Conceptualizing A Unique Food Source - Essay Example

CONCEPTUALIZING A UNIQUE FOOD SOURCE The objective of the report is to initiate food product which caters to the audience in situations like people stranded in emergences and for travelers stranded in accidents and disasters like earth quake, flood, tsunami, hurricane etc.To conceptualize a food with millets and to design it to make it suitable for the people struck in disasters, people who are traveling. Where there is no food to satisfy the hunger of the people. The food supplied may not provide the nutrition they need in that situation. The fallowing paper will focus on conceptualizing a unique food source which has been consumed by the farmers of India, who stay active in the extreme hot climate and preserve in their work for long hours. This report may lead to conceptualizing a food product for the above-specified objective which can be economical, easily cooked and can be preserved for long hours and provide wholesome food with good nutritional value. The target audiences are the governments, non governmental organizations that render services during large emergences , FMCG food divisions which manufacture and market the food products. The product can be manufactured with minimum investment and can initiate as a small scale industry in rural areas. Farmers and small investors can start production as millets are available in rural areas of India on an average an small scale industry can produce 50kgs of millet gruel with packing. The only technical equipments in need is packing machine, vessels and gas stove to cook the gruel. This product will be target at travelers who travel for long hours through different means of transport, people who were stranded midway in their travel in isolated regions, people who are stranded during natural disasters like floods, earthquakes and in situations where there is a need to supply large volumes within a short span of time, for the diabetics patients who need special diet while traveling which can support their health during travel, the night travelers who travel during odd hours and reach gateway airports that have no food outlets open at that time in countries like India, the individuals who work for the BPO'S(business process and outsourcing) in countries like INDIA and CHINA, Who works according to the day time hours of the US and the UK who require energizing diet after their hectic work schedule .this paper is written to inform the food products industry about a segment which has been untapped till and it can open up new business opportunity where the major players can look for. To educate the people about the cost effectiveness of the millet gruel compared to expensive health drinks like bornavita and horlicks and create awareness of nutritive value of millets and its their significance. The possible deliverables will be a branded food product which will be exclusive for the travel segment and for the food requirements during emergencies Millet gruel can be a product for every section of the society. In countries like India where agriculture is the main stay and most of the population is living below the poverty line need a food that is affordable, nutritious and wholesome. Traveling is a hectic activity as it involves travelers to use their energy without moving much for their seat. This can have an adverse affect on the human spine. Most of traveling involves making the traveler sit for long hours pressurizing his body. Individuals have to adjust to different alien food cultures to satisfy his hunger. Hunger drives the traveler to consume the food available at various places during travel although it doesn't satisfy his tastes as well as nutritional needs. Moreover the energy requirements of daily metabolic activities might not be satisfied to a great extent. The various service providers in tourism sector should at least be in a position to answer certain obvious questions at this point of time like, Is there any food source that the traveler can get to satisfy for his hunger while traveling Is there any substance that looks after his health need as well as serve as a food value Yes there is .. This article looks into providing a viable food 'gruel', used by Farmers in India and has been ignored through the years. A disaster is something that shatters the livelihood of the individuals or families. The disaster can be natural or manmade disasters like accidents, terror attacks, civil war which results in great loss of human life, assets and vital food resources. (Source: http://www.em-dat.net/documents/figures/nat_dis_trends/05/ndaffected0005.gif) The infrastructure gets damaged in proportion to the intensity of the disaster and the type of disaster that has taken place in that region. The disaster may be confined to a region but it has it adverse affects on the economy of the state or country as the resources have to place again baring the loss of valuable assets. As there is need for products specifically meant for complex situations(UNISDR) once there is a need the gruel can be manufactured near the site in concern with basic requirements like the millet powder, water and salt to add for the taste, though it may not be a gourmet delight it acts like a tonic to revive the body to normal condition and to supply necessary energy resources. The cereals can be powdered and can be stored in tight containers sold for an economical price like four rupees for 100gm, the production cost may be only 1.50rupees per sachet as the cost incurred on millets, power is only considered. The profits One of the main affects of the disaster will be on three main components, the food, shelter and water. Food and shelter being the core requirements will be seldom available and the prevailing conditions in that region will not allow reconciling your surveillance. To avoid these consequences the core agriculture products like cereals will be of great help. Millet is an important resources times of hardships like drought or famine and is known as the food of the poor(whole grain millet: Karen Railey). Millets can withstand harsh climatic conditions like little rain and low soil fertility and hence, can be grown in semi-arid and arid zones. Further, with short span of time required for crop maturity and a long shelf life, millets serve as a primary and cheap source of protein and energy for people. Some of the millets are even nutritionally superior to wheat and rice. The millet powder can be manufactured and packed in small sachets from 50grams to 10kg packs for different requirements. The grinding of the powder is the only major manufacturing