April Edition

4 APRIL, 2010 

3

4 4 APRIL, 2010 

DIPAK JOSHI 

GLOBLE 

Food in toto 

Freelancer (U.K.) 

The Leicester Culinary Culture 

The Hayrick 

Belvoir street 627949 

Sayonara 

49 Belgrave Road 665888 

Introductory : A true Professor 

cannot but literally feel proud of an 

Indian Disciple having been settled 

abroad not only as a successful 

diaspora careerist but a scholar and 

an enthusiastically smart insightful 

paparazzo specialized in his candia 

vedeographic shots of the global 

celebrities in the unguarded historical 

moments while he him self also gets 

silhouetted some where within his 

inward eyes at the same time. Here 

the professor is none but myself, Dr. 

J. J. Trivedi and that dedicated 

disciple is Dipak Joshi, a proven 

past sincere student of Bhavnagar 

University Centre of Journalism under 

my academic hegemony. Not as a 

careerist, but as an enthusiastic 

young energetic ever-vernal 

personality, Dipak has been settled 

intoto in the city of Leicester 

promoting the understanding of the 

Indian Art and Cultare at the 

Infernational level. I can at present 

recollect my sweet reminiscences 

with a glorious Artist latent in him 

who had proved his metal 25 years 

ago for the first time at the outset 

of his career by evincing his smart 

fervency as a play ful videographer 

in his exquisite coverage of some 

pristine Jain Religious Festive in 

Mumbai. I know well that this is not 

proper panegyric place for any 

memorabilia of my disciple. But 

some disciples in trigue me wherever 

I go. Dipak at Present contributes 

as the editor - in chief to a london 

- based non - priced Gujarati 

Magazine ‘AME GUJARATI’ and his 

infinite love for his mother - tongue 

abroad does outshine the recent so 

called compaing of our some 

‘enlightende’ Gujarati Scholars, 

intended to save our mother - tongue 

from being extinct. I feel regreted to 

mention that our own playful wordy 

expressions in our Gujarati writing 

are only responsible for this linguistic 

decay, But Dipak, though in london, 

generates the spontaneous overflow 

of our language through ‘Ame 

Gujarati’ and has been inspiring our 

new baby boomers in this direction 

since last 25 years or so. Dipak 

Joshi contributes to the Variegated 

metiers of the qesthetic arts and 

science of the modern Journalism. 

This is his first article in our present 

issue on the culinary culture of 

Leicester where he has settled in to 

to at present. We welcom the article 

whole heartedly. 

In epilogue, I pray to God, the 

ever - vernality of our disciple be 

eternal, lest he may be tempted to 

become a careerist diaspora. 

Leicester is a multi - cultural 

city, and its cultural mix provides 

exciting opportunities to sample 

a huge variety of cuisines. The 

city excels in authentic Indian 

restaurants but also offers truly 

cosmopolitan dining, sometimes 

with live music. 

At the case, for example, 

you can enjoy international 

cuisine in classy surrounding 

and on selected evenings there 

are performances by some of 

the biggest names in jazz like 

Ronnie Scott, Georgie fame and 

George Melly. 

The Rum Runner is an 

attractive creole restaurant which 

often features cajun and Salsa 

bands. Upstairs is Que Pasa, a 

lively Mexican Cantina popular 

with students. 

If you want to try Thai food 

The Blue Elephant is the place. 

It has nightculb upstairs with 

free entrance to diners. Next 

door is the man Ho, an elegant 

Cantonese restaurant with a 

Karaoke bar. 

The casa Romana and Joe 

Rigatoni’s offer a real slice of 

Italian culture as well as great 

atmosphere and splendid dishes 

and for Greek cuisine and culture 

there is Babylonia Dino’s, in the 

Haymarket offers an international 

menu and is ideal for Theatre 

goers. Indeed, there are many 

restaurants offering first rate 

special occasion meals. 

There are so many good 

Indian restaurants in Leicester 

that you could visit a different 

one almost every week for a 

year, but among the most upmarket 

are the Curry Pot, The 

Rise of The Raj and The Curry 

House. The laguna Tandoori is 

Highly Recommended in The 

Good Curry Guide and rated 

second best in Britain by The 

Sun ! 

