PUTTING THE SOUL IN PACKAGED FOOD

Since times immemorial, millets have been an integral part of the Indian diet. Rasika Prashant tells us about Tata Soulfull's approach in bringing the 'smart food' back to us in modern formats.

- Tsunami Costabir

Since its launch in 2013, Tata Soulfull has been on a mission to make healthy eating tasty and more accessible. The brand offers a range of millet-based products, catering to both kids and adults. Over the last decade, the brand's biggest playground has been the breakfast cereal category offering a variety of products, including muesli, oats and kid-friendly cereals. However, they had always stayed away from one staple: cornflakes. Why? According to Rasika Prashant, CMO of Tata Soulfull, the category's growth had plateaued. But with a new wave of health consciousness spreading to Tier 2 cities and beyond, the brand saw an opportunity to do things differently.

The Millet Moment

"Millets have always been a part of the Indian traditional palate," Prashant, CMO of Tata Soulfull, tells us. While the term 'millets' might be newly popularised in the country, we've always known about the benefits of millets like jowar, bajra and ragi. "We call millets a smart food, not a superfood," explains Prashant. Superfoods are a term used for foods that are good for you. But the term 'smart food' is used to describe foods that are good for you, the environment and farmers.

For the knowledge of the environmental conscious, millets require about six times less water than rice and they mature in about two to four months, while rice takes four to six months and wheat seven to eight months. Millets are also more resistant to unpredictable climatic conditions and thrive in low rainfall environments. The depletion of groundwater in the country is a major concern, and it becomes imperative for farmers to grow crops that are all-weather and less water dependent.

As for their health benefits, they are naturally gluten-free with a low glycemic index. They are also rich in B vitamins, protein, antioxidants and nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and calcium.