Though initially digital platforms were
primarily tapping gen Z and millennial consumers, this
It has been quite a journey during year has seen the rise of consumers aged over 35 years
the coronavirus pandemic. As the also moving to online channels to shop FMCG and
whole scenario was one of its retail brands. Since FMCG consumption was the
kind, we also had our initial hardest hit in bigger cities in India during the
hiccups to get adapted in the lockdown period, adding middle and rural India is
‘new normal’. But, being the seeing a cautious recovery in the country.
essential good manufacturers, we
sailed through the challenging times - Amrinder Singh,
despite the lockdown and its subsequent challenges Director, Bonn Group of Industries, Ludhiana
like shortage of labour and transportation. At the
same time, the coronavirus pandemic provided us “An uplift in the acceptance
enough opportunity to expand our capabilities. of frozen foods was witnessed”
Keeping in mind the growing demand for in-house
consumption of packaged food, we have launched In the frozen food category, we
new products including herbs & seeds bread, thins witnessed a modification or an
biscuits, premium cakes and choco nutty cookies to uplift in the acceptance of frozen
meet the growing demands of our consumers. We
have considered all the elements of the supply chain foods. I do think this holds true
right from manufacturing, distribution, retailing, for all the packaged foods but is
warehousing, to delivery and customer. We also more evident in the frozen food
educated our consumers and stakeholders about the category. I believe we launched
coronavirus pandemic through our media outreach. GOELD at the right time, there were a
The most pertinent lesson learnt during the pandemic lack of products in this space barring one or two
is healthy eating should be our priority. The pandemic brands; this helped us get an easy penetration in the
taught us we should curtail our intake of junk food retail stores. We got good acceptance from the
and include healthy food options in our regular diet. consumers because of our superior product quality and
As consumers in both the FMCG and retail sectors we also witnessed recurring sales of our products. We
have been switching from the brick-and-mortar way started with our operations in 5 cities in the first week
of shopping to sourcing online since the advent of the of August, and in these three months we are already
seeing a 25 to 30 per cent growth month on month. We
have also received enquiries from a lot of traders,
distributors as well as consumers through social media,
specifically on our plans for Delhi and north regions.
Though Delhi NCR region was not in our first year plan,
we have decided to go ahead and launch our products
there. In fact, the launch is currently taking place and
we have in-store placements in 175 stores already. If we
were to analyze the business spectrum of the frozen
food category before COVID, 50 per cent of the frozen
food sale was coming from the modern trade channels.
Post COVID, the modern trade business has gone down
drastically as these stores are located in the malls,
which were shut. Even though the modern trade
business has come down, the overall sale has increased
from 20-30 per cent, which is mainly through two
channels, i.e nearby supermarkets and the e-commerce
space. The e-commerce channels have done a fantastic
job during this time and are witnessing exponential
growth.

- Archit Goel,
Director, Goel Frozen Foods, Raipur

32 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

FOOD SAFETY SLOW RECOVERY

“SARS-CoV-2 has further escalated the “Sales were down drasticall
need to redouble food safety efforts” in main months of Feb-June”

As an organization we have Beverage industry sees large
done exceptionally well in seasonality and main months of
2020. Our performance sales are Feb-June which were lost
due to lockdown and sales were
reflects the amazing effort down drastically. A major lesson
of our 75,000 colleagues learnt from the pandemic is that
across the globe, who you have to be in the essential
continued to meet our commodities list, and your product
customers' needs and quickly should be a must have product rather than just a nice
mobilized to provide solutions to help analyze, to have product.
diagnose, and protect people from the virus
globally. Furthermore, last year we inaugurated - Nilesh Lele,
the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India Director, Exelon Foodbio Advisors, Mumbai
(FSSAI) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Food Safety
Solution Center in Ghaziabad, Delhi. As the food “We did not suffer major business impact”
safety standards and regulatory frameworks
continue to evolve, this center, with its best-in- 2020 felt very promising at the
class chromatography and mass spectrometry start partially because it also
solutions, support and training services, is a heralded beginning of a new
demonstration of our commitment to support decade full of promising
manufacturers and government to address the possibilities. Hence like many
analytical needs of the food and beverage others we also made
industries. Overall, our performance in the past aggressive growth plans for
and with our comprehensive and advanced 2020 but few weeks later COVID
solutions from sample preparation, analysis and struck the global community. This once in a
data management, we are well-positioned to lifetime pandemic year has been a time for
enable safe and secure food supplies and ensure adaptability as demand & supply visibility dropped
food manufacturers are compliant to the national to lower than usual. In such situation normal
and international guidelines. The food industry planning tools became less relevant and good old
has the primary responsibility to ensure the foods virtues of courage, hope & team spirit came to our
they produce are safe for consumers. With rescue to help ensure that we did not suffer major
concerns around transmission of SARS-CoV-2 business impact. Now as 2020 is nearing end it is
through food products, it has further escalated easier to look back and confidently share that we
the need to redouble their food safety efforts. made it happen with support of partners and also
Another important aspect is the rising concern by ensuring our team’s good health. 2020 will
among manufacturers, regulators, and consumers never be forgotten but COVID is not over yet. 2021
on the protection against food fraud. Food fraud it seems will also be uniquely challenging in the
costs the food industry approximately $15 billion first half as unexpected dynamics keep appearing
globally. The launch of Next Generation on the horizon. But now we will have the 2020
Sequencing (NGS) Food Authenticity Workflow - experience to help navigate 2021 even better. One
for verifying and authenticating products for consistent lesson taught by the pandemic has
improved traceability and food safety has been been going more digital wherever possible. The
pivotal in revolutionizing the food authenticity staggering growth of some digitally focused
testing. companies during the pandemic has been
inspiring and opened our minds to new ways of
- Amit Chopra, thinking.
Managing Director, India and Middle East,
- Amol Pathak,
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Mumbai Director- Business & Strategy, Enovate Biolife, Mumbai

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 33

“We are still working to pandemic impacts or not, customer satisfaction is top
reach a stable point” priority- Despite all hiccups, how do you ensure your
processes deliver higher customer satisfaction. Above all,
As common to many companies if you want to win, you have to play defense and figure
and startups, 2020 has come as a out a way to survive!
challenging year, while the start of
- Mathew Chacko,
the year pertained to a complete Managing Director, Athletebit Healthcare, Mysuru
shutdown of operations, the
remaining part was focused on “We are not looking at any de-growth”
building new client base, exploring
new avenues and retaining our older It’s been a year of great learning. We
customers. Overall it has shown a slow and steady linear have had to quickly adapt to the
increase and we are still working to reach a stable point. new normal and minimise the