If you are vegetarian, you 

are in the right city, because 

Leicester has an impressive 

selection of eating places, 

particulary during the day. The 

Good Earth is the city’s longest 

established wholefood restaurant, 

open mornings and afternoons 

Monday to Saturday ans also of 

Friday evening with live music. 

Blossoms, The Hayrick and 

Bread and Roses all offer 

excellent vegetarian meals and 

when it comes to Indian 

vegetarian restaurants, the 

choice is mouth - watering. 

Bobbys has a well deserved 

national reputation but you might 

also try Sonal’s, Sayonara of 

Friends. 

A few of the popular restaurants 

• International 

Bel Air 

8 Humberstone Road 532397 

Cavalier 

The Gables Hotel 

368 London Road 706969 

The Case 

4 Hotel Street 517675 

The Cherry Restaurant 

Belmont House Hotel 

De montfort Street 544773 

Dino’s Brasserie 

13 Garrick Walk 

Hymarket Centre 628308 

L’Aperitif 

5 Highfield Street 540389 

Regency Hotel 


Reynards 

7 Elmfiel Avenue 703549 

Skraggs 

219 Welford Road 706049 

Welford Place 

9 Welford Place 470758 

Woods 

93 Queens Road 708830 

• Vegetarian 

Blossoms 

17b Cank Street 539535 

Bobbys 

154 belgrave Road 660106 

Bread & Roses 

70 High Street 532448 

The Good Earth 

19 Free lane 626260 

• Mexican & Creole 

Chiquitas 

59/61 Braunstone Gate 547898 

Que Pasa Cantina Mexicana 


Rum Runner 


• Pizzas & Burgers 

Burger King 

26 Granby Street 531171 

McDonalds 

Abbey Lane, Red Hill Circle 

610324 

Market Street 554278 

6 east Gates 511332 

Pizza Hut 

6 Hymarket 512422 

Pizza parlour 


Pizza land 

15 Granby Street & 

20 Haymarket 54893615330774 

• Mediterraneen 

Babylonia 

25 Bowling Green Street 540380 

Barceloneta 

54 Queens Road 708408 

Casa Romana 

5 Albion Street 541174 

Guiseppe’s 

34 Oxford Street 554971 

II Nido 

33 Belvoir street 551572 

Joe Rigatoni 

3 St Martins square 533977 

Rossinis‘s 

3 chatham Street 

(off Granby street) 555516 

• Chinese & Thai 

Blue Elephant 

6b New Walk 544544 

Dynasty 


Hello Canton 

1 St Nicholas Place 629029 

Man Ho 

16 King Street 557700 

Peking Restaurant 

16 Charles Street 623376 

Penang (malaysian) 

8 Upperton Road 548944 

Water Margin Restaurant 

76 High Street 624937 

• Indian 

Akash 

London Road 559030 

Curry Fever 


Curry House 


(contd....page no. 20)

4 APRIL, 2010 

5 

KHURAK FOOD IN TOTO 

Volume : 1 

Issue : 2 

4 APRIL - 2010 

Price : 35-00 Single Copy 

1 Year : 275-00 

3 Year : 650-00 

D.D./Cash/M.O. in favour of 

Khimashia Publications Payable 

at Bhavnagar City 

President & Publisher 

As well as Editor 

HIMACHAL MEHTA 

EDITOR - IN - CHIFF 

PROF. DR. J. J. TRIVEDI 

Editorial Board 

Assistant Editors 

Dr. Vidyut Naram 

Mrs. Neela naram 

Prin. Dr. Hemant Oza 

Art Designers 

Satish Makwana 

Ms. Dipika Gohel 

Photo-Co-ordinator 

Jignesh Bhuva 

Ms. Anjali Gunjaria 

Aesthetics Advisor 

K. D. PADIA 

(Ex. Director, CSMCRI) 

Business Office 

KHIMASHIA PUBLICATIONS 

109 - ‘EVA’ Complex, 

Opp. Gulista Ground, 

Waghawadi Road, 

Bhavnagar-364002 (Gujarat) 