process and the pricing can be from two rupees for 100gram sachet to fifty rupees for kilo which is lower than 500 gram horlicks ( ninety rupees) .The market size will be the very huge as nearly 808 million people (http://www.blonnet.com/2006/01/28/stories/2006012801310700.htm) are traveling and nearly the gruel is for masses and travelers who are in lakhs in country like India. The packed millet gruel can be made available at all transport stations, offices as a special drink in addition to tea and coffee and should be stored at food corporation godowns for emergency usage.. There are some similarities between travelers requirements and disaster victims as they both are out of the home ambience both will be the fatigue, one with traveling and the other with panic and devastating situations created during emergences. Both the travelers and emergency refuge need re-energizing the body to the normal condition. The travelers may not be assured with quality food or food with high nutritional value that may keep him active all through his travel. Managing food requirements in case of disasters and traveling need to be carefully taken of as it may lead to disturbing the body metabolism and may cause severe illness due to change in essence of food quality. In both situations the right food may not be available. Will there be any food that can cater to the delicate needs of these sectors Food and beverage items such as stimulants (tea, coffee etc), hot chocolate, cocoa, fizzy drinks, non-organic juices, diet drinks, fast food and a variety of cuisine are the current options available for travelers. However, the food served to travelers is not the food recommended during travel. While consumption of stimulants and many of the soft drinks puts stress on the adrenal glands, the high content of sugar or the sweetener Aspartame, used in diet drinks, are very harmful. Soft drinks and fruit juices carry additives and colors are avoidable (Velhos, 2005). Further, the cuisine served may not often match the requirements from the point of view of the health and the associated hygiene requirements. Can there be a food to combine all the properties of the individuals items procured for consumption during critical situations A concept brand, that combines the role of stimulants, energy drinks and balanced diet is proposed by us. Whole grains are excellent source of slow release of energy, thereby keeping body's energy levels stable throughout the day, as well as helping in digestion. Travel Food is conceived as a distinct category of food that has the three main qualities of a stimulant, a nutrient and a food source. The obvious answer for this is 'gruel. Gruel can be manufactured with millets, water and salt. Gruel can be prepared by slowing pouring the millets powder into water(hot or cold) with some salt added to it .The dish can last for two days . The main reason to showcase millet gruel as a possible food alternative is its wide, millet production is done in most countries and can stored for long periods, the production time is low with little effort to prepare which is an essential asset during emergences as it can be produced near the place where the emergency occurred. As it a agriculture product the raw material for it "the millets" can be obtained in large volumes at par with wheat. Millet soup can replace the expensive health drinks which may not have the qualities of millets and barley. At Kondapur village in Mahboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, India, the gruel centre run by a voluntary group that serves nearly 200-300 people every day(meena menon, 2003).This case study showcases the volume of gruel production that can be done at one point of time .millets has some unique features to enhance the metabolic activities. The millet gruel will be properly packed in tetra packs as it can store the essence and it can be preserved for long hours and can be transported to the site where it is required. The production can be done in villages in India or in any rural areas around the world. The product should be properly packed and should be marketed at the right areas specified. the production doesn't require a factory set up but a place suitable for small scale industry with two wide spacious rooms to accommodate 10 to 20 persons .These people will be working for the production and distribution. For the travelers on move, for the professionals experiencing unsocial working hours at Gruel is designed for unique situations to replace the highly expensive health drinks from big firms like horlicks, bornavita and glucose packets which are consumed to activate the bodies your body activities. So, due to the cost effective ness and the easy manufacturing process companies can add features to it and market the product. BPOs / ITES / IT Companies and for meeting the food requirements of late night arrivals at airports, there is a demand for the product to be promoted as 'Travel Food'. Gruel / Porridge made out of combination of millets and cereals that can be spiced up through ingredients, as in 'Stone Soup'. The product may be produced as a 'Cooperative Movement' in the villages as in the case of 'Amul'. The product may be promoted in the form of disposable travel tetra packs and powder formulations. The companies can innovate into new products like the millet gruel which would be specifically designed for travelers and for emergences. The modern business is becoming more competitive to market the products in the cluster, so it would be better to step into new markets and grow with it. Being significant food resource millets gruel or soup can be a future brand if it is properly marketed communicating the significance of millets and boost the food resource availability in emergences. Reference sources: http://www.ifad.org/hfs/learning/11.htm http://www.incredibleindia.org/tourism2004.pdf http://chetday.com/millet.html (significance of millets) http://www.infochangeindia.org/features107.jsp (gruel case study) http://www.bawarchi.com/health/fever.html http://www.fao.org/sd/wpdirect/wpan0042.htm http://www.wfp.org/country_brief/indexcountry.aspregion=5§ion=9&sub_section=5&country=356 http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/food.html http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-34-CS.html http://www.unisdr.org/disaster-statistics/pdf/isdr-disaster-statistics-occurrence.pdf (statistics regarding the number of disasters) http://www.em-dat.net/documents/PRDISASTERS2005final.pdf (number of people affected due to disaster) http://www.em-dat.net/disasters/trends.htm (changing nature of disasters) Read More