- Sarah D'souza, down period from a business
Director & Co-Founder, Biosyl Technologies, Hubli perspective. I think we learned
quickly and were able to turn things
“Opening of lockdown reflected around. At the moment we are still
an uptick in our business” working and projecting and final
results will only be known closer towards the end of the
So far 2020 has been a tough year financial year, but I can confidently state that we are not
with pandemic raging in Q1 and Q2. looking at any de-growth and shall minimum report
Our business is heavily dependent same business level’s as the previous year if not higher,
on sports activities happening. With and with a better bottom line. I think the need to keep
gyms, sports academies, etc. all reinventing ways of doing business has been the major
closed it was tough with people learning. Importance of digital marketing as a medium
sitting at home. However, with the to reach customers and occupying their mind space
opening of the lockdown in various while not being able to meet them physically. We have
parts of the country by Q3, we are seeing sports activities also drawn a lot of focus towards cost control and it has
happening, which is now reflecting an uptick in our yielded positive results. Most of all, it was good
business. We expect Q3 & Q4 to be a lot stronger than validation for us in terms of being in the right industry as
what we anticipated earlier. One of the major lessons by and large our customers producing a variety of food
that we have learnt as a manufacturing startup is products have been able to handle this pandemic well.
learning to better assess demand, manage your
inventory in a smart way, and look at every possible - Raghav Gupta,
corner to cut discretionary spending. The other Director, Kanchan Metals, New Delhi
significant learning is, irrespective of whether the

34 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

FOCUSING ON EXPANSION & GROWTH

“Focus was on brand building “Foods, tea & coffee grew in double digits”
through product campaigns”
In the context of a challenging
We started to see growths coming economic environment, our growth
back in the first 2 months of 2020, has been competitive and
which was then hit by COVID-19 &
profitable. We have expanded our
lockdown in March impacting the portfolio with consumer relevant
revenue and net profit growths by innovations and have invested
an estimated 7-10 per cent. In this strongly behind our brands. Our
period, we continued to garner operations and service levels are now
market share through our focus on the back to pre-COVID levels and we have accelerated the
building blocks of distribution diligence in marketplace pace of digitizing our operations under the ‘Re-imagine
and brand building through focused product campaigns. HUL’ agenda. Foods, tea and coffee sustained the high
On the cost front, we witnessed moderate inflation in the growth momentum and grew in double digits. Our
prices of key raw materials for the bakery business. consumer-focused activations and innovations are
Commodity prices at global level too witnessed a leveraging the in-home consumption trend. Our prudent
moderation due to low demand on account of lockdown and dynamic management of unprecedented inflation in
in most parts of the world. We are keeping a close watch tea has enabled all our brands to grow in double digits
on macro-economic factors, changes in laws, evolving and this positions us well. Performance of our nutrition
consumer behaviour and are framing our medium-term business was competitive and disrupted supply lines are
strategy laying out scenarios to deal with this dynamic now fully restored. We have expanded Boost nationally.
environment. The company has also signed a While we saw sequential improvement, ice creams, foods
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil solutions and vending businesses continue to be
Nadu government to increase its investment in the state. impacted due to out-of-home consumption loss.
Tamil Nadu is one of our biggest and key markets for
growth. It is the most diversified market and we have - Sanjiv Mehta,
over the years invested towards strengthening our Chairman and Managing Director,
foothold in the state. We will continue to balance growth
across our key markets as we look to further deepen our Hindustan Unilever, Mumbai
reach in the country. To achieve this, we are also looking
at an overall capex of about Rs 700 crore to set up new
facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar, while
also expanding manufacturing capabilities of our
existing plants in Maharashtra and Odisha.

- Varun Berry,
Managing Director, Britannia Industries, Bengaluru

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 35

“Physical presence grew by over “A complete rebranding was done in 2020”
20 per cent in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka”
This year has been a year of change
Levista has done reasonably well for Annapoorna Masalas & Spices.
during the COVID-19 crisis. I wonder After an extensive market research
at times, should we say we have
in 2019, we decided to revamp the
grown significantly due to corona brand to be in line with the
or despite corona. Our headcount expectations of current consumers.
is up by 30 per cent and our sales After a year of hard work, the brand
performance is almost was successfully relaunched on
proportionate to the additional team September 5, 2020 with a refreshed logo, packaging and
size. We have grown our physical presence by over 20 marketing communication. Coming to the performance
per cent only in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in terms of numbers, we have retained last year sales
while we pulled out of Andhra Pradesh/ Telangana in Q2 amidst the pandemic situation considering the logistics
FY 20-21 due to business concerns. The first big learning issues we faced during the lockdown period. We have
from the pandemic was the market size out there is also made changes in terms of sales and marketing
much bigger that what we estimate with or without the structure of the organization, and we have segregated
assistance of business tools. For example, due to our business into two verticals, general trade (GT) &
continued work from home (WFH) in select households, modern trade (MT). General trade will predominantly
we witnessed a surge in consumption of hot beverages focus on villages with a population of 25,000 to metros,
and of this, coffee contributed a big portion in Tamil while modern trade business will focus on covering
Nadu where a number of consumers migrated from national & regional chains like D mart, Reliance, Spar,
Chennai to their native towns across the state. On the Ratnadeep and e-commerce portals. In line with the
marketing front, we realised how essential it is for changing times, we have introduced mono carton packs
continuing our efforts towards a higher brand recall. The exclusively for modern trade vertical and have
more we are closer and frequent to our consumer, the successfully launched nearly 20 new products this year,
higher the chances that they embrace us. And lastly, the which includes regional blends and biryani variants.
importance of social media, which has played a
significant contribution to establish our presence. - Vijay Prasad,
Executive Director, Annapoorna
- S Shriram,
Vice President Marketing and Sales, Masalas & Spices, Hyderabad

Levista Coffee, Chennai

36 COVER STORY NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

“Our company is in expansion “Our sales figures are soaring high”
mode with Rs 920 Cr investment”
Our performance given our maiden
While many other manufacturing year had been great. We have got
companies are trying to consolidate good responses from the market
themselves, our company AGI
and our sales figures are soaring
Glaspac is in an expansion mode. high. With cinema halls opening,
We have announced our plans to our performance has been
invest Rs 700 crore as a new facility in improving on a daily basis. Starting
the eastern part of India in early 2020 from kernels to gourmet popcorn to
and in November 2020 announced our do-it-yourself (DIY) kits we have continuously evolved our
investment of Rs 220 crore in expanding our facility at products keeping in mind the dynamic market trends.
Bhongir in Telangana to enter a new market of speciality
glass. Additionally, this year we had also launched India’s - Vikas Suri,
first anti-bacterial bottles. So largely, 2020 has been a crucial Chief Executive Officer, Popcorn & Co, New Delhi
milestone year for AGI Glaspac’s growth as it allowed us to
continuously service our customers in liquor, wine, food, “We have considerably
chemical and pharma industry despite the pandemic. It has increased spends on R&D”
also trained us in the challenging times and has made us
ready for the much-expected upcoming global market 2020 has been a year of
demand post pandemic subsides from global market. On opportunities for Millennium
the business side, it has taught us that every challenge is a Herbal Care. More than the surge
new door to vibrant opportunities. in demand for ayurvedic and
herbal supplements, we had the
- Rajesh Khosla, opportunity to pause, analyze,
President & Chief Executive Officer, learn, and reinvent where needed.
So, any evaluation should be done in
AGI Glaspac, Hyderabad both, financial and non-quantifiable parameters. I
reckon we have done extremely well in implementing
“We launched our product right strategic shifts in the business model and pushed hard
in the middle of the pandemic” on training the team with complementary skill sets.
Financially, we lost sales for about 40 days due to the
We launched our product right in restrictions of distribution networks early in the
the middle of the pandemic itself lockdown, but have seen a catch up to last year levels
and we have been really lucky to on a monthly basis, primarily buoyed by our immunity
portfolio. We are hoping that by end of this FY20-21,
have a good response. In terms of
the width of distribution or the
number of accounts, we have been
very well welcomed by some of the
big players of the industry including
the hotels, resorts, retails, etc. I strongly feel, this
pandemic has made the world a lot more conscious
towards the environment and towards oneself as well.
Our product resonates well with the intentions of
working towards the environment and towards fighting
against the much bigger pandemic of plastic problem. I
believe it was almost as if a blessing in disguise that our
launch came right amid the pandemic. Though we have
won good numbers but by no means we have touched
what we intended to do pre pandemic. However,
considering these times, we feel really happy looking at
the acceptance and the most motivating factor is the
month on month growth from the day we launched.