Phone : 2565653, 2471188 

Fax : 2203080 

E-mail :himachalad1@sancharnet.in 

MARKETING 

Circulation Manager 

Mrs. Devika Upadhyay 

Mrs. Asha Goradia 

Legal Advisor 

Hitesh Mehta (Advocate) 

Notary, Gujarat High Court 

Accounts 

Mehul Joshi 

Owner, Publisher & Printer 

Himachal Prakashkumar Mehta 

has Printed at Pratibha Offset 

Printers GF-16, Gitanjali Complex, 

Opp. Galaxy Cinema, Bhavnagar - 

364 001 and has Published from 

1085, ‘Samarpan’, Opp. Patel Park, 

B/h. Muni Dairy, Bhavnagar - 364 

001 Gujarat (INDIA) 

The opinions expressed in the articles 

are of the authors and do not 

necessarily reflect those of editors or 

publishers They do not accept any 

responsibility to this effect. 

T h e 

ideological 

space of 

existence 

always precedes the physical 

world. This theoretical assertion 

of the western Existential 

Philosophy can be fairly well 

illucidated in the big bold launch 

of our English monthly foodsavvy 

magazine in the first place. The 

khimshiya Publication with its 

noble mission to serve you better 

than before have had a good 

auspicious gumption for this 

English Monthly magazine. This 

is a fabulous magnum Opus 

phenomenon in the cultural 

history of the khimshiya 

Publication. The magazine is not 

only mouth organ for our foodfriendly 

Editorial Policy, but more 

than that, and also more than 

meets the eyes, has been also 

a competent liasoning quthority 

towards continually expanding 

connectivity of the foodtradepersons 

on one hand with 

the Government and on the other 

hand with our taste-Friendly 

consumers as well as prosumers 

According to John Gray, 

“the Men are from Mars, 

Women are from Venus”, and 

i would like to extend this transferred 

epithet : “And the Children 

always remain on their 

Mother Earth who blesses 

them with foodgrains so that 

they may be grown up as men 

and women to represent Mars 

and Venus, War and Love, 

both Complementarily satiated 

in Food.” 

This is the basic food myth 

of the Mankind. It is the story of 

the Pilgrim’s Progress, an exquisite 

Physical-Spiritual sojourn 

of the human race started from 

our cultural infantine morning to 

this day of Baby Boomers under 

globalization. But the food myth 

remains basically eternal one 

throughout. The food myth has 

remained invincible one, whether 

in love or in War. 

• PRESIDENTIAL FOREWORD 

Tete-a-Tete with you 

who are now enormously health 

-conscious under the civil 

hygienic compaign in the present 

century of the elecronic cottage 

in the global village. 

We are at present very 

aptly to define an altogether new 

concept of the global food, since 

with the growing ivil awareness 

for the health - consciousness 

as well as with the growing 

demand of the simple staple 

health - food among the stay - 

at - home mothers who want to 

stay free of the food - 

adulterations and to be self - 

reliant in preparing the food in 

her own kitchen for her entire 

family as such, the current trends 

and topics of the global culinar 

Art as well as food - science 

have been fast changing since 

last one decade or so and it is 

therefor our bounden duty as the 

food Journalist to apprise our 

cher readers as well as 

honourable reflecters of the 

recent research - oriented facts 

and findings in a variegated 

motiers of the food - science, 

Health food and diet food 

LETTER 

FROM THE EDITOR - IN - CHIEF 

Grace Abounding With 

The Basif Food Myth 

The good Mother Earth 

blesses us both food and flower, 

fragrance and flavour ! What is 

the volition of our 21st Century 

Food Friendly Baby Boomers ! 

Nature abounds with a variegated 

stock of glories and 

graces. We are to choose now 

! Here are also two cultures of 

consumers : one is Rice-friendly, 

the other is Rose-friendly. What 

do we want ? Rice or Rose ? 

Science or Song ? Fruits or 

Flowers ? Taste of apple or a 

Cuckoo’s song ? The basic food 

myth is a part of Nature’s flora 

and fauna. 

