Therapeutic Food & Entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu, India

Therapeutic Food & Entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu, India

Shivendu Ranjan&

Nandita DasguptaSchool of Bio Sciences and Technology,

VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

‘TN’ites: An economical overview

Population size below poverty line (BPL):

i) 11.28%

ii) 82.63 lakhs

Per capita income for BPLs in INR:

i) 880/capita for rural population

ii) 937/capita for urban population

Reference: Planning Commissions (Govt. of India) – 2013/July

TargetConsumers

‘TN’ites: An economical overview

Population size above poverty line (APL):

i) 88.72%

ii) 649.9 lakhs

Per capita income for APLs in INR:

i) 1570/capita for rural population

ii) 2534/capita for urban population

Reference: Planning Commissions (Govt. of India) – 2013/July

Target population’s: Food habit

Breakfast

Idly, Dosa, Pongal, Poori, Sambhar, Chutney of

coconut/peanut

Lunch

Rice, Sambhar, Koottu/Poriyal, Rasam, Curd

Snacks

Hot drinks, Bakeries & Confectionaries

Dinner

Poori, Chapati & other breads, Rice, Gravies

Questions…

!!!!

Is it a balanced food???????

Are they getting all th

e nutrients?????

Lets have an overview..!!!

TN’s Agricultural districts

Top 10 agricultural districts (area-wise)

Vellupuram Salem

Coimbatore Tiruchirapalli

Erode

Dindigul

Thiruvannamalai

Cuddalore

Perambalur

SalemReference: TN Govt. (Web link: http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/Districttables.htm)

TN’s Agriculture Cereals

Paddy Varieties

Jowar (Cholam)

Bajra (Cumbu)

Ragi

Maize

Korra annam

Varagu annam

Samai annam

Kudhirai valli annamReference: TN Govt. (Weblink: http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/Districttables.htm)

TN’s Agriculture

Pulses

Bengal gram

Red gram

Black gram

Green gram

Horse gram

Mochai beans (Rajma)

Cow pea

Reference: TN Govt. (Weblink: http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/Districttables.htm)

TN’s Agriculture Spices

Chilies Mint

Garlic Coriander

Ginger Turmeric

Pepper Tamarind

Nutmeg Arecanut

Cloves & Cinnamon Cardamom

Curry leaves

Fennel

Fenu Greek seedReference: TN Govt. (Weblink: http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/Districttables.htm)

TN’s Agriculture Edible oil seed

Groundnut

Gingelly

Coconut

Sunflower

Soya beans

Oil palm


TN’s Agriculture Fruits

Mango

Banana

Watermelon

Muskmelon

Grapes

Guava


TN’s Natural products benefits: At a glance

Many grains are rich source of many nutrients and

micronutrients e.g. carbohydrates, vitamins, Calcium,

Phosphorus etc.

Vegetables, fruits, leafy vegetables, pulses are also rich

in several micronutrients, bioactive medicinal

compounds and can be used as “Therapeutic Food”.

Medicinal plants and herbs have many compounds like

phenolics, flavonoids, sterols, terpenes, alkaloids etc.

which can be added for some specific property in

“Therapeutic food” development.Reference: TN Govt. (Weblink: http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/Districttables.htm)

Wait..!!!!

What is Therapeutic

Food????

Lets have a glance..!!!!

Therapeutic food

Any food or food supplement used to prevent/cure any

disease

Could be taken as food and not as medicine

Criteria to be fulfilled by any food to be included under

therapeutics:

1. Should have sensory qualities as in food items

2. Should be palatable i.e. should be tasty

3. Consumer’s need, interest and expectations should be

considered

4. Could be used to prevent/cure any disease

5. Should not have any side effects

Need for Therapeutic Food

It is not possible to include ALL the grains, pulses, fruits,

vegetables and other medicinal plants in our daily food habit

Because of monotonous food habit – most of us are not

taking ‘Balanced Food’.

even if we eat a balanced food, the amount of pure bioactive

compound available are very less (not enough to elicit proper

bioactivity)

Any solution then? - Develop some ‘FOOD

SUPPLEMENT’

Many natural products have their own beneficial property

e.g. ladies finger and Arugampillu grass

Therapeutic Food for business Best example – Amway, Unicorn Natural Products (P) Ltd.,

Rosun Natural Products Pvt. Ltd., AVT Natural

Products Ltd., Natural Remedies (P) Ltd.,

South India based Natural products industries:

Snap Natural and Alginate Products,

Venkatesh Natural Extract (P) Ltd.

The concept that they have used: Granny Therapy Concept India is richest source of natural products; but the benefits

are not easily reachable; majority of population depend on

junk/ designer foods

So, why not take a step towards providing therapeutic

food to them

Therapeutic Food for business: A basic concept

Steps

i) R & D for any natural products property from granny

therapy concept

ii) R & D for developing product (Therapeutic Food) with

the minimum loss of bioactive compound

iii) Optimize the process for product development

iv) Develop products - Get certification

v) Now its time to advertise, market and sell the product

Note: Never forget to have market research, raw material

availability, consumer demand survey, electricity and water

availability research

Lets have an example on

Therapeutic food development

from natural products

Example 1: Therapeutic Food for Osteoporosis patients

It is a disease in which bone degradation starts because of

several metabolic changes

A common disease in North as well as South India

Women are most affected

More risk during and after menopause i.e. from 48 years

onwards.