- Ankur Chawla,
Co-Founder, Responsible Whatr, New Delhi

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in COVER STORY 37

we should be at par or just ahead of FY19-20. There and overall health. This shift impacted consumption
will be no changes in the bottom line, as we have patterns and led to a demand for safe, effective
considerably increased spends on R&D. The biggest immunity boosting and preventive products. We were
lesson from the pandemic goes back to instilling able to address this gap with our new range of Vedix
work-life balance in all. Similarly, a well-balanced immunity line, which brings the rejuvenating and
portfolio of products across therapies, geographies, detoxifying ayurvedic elements.
and markets, has helped our company stay healthy in
this pandemic year. - Chaitanya Nallan,
Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder,
- Chintan Gandhi,
Chief Executive Officer & Director, Vedix, Hyderabad
Millennium Herbal Care, Mumbai
“We scaled from 30 to 250 stores
“Our Vedix brand was in 5 months across 5 cities”
introduced during the pandemic”
LiL'Goodness launched in March
2020 year started on a challenging 2020, just at the start of COVID-19.
note with the pandemic turning As a startup brand we faced
tables for all businesses by
tremendous challenges in April
creating challenging, uncertain and May as strict lockdowns were
and unpredictable environments. enforced in ensuring that our
At the same time, there also supply chain was agile and available
emerged opportunities to re- to cater to the large scale panic buying
evaluate the businesses in order to that one witnessed. Once the supply chain challenges
meet the new customer demand in the changing were overcome, it was a matter of scaling up hyper
landscape. With the pandemic moving the focus to locally across key cities in the country. We were new to
immunity and health, we found opportunity in FMCG, and we had an accelerated learning of how to
introducing Vedix, India’s first customized ayurvedic work with various distribution and retail channels. In a
personal care regimen, which marries modern data matter of 5 months we scaled from 30 stores to around
driven methodologies with traditional ayurveda to a 250 stores across 5 cities with a major presence in
larger audience. The brand has resonated deeply Bengaluru, Delhi and Pune. We got an amazing response
among the customers across the country fueling the on Amazon; scaling from zero to best sellers and top 100
growth to Rs 100 crore accounting rate of return. India's in grocery and gourmet foods. We started with 3
immunity industry has witnessed a huge surge with stock-keeping unit (SKUs), and we will end the year with
people shifting their focus to strengthening immunity around 15 SKUs, which will provide one different snack
for every day of the week for the little ones and their
families. We have launched a range of prebiotic
chocolates- a first in India. We have had a cracker of a
sale with our baked veggie crackers. We actively used
consumer and channel feedback to improve the product
taste, texture and pricing. We innovated and created a
chocolate makhana category, which was first of its kind
with a playful packaging, which kids love. In spite of the
initial hiccups, we are tremendously satisfied with the
progress we have made in the middle of COVID-19. We
learnt to stick to the basics in these tough times- stay
close to your consumers, listen to feedback and make
sure you respond and add value to them. We invested
heavily in going out and meeting customers where they
are- within the safety of their homes and on digital
platforms.

- Harshavardhan,
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder,

Lil'Goodness, Bengaluru

38 OPPORTUNITIES NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Commercial seaweeds
farming gaining popularity

India has a long coastline and has a suitable climate necessary for the growth of seaweeds. From three
consecutive years, Expo and Summit on seaweeds are being held in India. With globalization and increase
in awareness, seaweeds have found a place in Indian kitchens as well. As of now, with the Government of
India and state governments making the cultivation of seaweeds a priority sector, the seaweed industry is
currently being seen as a sunrise industry. NuFFooDS Spectrum looks at this growth in the interest of edible
seaweeds.

Although consumed from thousands of years, (102) where calorie deficient or undernourished
seaweeds are now considered as the modern population is more in proportion. Also, the prevalence
superfood and is the new fad in healthy eating. A of underweight children up to the age of five and
common name for countless species of marine plants, their mortality is alarming. Although the precise world
seaweeds are highly nutritious and grow in water bodies. statistics is not available, a staggering 31 per cent Indian
In India, seaweeds have long been used for industrial population (over 350 million people) consists of pure
purposes but due to globalization, it has found a place in vegetarians. In India, the peace towards animal’s ahimsa
Indian kitchens as well. Also, due to the increase in food brought vegetarianism among religious followers and
demand, seaweeds are looked upon as a sustainable
option to improve food security.

Sharing similar views, Pratik Gurnani, an experienced
Business Research Writer and Senior Consultant with
expertise in data analysis in industry verticals such as
food & beverages and agriculture and animal nutrition
says “To maintain current food consumption trends the
world will also need to produce 50–70 per cent more
food by 2050 increasingly under drought conditions and
on poor soils. Producing large volumes of seaweeds for
human food, animal feed and biofuels could represent
a transformational change in the global food security
equation.”

Dr Vaibhav Mantri, Principal Scientist and Divisional
Head at Applied Phycology and Biotechnology Division
at Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute,
Bhavnagar and Associate Professor in the Academy
of Scientific and innovative research (AcSIR) who
is engaged in research centred around improving
cultivation techniques for economically important
seaweeds to achieve year-round farming and is trying
to establish environmental implication of seaweed
cultivation in tropical waters says “India is projected to
become the most populous country in the world with
population of nearly 1.7 billion by 2050. In order to
feed this population, the country has to adopt a policy
for vertical growth trajectory in grain production, as
the opportunities in the horizontal expansion of the
cultivated land are completely exhausted. Further, the
Global Hunger Index (GHI) puts India on high ranking

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in OPPORTUNITIES 39

philosophers. The global eating patterns of humankind Applications of seaweed
have undergone marked changes due to globalization in various industries*
of the market. This provides a perfect opportunity
for introducing a seaweed-based diet into the Indian Uses Product Punction Hydrocolloid
culinary sector.”
Food Dairy Gelation, Agar,
Current Trends Additives Products foaming, Carrageenan
Baked Food Suspension. Agar,
Talking further about the current trends in the edible Sweets Improving Carrageenan
seaweed market, Dr Mantri says “The commercial Juices and quality, Agar,
seaweeds market is estimated to account for $14.08 Sauces controlling Carrageenan
billion in 2018. It is projected to reach $ 21.11 billion Breweries moisture Agar,
by 2023, at a CAGR of 8.4 per cent, in terms of value. Processed Gelation, Carrageenan
85 per cent of this comprises food products for human meat increase Alginate,
consumption. In 2016, global cultivation of aquatic viscosity, Carrageenan
plants, mainly seaweeds, reached a production volume suspension Alginate
of 30.4 million tonnes, of which 40.7 per cent was from Viscosity,
the tropical seaweeds Kappaphycus and Eucheuma for emulsifier
the extraction of carrageenan (Food and Agriculture Stabilizer
Organization (FAO) 2018). Species of Gracilaria are Adhesion
also among the most cultivated species, mainly for
agar production, while production of Pyropia (also as *Based on the report on Seaweed Market by Persistence Market Research
Porphyra), Undaria pinnatifida and Saccharina have been
mainly for human consumption (FAO 2018).” Sharing insights based on the report ‘Seaweed
Market’ by Persistence Market Research, Gurnani says
that seaweeds satisfy the consumer’s inclination towards
clean-label ingredients. “The increasing awareness of
consumers, particularly regarding the ingredients in
their food products, is responsible for making clean
label products a pillar in the food industry. Consumers
demand food products containing natural and simple
ingredients. Seaweed is a type of sea plant and is a
major part of aquaculture, thus, satisfying the consumer
demand for no artificial additives and ingredients. The
seaweed targets the vegan population in every region.”