I recollect one Rural Folksong 

which nicely deals with the 

food and fauna : 

“Vintery, Mintery, Corn, 

Apple seed and Apple thorn, 

Three geese in a flock, 

One flew east 

And one flew west, 

researches, Herbal and 

agricultural sciences and the 

experimental ethnic culinary art 

nascent from time to time by the 

renowned chefs in the state of 

Art kitchenyards at the acclaimed 

s5tar hotels at home and abroad. 

I should invite your Special 

heed to a salient feature in the 

growing simple staple food 

awareness not among the stay 

- at home mothers, but also 

some TV Actressess like sharma 

sikandar who says pointblank. 

at her Tet-a-Tete : 

“There is no better place 

than eating at home. 

I enjoy nothing more than 

having home-cooked 

Dal - Chawal !!” 

In epilogue I cannot but 

agree with French Writer 

Cumonsky Maurice Edmond 

Sailland, Who also Pointblank 

Says : 

“Make food simple and let 

thing taste of what they are !!” 

(Himachal Prakash Mehta) 

And one flew over Cuckoo’s 

nest !” 

The sophisticated life style 

also nicely reflected in the basic 

food myth of our Indian Culinary 

art. The outstanding novelist as 

well as Nobel Prize winner 

James Joyce praises the Vegetarian 

food as it is in consonance 

with the Nature’s flora 

and fauna. He ridicules at Nonvegitarian 

eaters. 

He Point blank says : 

“I hate these dirty eaters. They 

are born with a Silver Knife in 

their mouths !” 

(Prof. Dr. J. J. Trivedi)

6 4 APRIL, 2010

4 APRIL, 2010 

7 

STREET FOOD 

BACKGROUND:- 

Street Food not only is 

palatable, inexpensive and convenient 

but also is a large source 

of employment generation; major 

beneficiaries being women and 

the urban poor. Further, Street 

food is a treasure house of local 

culinary traditions and is increasingly 

playing an important role 

as an enhancer and force multiplier 

of tourism sector all over 

the world. The National Policy 

on Urban Street Vendors suggest 

that almost 2% of the urban 

population consists of street 

vendors, of which a significant 

proportion consists of street food 

vendors. Food vending activity 

on the streets pertains to the 

unorganized sector of the 

economy. However, the main 

concern involved is the quality 

of food that is served. At times, 

it is not adequately hygienic and 

totally safe for human consumption, 

having adverse effect on 

public health. On the other hand, 

the issues of vendors’ identity, 

their economic sustainability & 

health conditions etc. are also 

the areas of concern. When the 

Food Safety and Standards Bill 

(now Food Safety and Standards 

Act, 2006) was being 

discussed in the Parliament, a 

commitment was made that the 

Ministry of Food Processing 

Industries would take care of the 

concern of the hawkers and 

street food vendors, as they 

have been kept out of the purview 

of the licensing provisions 

of the Act. Accordingly, the 

Ministry of Food Processing 

Industries is taking initiatives on 

a Private-Public-Partnership 

4 APRIL, 2010 

ance, life insurance for accidental 

death/ dismemberment/ permanent 

disability and also insurance 

for the cart/ kiosk of the 

street food vendors, and simultaneously 

upgrading the quality 

of food served on the streets, 

the first component of Safe Food 

Towns has been proposed to be 

implemented in 50 cities all over 

the country covering a total of 

50,000 street food vendors. 

Since, the enormity of this task 

is gigantic; the prevailing conditions 

at the ground level are 

required to be assessed. 