Note: 48 and above years old women do not care much about

their own food because of family/responsibilities

Osteoporosis: Any solution?

Once completely affected then medication is the only

solution

During initial stages of osteoporosis: medication and change

in food habits can help

Prevention is better than cure: SO CHANGE IN FOOD

HABITS is a better option

Mainly Calcium, Vitamin D and antioxidant rich food

Note: Avoid adding sugar to any food item/ food supplement

since, sugar enhances the calcium degradation from blood

through urine

Calcium rich natural products

There are lots of foods that are rich in calcium:

Milk

Meat

Pork and beef

Milk based products (curd, yoghurt, cheese, paneer etc)

Barley

Jwar

Bajra etc.

Vitamin D rich natural products

Foods that are rich in vit D:

Eggs

Liver oils

Mushroom

Almonds

Fig

Sesame seeds

Peas (mainly black eyed) etc.

Natural products as antioxidants

Antioxidant activity is mainly present in plants and vegetables:

Pulses like urad daal

Spices like cinnamon

Onion

Garlic

Pumpkins

Apples

Tomatoes

Red peppers etc.

Bakery/confectionary product from these natural products

Why bakery/confectionary product?

Processing steps will minimise loss of bioactive compounds

Grains and vegetables rich in vitamin, calcium and

antioxidants can be powdered easily

Attractive products can be formulated

Less investments

More demands

Less number of existing products – less competition – more

market size

Confectionary product from these natural products

What will be the market size? 40% of North Indian women are affected by osteoporosis

60% of South Indian women are affected because of food

habits

How long it will take to reach breakeven point Because of more number of customers and less competition;

a small scale industry would take approximately 2-2.5 years

to achieve breakeven point

Example 2: Organic Farming

Organic Farming “What and Why”???

Organic farming can provide fresh therapeutic food

Examples of some successful small scale industries’ in

organic farming:

i) The Nallakeerai team (Source: The Hindu News paper: 6th

June 2013)

ii) R Madhavan, an alumnus of IIT-Madras – An Engineer

turned into successful Farmer (Source: Employability First:

employabilityfirst.com)

iii) Many other examples in and outskirts of Chennai

iv) Then why not one among of you???

Organic Farming: A Huge Market

Reports say: “organic greens had a huge market — Chennai

alone consumes 10 lakh bundles every day.”

Organic greens has main market in Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur,

Anna Nagar, Velachery, Ambattur, T.Nagar, Kodambakkam,

Virugambakkam and Vadapalani

The Nallakeerai team conducts weekend workshops at its

farm on organic farming and eco-friendly lifestyles

R Madhavan (IITM Alumni) has got offer from Israel, Dr.

Abdul Kalam has visited his farm and many food industries

are investing for his farm for developing organic crops

If they can WHY NOT WE?

Likewise: Some other products Tomato Cold treatment, sauce, pickle, ketchup

Chilly Sauce, pickle, dry. Green chilly can be dried

without color change (retaines all original characteristics)

Coconut Water can be used to make vinegar,

juice, sharbath

Mushroom pickles, packed as such and supply to

hotels, supermarkets, etc.

Takes less time to grow, can be grown easily with

minimum investments, easy harvesting, highly

nutritious, high demand

Therapeutic Food for Diabetes, CHS and CancerNatural products’ extract bioactive components

prevent/decrease the sugar level in blood

e.g. Doob grass, ladies fingers etc

Extracts are beneficial; they need to be processed

In the industrial point of view, processing step should be

optimized; final products can be preserved and marketed

NEW TECHNIQUE

Nanoemulsification/nanoencapsulation

fastest growing field to deliver the bioactive compounds

without compromising on quality

Encapsulation of the bioactive compound in nano materials

so as to retain its characters and deliver them to the target

Helps in increasing shelf life of products/commodities

nano cosmetics products are commercially very successful

Initiative from industries to fund for R & D – get IPR – get

trade secret – certification and launch the products

Enterpreneurs can exploit the vast opportunity in this novel

field

Nanoemulsification/nanoencapsulation

Nano-encapsulated antioxidants can be added to the butter

milk

If Tata & Reliance can develop mineralized and nutritive

water packets, then why can’t we develop nutritive curds with

extra vitamins/proteins emulsified in it?

Nano-Food is the fastest growing concept and new field to

explore for entrepreneurs

Uniliver, Nutralase, etc. are some of the best examples who

developed many nano-food products

Un-conventional ideas in conventional food: new horizons to explore

Lack of proper processing and preservation steps leads to wasteage of agricultural/food products

Initiatives like cold storage in and around agricultural lands/districts can be taken up

Fruits and vegetables can be subjected to preliminary processing steps - for e.g. Blanching helps to preserve fruits and vegetables for some more days/months

Packaging & Nano-packaging can also be done to increase the shelf life of the food

Processing & Preservation based start ups: new concepts; new ideas !!

Time is right for entrepreneurs to think, plan, develop and market the nano-food

No competition – you will be the first to start

“If not now then never” – It’s the right time to think different – act different – be different

Different are “The Entrepreneurs” – “One among YOU”

Time to act!!!

Thank You...

Therapeutic Food & Entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu, India

Business

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