“Manufacturers are using various blends of seaweed
in a variety of beverages. These new ranges contain
sustainable seaweed blends that offer consistent quality
in various seaweed-based food and beverages. Also,
increasing urban population and changes in consumer
lifestyles are factors that are fueling the demand for
seaweed-based infant formula products, especially
among affluent customers”, Gurnani adds.

Market of edible seaweeds

“Indian seaweed industries rely heavily on wild harvests
for phycocolloid production. Gelidiella acerosa and
Gracilaria edulis are harvested for agar production,
while Sargassum spp. and Turbinaria spp. are the source
material for alginate production. India’s traditional
food practices are different from other Asian seaweed
consuming nations. Although 30 per cent of the
Indian population lives close to the sea, people are not
accustomed to eating seaweed. Formulation of a wide
variety of recipes by food technology institutes for
adaptation to Indian palates and popularization through

40 OPPORTUNITIES NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

“Seaweeds have been “Value-added work
commonly utilized as a coupled with modern
component of oriental techniques of seaweed
diets, especially in Japan, cultivation developed
China and Korea since at CSIR-Central Salt and
ancient times owing to the Marine Chemistry Research
presence of beneficial nutrients. Institute has opened up new
Typical nutritional analyses of seaweeds have employment opportunities in seaweed-based
identified high levels of carbohydrates as well industries in India in recent years and has
as minerals, vitamins, and trace elements such greatly encouraged and promoted seaweed
as iodine. Although there is little tradition of farming. There are about 46 seaweed-based
using seaweed in Western cuisine, there is now industries – 21 agar and 25 alginate – form the
renewed interest in Western countries in the phycocolloid business with not much to offer
use of seaweed as sea vegetables.” to edible seaweed.”

- Dr Kamalesh Prasad, - Dr Vaibhav Mantri,
Senior Principal Scientist and Divisional Head Principal Scientist and Divisional Head
in the Natural Products and green Chemistry at Applied Phycology and Biotechnology
Division at Central Salt & Marine Chemicals
Division of Central Salt & Marine Chemicals
Research Institute, Bhavnagar Research Institute, Bhavnagar

social media are needed for promoting seaweed-based help improve the soil fertility. India imports seaweed
foods in India. International collaboration for processing bio-stimulants made from Ascophyllum, Macrocystis
and preparation of seaweed-based foods should be and Kappaphycus worth $25–30 million annually from
established with the Southeast Asian countries where Canada, Norway, Indonesia, Philippines and China. There
consumption of seaweed food is popular,” opines Dr are opportunities to promote indigenous seaweed-
Mantri. based technology for the production of biostimulants.
Sargassum spp. Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria
“The food industry in India is worth around $155 spp. are excellent sources of bio-stimulants Promoting
billion and is expected to reach about $344 billion by the indigenous seaweeds for bio-stimulants will reduce the
year 2025, with an annual increase of about 4.1 per cent. fertilizer subsidy burden of the Indian exchequer.”
The share of snack foods alone is $3 billion with a growth
rate of around 15-20 per cent per annum. Close to 1,000 “Seaweeds have the potential to be used in a large
types of snack foods are available. The market is driven number of products such as food, biofuels, chemicals,
by creating innovative snack foods, and thus there are cosmetics, medicines, etc. The National Biofuel Policy of
plenty of opportunities for creating marine algal-based India (2018) targeted 20 per cent blending of biofuels
snack food industries in India. Enteromorpha compressa by 2030. It is estimated that, if 460 million tons of fresh
(Linnaeus), green seaweed (chlorophyta), which is a rich seaweed biomass per year could be harvested from a
source of iron and dietary fibre was used as an ingredient 10-million-hectare area (corresponding to about 5 per
in the preparation of Pakoda, a common traditional cent of total EEZ of India), it could generate 6.66 billion
snack food in India. Pakoda samples showed increases liters of bioethanol, which would meet the targeted
in ash, protein and total dietary fibre contents with petrol blending by 2030 in India. Industrial production of
increase in Enteromorpha level, accompanied by a nearly biofuel from seaweeds needs to be given top priority”, he
fivefold increase in iron content (26.4-126 mg/100 g) and further adds.
fourfold increase in calcium content (30.1-124 mg/100
g)”, states Dr Mantri. Speaking about the challenges, Gurnani says “Several
cultivation technologies have been developed through
Challenges and opportunities significant Indian research and development efforts,
for seaweed farming and commercial seaweed farming is being carried out
using floating rafts along the southeast coast of India.
Talking in detail about the opportunities of seaweed Such structures are suitable for near-shore waters where
farming, Gurnani says “Bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulants low tidal amplitude and minimal tidal influences persist.
from seaweeds have immense potential in the Indian However, a major portion of the Indian coastline is
agriculture sector. Seaweed bio-stimulants increase crop exposed to the open sea and has high tidal amplitudes.
yields and quality, reduce use of chemical fertilizers and Recently, CSIR-CSMCRI has successfully developed tube

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in OPPORTUNITIES 41

net method for Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilari “To maintain current food
dura cultivation on the Gujarat coast. Tube-net systems consumption trends
withstand rough sea conditions while producing good
biomass yields. Several other culture systems which can the world will need
withstand high water dynamics in open water areas
need to be developed through vigorous R &D efforts.” to produce 50–70 per