OBJECTIVES:- 

The objectives of this component 

are to address the follow- 

ing:- 

• Provide an identity to the 

downtrodden street food vendors 

in the unorganized sector 

and bring them to the 

national mainstream 

• Provide economic sustainability 

in life to the street food vendors 

• Upgrade quality and safety of 

processed/unprocessed street 

food 

• Improve the hygienic stan- 

Around The Street Food 

mode to ensure that the hygiene 

& quality of food that is consumed 

in the streets is not 

compromised. At the same time 

it is essential to see that the 

concerns associated with the 

street food vendors are also 

addressed. In order to ensure 

economic sustainability and betterment 

of the livelihood of street 

food vendors on the one hand 

and to ensure safe & hygienic 

food to the consumers on the 

other, the Ministry has formulated 

the Scheme of “Upgradation 

of Quality of Street Food”. It has 

two components- 

Safe Food Towns 

• Upgradation/ Establishment of 

Food-Street in cities of tourist 

importance (A) Safe Food 

Towns:- 

The palatability, affordability 

and easy accessibility of the 

street food make it highly popular 

in all the income-groups of 

the society. Its demand needs 

no testimony. With the increasing 

influx of youth to the cities, 

increased participation of women 

in the work force and the present 

lifestyle has made more and 

more people dependent upon the 

street food. It meets the food 

requirements of a large section 

of the society; primary consumers 

being low-income group 

people, office-goers, women and 

children. But as it suffers from 

certain safety & hygiene issues 

as well as the bad economic 

conditions of the vendors as 

stated above, those issues are 

required to be addressed. To 

address the issues of providing 

an identity to the street food 

vendors, their economic 

sustainability and betterment in 

their livelihood as well as providing 

for social security cover to 

them in the form of health insurdards 

of street food 

Promote clean, safe and 

good sanitary food service at 

affordable rates in urban areas 

In the Pilot Phase, the work 

of the identification of the vendors 

through the survey has 

been undertaken by MFPI 

through some NGOs. So far, 

4300 street food vendors in 9 

cities viz. Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, 

Chennai, Agra, Jaipur, Guwahati, 

Bangalore and Agartala have 

been identified and surveyed 

regarding their knowledge, attitude 

and practices of food preparation 

and presentation to the 

customers. Health Checks of 

these vendors have been completed. 

The final report is under 

compilation. 

The Pilot Survey aims at:- 

Creation of a complete profile of 

the street food vendors 

• Assessment of the knowledge, 

attitude and practices of the 

street food vendors 

• Assessment of the need for 

assistance in terms of capacity 

building, microfinance etc. 

(contd....page no. 18) 

21 

16 4 APRIL, 2010 

22 4 APRIL, 2010 

24 4 APRIL, 2010

8 4 APRIL, 2010 

Proven Stimuli Investments 

for Food Processing Sector 

1. Vast source of raw material 

• India is one of the largest producers of wheat and rice. 

• Coconuts, cashew nuts, ginger, turmeric and black pepper is 

widely grown in some parts of the country. 

• India is the second largest producer 

of groundnuts, fruits and vegetables. 

That it accounts for about 

10 per cent of the world's fruits 

production with the country topping 

in the production of mangoes and 

bananas. 

• Due to the high processing levels 

milk products offer a significant 

opportunity in India. India is the 

world's largest producer of milk 

owing to the strong business 

models formed through cooperative 

movements in the country. 

Milk and related products account 

for 17% of India's total expenditure 

on food. This segment enjoys liberal 

regulations as all milk products except malted foods are 

automatically allowed 51% foreign equity participation and all 

exports of dairy products are freely allowed. 

• Alcoholic beverages have been categorised as the new high 

opportunity sector in India. Liquor manufactured in India is 

categorised as Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The sector 

is still barred from the import of potable alcohol as it is subject 

to government licensing. In the meanwhile, India has recently 

started producing wine for domestic consumption. 

• Meat and poultry has also gained popularity due to the emergence 

of producers that have integrated breeding, feed milling, contract 

growing and marketing facilities for improved productivity. Meat, 

fish, and poultry are in rural areas as they are easily affordable 

and provide necessary nutrients. India has the potential to be 

a leading global food supplier if it employs the right marketing 

strategies and creates an efficient supply chain 

2. Conventional farming to commercial faming 

In recent years, there has been a shift from conventional 

farming of food grains to horticulture which include fruits, vegetables, 

ornamental crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, plantation 

crops which include coconut, cashew nuts and cocoa and allied 

activities 

3. Market in the form of large urban middle class 

With a huge population of 1.08 billion and population growth 

of about 1.6 % per annum, India is a large and growing market 

for food products. Its 350 million strong urban middle class with 

its changing food habits poses a huge market for agricultural 

products and processed food. 

