Making Millets Desirable: Millets in Food Establishments
● Online | 21 March 2024 | 6:30–8:00 PM
The panel discussion, Making Millets Desirable: Millets in Food Establishments, focussed on the challenges and opportunities surrounding millet consumption in rural and urban India. The conversation explored the factors that have led to the stigmatisation of millets, particularly among urban populations, and the strategies to alter their status as a desirable and trendy food choice.
Meet Our Panellists
Raghav Simha, Co-founder of Project Hum, a Mumbai-based cafe with a millet-forward menu.
“It is important to try and understand consumption patterns, but it is also important to understand how to treat a grain like kodo, or proso. All millets have variations and they need to be carefully crafted.”
Raghav Simha, co-founder of Project Hum, stresses upon the importance of understanding diverse Indian palates while introducing millet-based dishes. He believes that as long as the food tastes good, people are open to trying millets. Raghav’s passion for health and the environment and the links between the two led him to experiment with millets. He has witnessed a growing trend among people incorporating millets into their home-cooking, aligning with sustainable food practices. Innovative dishes at his cafe—such as Proso Millet Tabbouleh, and Sorghum Falafel and Bajra Chilli—showcase the versatility of millets.
Umang Bhattacharyya, Co-founder of Slurrp Farms and Millé, a brand creating millet-based snacks for children and adults alike.
“As we developed foods for our kids, and other kids, we realised [there was] a gap, and a need to feed them wholesome food, which was not available at all in the market. To be honest, we didn’t start off with the intention to work with millets. But over time, we learned about them.”
Slurrp Farm, a brand co-founded by Umang Bhattarcharyya, has been instrumental in shifting the perception of millets among urban Indians. After convincing friends and family about the benefits of millet-based snacks, the brand has successfully positioned millets as a desirable and trendy food choice. To achieve this, Slurrp Farm has prioritised taste, aiming to replace the craving for simple carbohydrates found in junk food with that of the wholesome flavours and nutritional value offered by millets.
Borra Srinivas Rao, Managing Director of Manyam Grains, an organisation working with millet-processing technology while supporting indigenous farmers with fair market access.
“In 2018, people didn’t know [that] there were nine kinds of millets. Now, with growing awareness, they want to know more about the technology being used for dehulling and dehusking millets.”
Borra Srinivas Rao, whose specialisation lies in machinery and technology of cultivating millets, shared the challenges of dealing with farmers in tribal areas as well as the growing consumer demand for minimally processed grains. However, processing millets, especially due to their small size, is difficult. His company uses technology to preserve nutrients during processing as they do not dehull the millets. He also highlights the constraints faced in the millet supply chain, including farmers’ lack of access to banking and storage facilities. Despite these hurdles, Srinivas is optimistic about the future of millets, especially having witnessed a rise in the number of consumers from regions across Andhra Pradesh.
Debjani Das, An entrepreneur from the Trishakti Federation of the Mission Shakti Department in Odisha, which runs millet-focussed cafes across Bhubaneshwar.
“It is amazing how such a wide range of food items can be prepared from millets. At one time [in 2018], it was beyond my imagination.”
Millet entrepreneur Debjani Das was trained in preparing millet-based recipes by the Odisha Millet Mission in 2018. Having learnt about the nutritional value of millets, she subsequently launched her own snack business, which gained nationwide popularity. The state government supported her endeavour by providing her with a millet-processing unit. Eventually, Debjani also trained other Self-Help Groups. She has now opened Millet Shakti Café in Bhubaneshwar, making the grains accessible to a wider audience.
Discussion
• How to cater to urban tastes while remaining true to an ingredient’s inherent taste.
• How to use technology to grow a business, but also serve farmers by working directly with them.
• How branding and packaging can alter consumers’ mindsets about food products and ways to effectively harness this.
• How to scale up a millet business, from creating processing units to developing shelf-stable recipes.
Learnings
• Millets, often perceived as tasteless, can be made into delicious and innovative dishes. Brands like Slurrp Farm are proving this by creating tasty millet-based snacks.
• Ensuring a reliable and efficient supply chain is crucial for the widespread adoption of millets. Challenges such as the small grain size of millets and a lack of infrastructure for processing them need to be addressed.
• Entrepreneurs like Debjani Das are driving the millet revolution by starting businesses around millet-based products. This not only creates economic opportunities but also promotes millet consumption.
• Educating consumers and promoting millet-based recipes can drive demand further.
By addressing these factors, we can collectively work towards making millets a more desirable and accessible food choice.
This session was a collaboration between The Locavore and Rainmatter Foundation for the Millet Revival Project.
Beyond the Plate is an initiative by The Locavore where we engage in meaningful conversations, live events, and dining experiences that look at food beyond the sum of its parts. It is our attempt to narrow the divide between what’s on our plate, where it comes from, how it’s produced, and the deeper stories around it.
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