Speaking on the opportunities and challenges of cent more food by 2050
edible seaweed farming, Dr Mantri shares “Value-added
work coupled with modern techniques of seaweed increasingly under drought
cultivation developed at CSIR-Central Salt and Marine
Chemistry Research Institute has opened up new conditions and on poor soils.
employment opportunities in seaweed-based industries
in India in recent years and has greatly encouraged and Producing large volumes of seaweeds for
promoted seaweed farming. There are about 46 seaweed-
based industries – 21 agar and 25 alginate – form the human food, animal feed and biofuels could
phycocolloid business with not much to offer to edible
seaweed. Green seaweed, especially species of Ulva represent a transformational change in the
and red seaweed Porphyra are a potential candidate for
developing functional food since they are rich in proteins, global food security equation.”
essential amino acids, vitamins, dietary fibres and minerals
vital for human nutrition. It has been also reported that - Pratik Gurnani,
they are an excellent source of nutritionally important
long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Cultivation an experienced Business Research Writer
technologies have been developed for several industrially
valuable seaweeds over the last 20 years including edible and Senior Consultant with expertise in data
seaweed Ulva and Enteromorpha but have still remained
at the laboratory or experimental scale. There are still analysis in industry verticals such as food &
many challenges to overcome. Challenges include the
perfection of protocol for induction of sporulation, scaled- beverages and agriculture & animal nutrition
up farming efforts in the open sea, developing land-based
cultivation techniques where there is better control of large positive impacts on local poverty, ecosystem
parameters required for growth.” management and climate change mitigation. Being able
to produce enough biomass and protein for the growing
“Seasonal dependency on Indian seaweed culture human population with no new land and freshwater
represents a crucial challenge needing to be overcome. expropriation for agriculture would dramatically reduce
Southwest and Northeast monsoon periods in India humanity’s ecological footprint relative to current trends
are associated with occasional occurrence of cyclones and projections.”
and typhoons and create high seawater turbulence and
high tidal fluctuations. Cultivation during this period is “The commercial farming of seaweeds in India is
restricted to seed bank preservation,” says Gurnani. gaining popularity since it is an important facet of
fisheries for augmenting revenue. Novel applications
“Other challenges in seaweed farming affecting crop in several commodity products specifically in food,
productivity and quality are crop health issues such agriculture, and energy have engendered optimistic
as high temperature impacts, diseases, epibionts and sentiment required for market growth in India. Much
grazing pressures,” he further adds. needs to be accomplished. We as a country need to
develop a taste for seaweed palate. The seaweeds can be
Future Prospects consumed in three forms, salad, nutraceutical (functional
food) and food supplements. The salad and mayonnaise
Talking about the future, Gurnani says “Increasing dressing market of the country has grown with a CAGR of
the growth of seaweed farming up to 14 per cent per more than 20 per cent and is expected to grow to value
year would generate 500 million tons dry weight by more than Rs 800 crore in the forecasted year 2022-2023.
2050, adding about 10 per cent to the world’s present The functional food market also holds good promise and
supply of food, generating revenues and improving estimated at Rs 550 billion in 2015 growing at a steady
environmental quality with use of around 0.03 per cent CAGR of nearly 8 per cent”, states Dr Mantri.
of the oceans’ surface area. The expansion of seaweed
farming in tropical developing countries could have India has a long coastline and has a suitable climate
necessary for the growth of seaweeds. Although the
future of the edible seaweed market seems bright, issues
such as bioaccumulation of metals, excessive intake of
salt, iodine etc. need to be looked at if seaweeds are to
contribute towards global food security. Judicial laws
for monitoring and labelling of food products might
safeguard people against these issues. As of now, with
the Government of India and state governments making
the cultivation of seaweeds a priority sector, the seaweed
industry is currently being seen as a sunrise industry.

Prapti Shah

42 FSSAI INITIATIVE NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Maximize health
by minimizing
salt, sugar and fat

Inoshi Sharma, FSSAI is committed to limit the fat, sugar and salt content in foods, and
eliminate Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs), and is actively working with industry,
Director, Social and Behaviour associations, scientists and researchers as well as public health institutes to
Change Division (SBCD), FSSAI achieve these objectives.

It is increasingly becoming apparent that high side, through the Eat Right initiative and awareness
consumption of salt, sugar and fat is one of the prime programmes, we are trying to generate awareness
reasons behind the risk of developing lifestyle diseases among consumers to limit the consumption of foods
like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc. containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt. FSSAI is
committed to trans-fat elimination from food supply
Not all fats are bad. Unsaturated fats found in chain by 2022 and is actively working with industry,
vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, avocado are in fact essential associations, scientists and researchers as well as public
for good health. However, saturated fats and trans health institutes to bring the best technology as well as
fats found in highly processed foods, bakery products, share global experiences to eliminate trans fat from the
commercially fried foods and desserts are harmful food supply chain.
for health. In fact, trans-fats are especially dangerous
because they are the worst kind of fats. They increase the To kick-start and popularize the movement, a
risk of cardiovascular diseases. powerful infotainment campaign through a short video
starring National Award winning actor Rajkummar Rao
Similarly, added sugar, particularly refined white was launched with a simple yet memorable tagline ‘Aaj
sugar is also bad for health. It adds only extra calories Se, Thoda Kam’. As the main face of the campaign, Rao
without providing any nutrients. Moreover, it is highly officially launched the ‘The Eat Right Movement’ on July
addictive. Found in sweets, desserts and sweetened 10, 2018 in Mumbai and offered his support to spread
beverages, it can really load up the calories and increase the message of ‘#Aaj Se Thoda Kam’ across possible
the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. formats.

Last but not the least, high amounts of sodium Endorsing the Eat Right India Movement, Rajkummar
can be dangerous for health. It can increase the risk Rao suggests all his fans to take small steps. In the words
of hypertension, which is one of the leading causes of of Rao, “Health is a matter of the head winning over
death worldwide. Sodium is present in salt. Therefore, the heart. While our heart wants tasty treats, our head
it is important to limit the intake of salt to maximum 5 can think of ways to control or avoid these indulgent
gm per person per day, as recommended by the World tendencies through simple behaviour change strategies.
Health Organization. The head understands what’s at stake because ultimately
these tasty treats can make us so ill that we might have
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to give them up altogether. He goes on to recommend
(FSSAI) has launched ‘Eat Right India’ Movement which
is a multi-sectoral effort to nudge citizens to eat right. gradually reducing salt, sugar and fat in the daily
One of its key initiatives is focused on reducing diet by following the mantra - Aaj Se Thoda
intake of salt, sugar, fat, phasing-out Kam.”
trans-fats from our diets. On one side, Efforts are being made on both
through the regulatory measures we demand and supply side. On the
are updating our regulations demand side, the
to limit the fat, sugar ‘Eat Right India’
and salt content movement focuses
in foods, and on empowering
eliminate Trans citizens to make
Fatty Acids (TFAs), the right food
while on the other

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in FSSAI INITIATIVE 43

To do list to reduce intake of salt, sugar & fat

SALT containing high amounts of sugars (e.g. sugar-
Salt is the main source of sodium in our diet. Sodium sweetened beverages, sugary snacks, etc).
● Prefer whole fruits instead of fruit juices. Eat a
consumption above WHO recommended limit piece of fresh fruit.
of 5g a day predisposes an individual to heart ● Do not overindulge in sugar-preserved foods like
problems. jams, jellies and marmalades.
● Instead of sprinkling salt on salad, cut fruits,
cooked vegetables or curd, enjoy their natural FAT
taste. Excess of fat intake is a risk factor for obesity and
● Reduce Salt quantity in cooking. From lesser to
least. diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular ailments etc.
● Soy sauce, salad dressings, ketchup, pickles, ● While cooking, prefer boiling, steaming, roasting,
and papads also has Sodium. Use these foods
moderately in your daily diet. grilling or baking rather than frying.
● Baking soda, baking powder, and monosodium ● Measure cooking oil with a spoon rather than
glutamate (MSG) also contains high sodium: Avoid
using these in your daily cooking. pouring freely from the bottle, or use spray for oil.
● Do not add salt in dough for chapati or rice. ● Restrict your intake of bakery foods or processed