4. Low Production cost 

The relatively low-cost but skilled workforce can be effectively 

utilised to set up large, low-cost production bases for domestic and 

export markets. 

5. Change in consumption patterns 

Increasing incomes are always accompanied by a change in 

the food habits. Over the last three decades in India a shift in food 

habits have been observed. The report observes that the proportionate 

expenditure on cereals, pulses, edible oil, sugar, salt and 

spices declines as households climb the expenditure classes in 

urban India while the opposite happens in the case of milk and 

milk products, meat, egg and fish, fruits and beverages. 

For instance, According to report of ICRA the proportionate 

expenditure on staples like cereals, grams and pulses declined from 

45 per cent to 44 per cent in rural India while the figure settled 

at 32 per cent of the total expenditure on food in urban India. 

A large part of this shift in consumption is driven by the 

processed food market, which accounts for 32 per cent of the total 

food market. It accounts for US$ 29.4 billion, in a total estimated 

market of US$ 91.66 billion. The food 

processing industry is one of the largest 

industries in India -- it is ranked 

fifth in terms of production, consumption, 

export and expected growth. 

According to the Confederation of 

Indian Industry (CII) the food-processing 

sector has the potential of attracting 

US$ 33 billion of investment in 10 

years and generate employment of 9 

million person-days. 

6. Government Assistance 

The Government has introduced 

several schemes to provide financial 

assistance for setting up and modernizing 

of food processing units, creation 

of infrastructure, support for research 

and development and human resource development in addition to 

other promotional measures to encourage the growth of the 

processed food sector. 

7. Foreign Direct Investment 

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's food sector 

is poised to hit the US$ 3-billion mark in coming years. FDI 

approvals in food processing have doubled in last one year alone. 

The cumulative FDI inflow in food processing reached US$ 2,804 

million in March '06. In '05-06, the sector received approvals worth 

US$ 41 million. This figure is almost double the US$ 22 million 

approved in 2004-05. 

The US-based private equity fund, New Vernon Private Equity 

Limited (NVPEL), has decided to invest Rs 45 crore in Kochi-based 

spice major, Eastern Condiments, which is the flagship company 

of Eastern Group. 

America's largest chocolate and confectionery-maker Hershey 

is acquiring 51 per cent stake in Godrej Beverages and Foods for 

US$ 54 million. 

8. Food Parks 

In an effort to boost the food sector, the Government is working 

on agri zones and the concept of mega food parks. Twenty such 

mega parks will come are proposed across the country in various 

cities to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the foodprocessing 

sector. 

The Government has released a total assistance of US$ 23 

million to implement the Food Parks Scheme. It has so far approved 

50 food parks for assistance across the country. The Centre also 

plans US$ 22 billion subsidy for mega food processing parks. 

9.Conducive food processing policy environment 

The national policy on food processing aims at increasing the 

level of food processing from the present 2 per cent to 10 per cent 

by 2010 and 25 per cent by 2025. 

The government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in processing sector. 

The Policy will seek to create an appropriate environment for 

entrepreneurs to set up Food Processing Industries through: 

• Fiscal initiatives and interventions like rationalization of tax 

structure on fresh foods as well as processed foods and 

machinery used for the production of processed foods. 

• A concerted promotion campaign to create market for processed 

foods by providing financial assistance to Industry Associations, 

NGOs/Cooperatives, Private Sector Units, State Government 

Organization for undertaking generic market promotion. 


4 APRIL, 2010 

9

10 4 APRIL, 2010 

ROLE OF CALCIUM IN THE DIET 

There is a great deal of interest 

especially for women in increasing calcium 

intake as a way of preventing 

osteoporosis. Genetics and lack of physical 

activity are risk factors, and dietary 

intake of calcium and vitamin D are also 

important factors in the prevalence of this 

chronic disease that thins and weakens 

the bones in the body. Broken bones, 

particularly the pelvis and the long bones 

in the legs, are common in older women 

with osteoporosis. 