SUGAR foods.
Sugar provides only calories and no other nutrient to ● In your routine cooking, use fats and oils in

our body. High intake of sugar is a risk factor for moderation and consume varieties of foods.
obesity and predisposes the individual to diabetes
and other diseases. TRANS FATS
● Prefer using naturally sweet ingredients than These are bad fats which should be completely
refined sugars.
● Restrict foods such as cakes, pastries, avoided.
confectionery and sweets as they often have high ● Avoid using Vanaspati, bakery shortenings,
amounts of fat, sugar, or salt, prepared with refined
cereals. margarine etc as they are the major sources of
● Limit the consumption of foods and drinks trans fats.
● Limit consumption of bakery products, fried foods
to avoid consumption of trans fats.
● Do not repeatedly re-heat the oil or re-use the
same oil for frying as it can lead to formation of
trans fats.

choices. On the supply side, it nudges food businesses Further, FSSAI has recently released Trans Fat free logo
to reformulate their products, provide better nutritional in July, 2019 to encourage food establishments like
information to consumers and make investments in bakeries, sweet shops and other catering establishments
healthy food. FSSAI has also initiated the Eat Right to use healthier fat/oil options, thereby reducing the
awards to recognize the contribution of food companies trans fat content in the foods. The food establishments
who are working tirelessly to reformulate their products which uses trans-fat free fats/oil and do not have
for healthier options. industrial trans-fat more than 0.2g per 100 g of the
food, in compliance with the regulation on Claims and
To create awareness about the adverse health effects Advertisements, 2018 can voluntarily display ‘Trans Fat
of trans fat, FSSAI launched another campaign ‘Heart Free’ logo in their outlets and on their food products.
Attack Rewind’, a 30 second Trans Fat Public Service
Announcement (PSA). FSSAI is aggressively working To further enhance the effectiveness of the message
towards bringing down the trans fat content in fats and ‘Aaj Se ThodaKam’ and ‘+F Symbol’, FSSAI also launched
oils from the current level of not more than 5 per cent an online campaign with Ace Cricketer and Indian
by weight in four categories of fats and oils (vanaspati, Cricket term caption Shri Virat Kohli. Kohli joined this
bakery shortening, bakery and industrial margarine movement by urging citizens to follow the simple
and interesterified vegetable fat) to not more than 2 “Plus-Minus” formula. In the words of Kohli, “We need to
per cent by weight of all fats and oils by January 2022; “minus” or minimize salt, sugar and fat and “plus” or add
a year ahead of WHO’s target. Thus moving closer to its fortified foods…. Eat Right, Stay Fit….Tabhi India, Super
motto “Achieving Freedom from Tarns Fat; India @75”. Hit.”

44 PEOPLE NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

Narendra Singh Tomar Esperer appoints
assumes charge of MoFPI
Madhumita
On September 23, the Union Minister of Agriculture and
Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar assumed charge Manna as VP for
as the Minister of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) in
Panchsheel Bhawan. The Minister met all the senior officials consumer health
and reviewed the schemes of the ministry. Tomar is currently
holding the charge of the Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Mumbai based startup Esperer Onco Nutrition
Welfare, Minister of Rural Development, and Minister of (EON) has appointed Madhumita Manna as VP,
Panchayati Raj. The post was vacant with the resignation of Consumer Health Division. With more than two
the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Member of Parliament and decades of experience in leadership roles across
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the industries Madhumita's appointment will be
Union Cabinet on September 17 in protest against the passing instrumental in understanding the micros and
of two Farm Bills in Lok Sabha on September 16. Speaking macros of trends, inter-disciplinary dynamics
on the occasion, Tomar said that Food processing Industry and strategies going forward for Esperer
is in the growing stages and MoFPI is making all efforts Nutrition. A highly
and contributing towards creation of new opportunities of skilled and result-
employment for youth, bringing profits to our farmers by driven professional,
offering remunerative prices to them, making the goods she is an IIM-Calcutta
available for its consumers etc. alumnus in Business
Management. She
has led and managed
profit centres for
companies like Pfizer,
Torrent Pharma &
DRL in in the pharmaceutical industry. Her
leadership role at Esperer will help EON in
making turn-key decisions related to new
market creation, innovative business modelling
and insight-based strategies. Her passion for
comprehending, analyzing and formulating
strategies based on market trends and consumer
dynamics will help streaming Esperer's larger
business strategy.

IDF Board elects NDDB chairman Dilip Rath

Dilip Rath, Chairman, National Committee on Dairy Policy a key role in signing the Dairy
Dairy Development and Economics. He has Declaration at the IDF World Dairy
Board (NDDB) has been participated in National Summit in Rotterdam in October
unanimously elected to the Committee Secretaries’ 2016 between IDF and FAO. Rath
Board of International Dairy meetings as well as General as Secretary of the Indian National
Federation (IDF) during Assembly on numerous Committee, took the initiative to
the General Assembly of occasions. Rath was also host the World Dairy Summit in
IDF. Rath is associated with a distinguished speaker India in 2022. India will host the
IDF for the last 10 years as in the Leaders’ Forum first post COVID -19 IDF World Dairy
Member Secretary of Panel at Summit 2022 in which over 1000
Indian National Rotterdam participants including experts,
Committee and Summit in academicians, dairy professionals
as a member of 2016. He are expected to participate from
the Standing played about 55 countries.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in PEOPLE NEWS 45

IICMA announces
Sudhir Shah as President

The Indian Ice Cream from Telangana, Shah is known Manjari
Manufacturers' Association (IICMA), for his leadership prowess and
Ahmedabad, has announced the levelheaded decision-making Chandra
formation of its new managing skills. The key mandate of the
committee. The IICMA aims body will be to counsel the IICMA receives
to provide a platform to share and its members on the best
best practices, knowledge and strategies and practices needed recognition
strategies among its members
to promote the growth of the to grow while navigating from IAF
ice cream industry in India. the unique challenges in
Sudhir Shah, Managing the marketplace during Manjari Chandra, Consultant
Director, Scoops Ice Cream, the pandemic and its Functional Nutrition, Daivam
has been appointed as aftermath. The timing of Wellness and Founder of
the president of this committee's formation Manjari Wellness has received
this body. One is especially critical an excellence award from the
of the most as the industry Indian Achiever’s Forum, in
enterprising begins to open up recognition of outstanding
businessmen to a new market professional achievement
landscape. and contribution in nation
building. She is a distinguished
Zomato’s COO shifts focus on new biz nutritionist and an expert in
therapeutic diets and functional
Gaurav Gupta, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Zomato is stepping down nutrition. Qualified in hospital
from his current role to exclusively focus on launching the organization’s administration, Manjari has a
nutrition business, which is intended to be a value driver for the company. master’s degree in therapeutic
Gupta joined Zomato in 2015 and has over the years contributed significantly nutrition and clinical dietetics.
to the company’s business and advertising portfolio. He was elevated to the She is also a certified sports
role of COO in Jan 2018, and in 2019 was elevated to the title of Co-Founder nutritionist, diabetes consultant
of Zomato. This announcement comes along with recent fund raise of $52 and educator, onco-nutritionist,
million from US based Kora Investments. The capital was raised as part of an functional medicine and weight
ongoing funding round that is expected to raise as much as $600 million. The management specialist. She has
round has seen Zomato raise more than $270 million so far this year. been instrumental in developing
and implementing weight loss
Dr Jitendra Jadhav steps programmes leading to many
in as CFTRI acting director successful weight loss stories.
She has championed this by
After the retirement of Dr K.S.M.S. Raghavarao as the working on latent inflammation,
director of Mysuru based Central Food Technological and allergies, genetic coding and
Research Institute (CFTRI), the government has appointed expression of her patients
National Aeronautics Laboratory (NAL) Director Dr Jitendra resulting in effective and
Jadhav as Acting Director of CFTRI. He has more than 29 sustainable weight loss.
years of experience in design and development of military
systems for army, navy, air force, industrial and railways
applications. Prior to taking over charge of Director at
NAL in 2016, Dr Jadhav had worked at the Aeronautical
Development Agency (ADA) in Bengaluru. He has published more than 20
papers in national and international journals of repute.

46 ACADEMIC NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

NIN reschedules nutrition Govt dedicates
certificate course two research
institutes for
Hyderabad based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has postponed ayurveda studies
its PG certificate course on nutrition for the academic year 2021. The
commencement of the research institute’s much sought after annual The government of India has
PG certificate course in nutrition, which is usually held from January dedicated to the nation the Institute
to March every year, has been now tentatively scheduled from April of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda
to June, 2021 due to the pandemic. The course is one of the short- (ITRA), Jamnagar as an Institution of
term intensive training programmes in nutrition offered by the National Importance (INI), and the
institute for persons involved in medical education and public health. National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA),
The objective of the course is to provide the participants an exposure Jaipur as a Deemed to be University
to the latest developments in nutrition science with particular by the University Grants Commission.
reference to nutritional disorders and strategies for their prevention ITRA will have autonomy to upgrade
and control including allied aspects, which are relevant to developing the standard of ayurveda education
countries. It is also focused on providing necessary background to as it would offer courses as per
help strengthen the nutrition component in teaching in medical modern, international standards.
colleges and enhance the capabilities of personnel involved in Further, it will forge inter-disciplinary
nutrition and health intervention and training programme. collaborations to give a contemporary
thrust to ayurveda. On the other
hand, NIA is set to reach new heights
by achieving highest standards in
tertiary healthcare, education and
research. Presently NIA possesses 14
different departments. The institute
has very good student teacher ratio
with a total intake of 955 students
and 75 faculties during 2019-20. It
runs numerous courses in ayurveda
ranging from certificate to doctoral
level.

LSI offers programmes in integrative nutrition and dietetics

Lifeness Science Institute (LSI), an industry. With a foundation firmly industry by covering variety of
educational initiative by holistic rooted in integrative lifestyle topics ranging from nutrition,
lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho, is medicine, these courses thoroughly fitness, sports nutrition, clinical
offering under graduate (Bachelor train the students for a career in nutrition, diet therapy to healthy
of Science Degree in Integrative the nutritional health and wellness cooking, nutrigenetics, lifestyle,
Nutrition and Dietetics) and post food psychology and many more,
graduate (Post Graduate Diploma including research practicals and
in Integrative Nutrition & Dietetics) projects. The under graduate
courses in collaboration with programme blends modern science
Nagindas Khandwala College, with holistic lifestyle practices and
affiliated to the University of Mumbai. principles and is the first step to a
The courses will be mentored under fulfilling career in nutritional health
the able guidance of Luke Coutinho, and wellness, whereas the post
along with his core team members, graduate programme will allow
who have extensive knowledge and students to take up leadership
a vast experience in the wellness positions in the wellness industry.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in R&D NEWS 47

IIT-Kgp confirms IIT-H uses neem oil
contamination of hot
beverage in paper cups bags for seed storage

Disposable paper cups are popular choices of containers Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology,
for consuming beverages. Recent research by the Indian Hyderabad (IIT-H) have developed neem
Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT Kgp) has confirmed oil encapsulated electrospun polyurethane
contamination of the hot liquid served in paper cups nanofibrous bags for seed storage. The real time
due to the degradation of microplastics and other storage experiment carried out for 75 days infers
that 90 per cent seeds stored in nanofibrous
hazardous components from the lining bags were uninfected whereas 70 per cent seeds
material of the cup. Paper cups in commercial bags found to be infected with
are usually lined by a thin storage fungi. There are significant seed storage
layer of hydrophobic film, losses wasting nearly 1.3 billion food grains every
which is made of mostly year across the world, which can actually satisfy
plastic (polyethylene) and the food hunger of a large population worldwide.
sometimes co-polymers to The search for an effective and alternative
hold the liquid in the paper storage system is therefore a need of an hour
cup. Within 15 minutes this in controlling post-harvest seed storage losses,
microplastic layer degrades especially in developing countries like India.
as a reaction to hot water,
says the first of its kind study
conducted in India by the

Department of Civil Engineering and
Environmental Engineering and Management. According
to the study, 25,000 micron-sized microplastic particles are
released into 100 mL of hot liquid residing in the paper cups
for 15 mins. Thus, an average person drinking 3 regular cups
of tea or coffee daily, in a paper cup, would be ingesting
75,000 tiny microplastic particles, which are invisible to the
human eyes.

NABI develops novel method to detect food pathogens

A team of researchers at National Agri- by the researchers, and to increase the properties of gold nanoparticles
Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), the aptamer conjugation, AuNPs and graphene oxide, a detection
Mohali has come up with a new were covered with Graphene Oxide platform with aptamer conjugation
method to detect food pathogens. E. (GO). Thus, the overall sensitivity of has been developed in this study. In
coli is the most common foodborne the designed nanoprobe was also the manifestation of E.coli cells, the
bacteria causing illnesses including augmented. Therefore, exploiting visible colour change was observed
diarrhea, fever, and death if left from red to blue within an hour of
undiagnosed and untreated, which incubation. The limit of detection
makes its detection most important. observed visually was 102 cells/
Traditional detection methods are mL with GO coating and 103 cells/
time-consuming and require skilled mL without GO. The detection
manpower. On the other hand, an limit in real-time coconut water
aptamer called ssDNA is a stable, samples was also 102 cells/mL. This
sensitive, and selective biomolecule platform was found to be applicable
used extensively for biodetection. To in glass capillary, which provides
provide naked eye detection, gold opportunities for making a point of
nanoparticles (AuNPs) were used care detection device.

48 R&D NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

ICAR IIT-G explores food resources
introduces to develop psychoactive drugs
8 biofortified
crops A team of researchers at the Indian techniques. It can also be used for
Institute of Technology, Guwahati continuation mode of operation
The Indian Council of (IIT-G) has developed a low-cost in industrial scale. The health-
Agricultural Research (ICAR) membrane technology to produce related benefits of psychoactive
has developed 17 biofortified psychoactive drugs and anti-aging drugs (caffeine) and anti-aging
varieties of eight crops. The compounds from wide range of
rice variety CR Dhan 315 has food resources like camellia compounds
high zinc; wheat variety HI sinensis, citrus fruits (flavonoids) are
1633 is rich in protein, iron and peels especially attributed to
and zinc, HD 3298 is rich in orange peels, stimulating
protein and iron and DBW 303 berries, ginkgo detoxification
and DDW 48 rich in protein; biloba, parsley, of enzyme
Ladhowal Quality Protein pulses, tea, activity and
Maize Hybrid 1, 2 and 3 are sea buckthorn inhibition
rich in lysine and tryptophan; and onions. of cell
CFMV1 and 2 of finger millet The technology invasion and
rich in calcium, iron and zinc; is patented and
CLMV1 of little millet rich in developed by the Department angiogenesis. Because
iron and zinc; Pusa Mustard of Chemical Engineering .at the of medicinal applications,
32 has low erucic acid; Girnar institute. The low-cost technology flavonoid components have
4 and 5 of groundnut with doesn’t use any organic solvents gained popularity as ingredients
enhanced oleic acid and yam and has scope to replace existing in pharmaceutical industry. These
variety Sri Neelima and DA costly organic solvent based are also found in smaller amount in
340 with enhanced zinc, iron bamboo leaves, grapes, apples, and
and anthocyanin content. other natural sources.
The National Agricultural
Research System under PAU commercializes
the leadership of ICAR has pumpkin seeds flour technology
developed 53 such varieties
during the last five years. The The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana has developed a
production of bio-fortified technology for the preparation of pumpkin seeds flour technology.The research
crop varieties will be upscaled team had used pumpkin variety Punjab Samrat for this technology. According
and linked with government to the research team, this technology will help in market linkages of pumpkin
programmes of mid-day meal, as well. Thus, it can be recommended to food industries to incorporate this
anganwadi etc. to reduce
malnutrition and make flour in their products to improve
India free from malnutrition their nutritional value. Pumpkin
through naturally enriched seeds are nutritionally dense but
food ingredients. they are generally discarded as
waste at household as well as
commercial level. The moisture,
protein, fat, fiber, ash, iron, zinc
content of raw and roasted
pumpkin seed flour is 6.98 and
2.80 per cent, 22.05 and 23.45
per cent, 30.8 and 31.9 per cent,
7.68 and 7.56 per cent, 8.92 and 8.04 per cent, 8.16 and 7.08 mg/100 g, 6.6
and 6.35 mg/100 g, respectively. Total carotenoid content, antioxidant activity,
peroxide value of raw and roasted pumpkin seed flour, was found as 0.75 and
0.42 mg/100 g, 68.8 and 61.3 per cent, 4.6 and 6.2 meq/kg, respectively.

NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in SUPPLIER NEWS 49

Tetra Pak progresses towards sustainable packaging lines

Tetra Pak has announced its controlled beam of electrons on the the filling machine. This leads to
acquisition of eBeam device surface of a packaging material to kill more than 60 per cent improvement
development and manufacturing micro-organisms as it runs through on production capacity, reaching
operations from Comet AG, a up to 40,000 portion packs per hour
globally leading Swiss technology on a filling line. It also significantly
firm.The acquisition consolidates the improves the environmental
development and manufacturing performance, making water
capabilities in Comet with Tetra recycling easier, lowering energy
Pak’s long-established eBeam consumption by up to a third, and
development and application cutting food waste. This acquisition
engineering for food packaging. This is in line with the company’s strategic
will further boost the company’s priority to drive the sustainability
ability to deliver sustainable and transformation of the industry and
higher efficiency filling lines for help customers reduce operational
customers. The eBeam sterilisation costs, increase capacity and achieve
technology works by focusing a their sustainability targets.

Kanchan Metals Neogen introduces new
unveils conveyor
belts for food industry food extraction method

Kanchan Metals, based in Greater Noida, has recently Neogen Corporation has announced that it has
introduced a varied number of conveyor belts, especially launched a new food extraction method that
for the food industry. Considering the market scenario expands the capabilities of select Reveal 3-D
and demand, Kanchan Metals took a strategic decision food allergen tests to include the direct testing
to launch new conveyor belts in the food processing of food products. Neogen's new Reveal 3-D food
segment. They have introduced these machines under four buffer allows for the rapid
major categories like snack food, frozen food, bakery and screening of food and
ingredient samples as
confectionary, and low as 5 parts per million
packing section. Within (ppm) with select Reveal
these four categories, 3-D products. The new
there are different food buffer is available for
types of conveyor belts tests for almond, coconut,
like wire mesh belts, egg, hazelnut, peanut and
positive drive belt with soy. In addition, Neogen
flights or scoop for recently launched Reveal
snack food application, 3-D for gluten, which
spiral freezer in feed offers the capability of
and down take conveyors and spiral conveyor for frozen extracting and testing
food, non-stick belt dough ball and automatic belt tracking food product and
system conveyor for bakery and confectionary, and lastly ingredient samples, as well
bucket elevator and horizontal incline conveyor for packing as environmental samples
section. These conveyors have a wide range of application- and clean-in-place (CIP)
based design and specialized belt selection considering rinses. This method is universal across allergens
the most important aspects like the nature and stage of and product types, and utilizes a representative
the product made. The conveyor’s design has a modular sampling protocol, assuring confidence in the
construction that offers hygiene and product safety result. The procedure is easy to follow and aligns
throughout the conveying process. with current Reveal 3-D standards for detection
limits and our industry-leading time to result.

50 SUPPLIER NEWS NUFFOODS SPECTRUM | December 2020 | www.nuffoodsspectrum.in

PathogenDx brings closed-loop system targeting foodborne illnesses

PathogenDx, Inc., a US based and eradicate foodborne pathogens unique technology can evaluate
technology company, which has like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria food contact surfaces at any point
developed a multiplexed microarray monocytogenes from the food in the supply chain using an ultra-
DNA-based pathogen testing supply more rapidly and effectively rapid DNA-based detection system
platform, has announced that it than current systems. PathogenDx's that delivers results the same day
has partnered with Prevenio, an of swabbing, compared to 2-3 days
innovator and leader in providing using conventional culture-based
automated food processing and analyses. Combined with Prevenio's
pathogen protection systems to ability to provide precise protection
create the industry's first closed- from an automated delivery system,
loop system to address foodborne producers can now identify, target
pathogens. The combination of and eradicate potentially harmful
the two parties' groundbreaking or deadly pathogens within the
innovations into one holistic solution food supply chain more rapidly and
will enable food producers to identify precisely than ever before.

Sami-Sabinsa Vendekin, GoKhana
receives patent focus on smart food
in Mexico for vending machines
Boswellin PS
To enhance digital convenience to office food courts, Bengaluru
Bengaluru based Sami-Sabinsa has based GoKhana collaborates with Vendekin Technologies in Pune
expanded its large portfolio of intellectual by introducing smart vending machines for snacks, meals and
property with a new patent granted coffee vending to reduce multiple touchpoints of an employee.
in Mexico for the company’s Boswellia GoKhana is solving the problem faced by working professionals
serrata ingredient Boswellin PS. This visiting office food-courts. They often have to spend time waiting
patent, MX328842, is for a synergistic in line to place an order, and then wait even more for the order
composition containing boswellic acids to be ready for pick-up. The GoKhana digital experience puts
and polysaccharides obtained from the the ordering experience seamlessly into the employees' hands
Boswellia species for its property to - place orders from the easy-to-use app and collect the order
downregulate pro-inflammatory markers. only when they receive the notification. Keeping future trends
This includes, for example, PGE2, which in sight, GoKhana is partnering with Vendekin to enhance
drives the inflammatory process in different GoKhana's digital offerings to office food courts. Introducing
diseases. This property of the composition vending machines powered with Vendekin's touch-free vending
was also awarded with a patent grant in technology, and integrated with GoKhana's contactless ordering
Australia, Canada, Eurasia and Taiwan. solution is a win-win for clients at major offices across India.
Boswellin is a standardized powdered
extract from the gum resin exudates from
Boswellia serrata tree, commonly known
as Frankincense. Boswellin contains four
identified triterpenoidal β – Boswellic acids.