Many foods are rich in calcium 

including dairy products – milk (skim 

milk, 1%, 2%, or whole milk), cheese, 

yogurt, kefir etc. However, these foods 

are often avoided because of their fat content, and concerns about 

lactose digestion. Some calcium-fortified soy beverages and orange 

juices, lentils and beans are also good sources of calcium. Because 

in some cases doctors are recommending calcium intakes that 

many people cannot achieve through changes in their diet, consumers 

are turning to calcium supplements. 

Pure calcium (elemental symbol Ca) is a metal. Pure calcium 

is not absorbed by the body. The calcium we consume is in the 

form of a calcium salt – a molecule that contains one or more 

calcium atoms together with a carbohydrate. The common forms 

of calcium supplements are calcium carbonate - CaCO3 ; calcium 

citrate - Ca3(C6H5O7)2 ; calcium lactate - C6H10CaO6 ; and 

calcium gluconate - C12H22CaO14. Remembering some basic 

chemistry, it is easy to see that not all these sources of calcium 

contain the same amount of calcium. One molecule of calcium 

citrate provides three molecules of calcium, 

while the other sources provide 

only one molecule. But the molecular 

weight of calcium carbonate is less than 

calcium citrate. So… it gets complicated. 

The easiest way to tell which calcium 

supplement is providing the amount 

of calcium you want, is to compare the 

amount of “elemental calcium” each pill or 

capsule provides. Read the label carefully. 

It is now recommended that adults 

get 1000-1500 mg of elemental calcium 

a day. That’s quite a bit, especially if you 

do not eat a lot of dairy products. Calcium 

supplements come in various doses, and 

because the calcium is often a very small part of the chemical form 

that is in the supplement, some of the pills can be quite large. 

The absorption of calcium is influenced by conditions within 

the lumen of the small intestine. The acid secreted in the stomach 

aids in the digestion of calcium, but calcium is absorbed primarily 

in the duodenum part of the small intestine. Vitamin D is needed 

to help the absorption of calcium through the intestinal wall. Low 

vitamin D levels can lead to insufficient calcium being absorbed, 

even if there is enough calcium in the diet. Many supplements 

contain both vitamin D and calcium. 

A varied diet provides most of us with the types and amounts 

of nutrients we need to grow and be healthy. However, in some 

cases, taking a supplement can ensure we are getting adequate 

levels of specific nutrients.

4 APRIL, 2010 

11

12 4 APRIL, 2010 

(....contd from page no. 8) 

• Harmonization and simplification of food laws by an appropriate 

enactment to cover all provisions relating to food products so 

that the existing system of multiple laws is replaced and also 

covering issues concerning standards Nutrition, Merit goods, 

futures marketing, equalisation fund etc. 

• Efforts to expand the availability of the right kind and quality of 

raw material round the year by increasing production, improving 

productivity. 

• Strengthening of database and market intelligence system through 

studies and surveys to be conducted in various States to enable 

planned investment in the appropriate sector matching with the 

availability of raw material and marketability of processed products. 

• Strengthening extension services and to the farmers and cooperatives 

in the areas of post harvest management of agroproduce 

to encourage creation of pre-processing facilities near 

the farms like washing, fumigation, packaging etc. 

• Efforts to encourage setting up of agro-processing facilities as 

close to the area of production as possible to avoid wastage 

and reduce transportation cost. 

• Promotion of investments, both foreign and domestic. 

Simplification of documentation and procedures under taxation laws 

to avoid unnecessary harassment arising out of mere technicalities. 

Infrastructual Development 

The Policy will facilitate: 

• Establishment of cold chain, low cost pre-cooling facilities near 

farms, cold stores and grading, sorting, packing facilities to 

reduce wastage, improve quality and shelf life of products. 

• Application of biotechnology, remote sensing technology, energy 

saving technologies and technologies for environmental protection. 

• Building up a strong infrastructural base for production of value 

added products with special emphasis on food safety and quality 

matching international standards. 

• Development of Packaging Technologies for individual products, 

especially cut-fruits & vegetables, so as to increase their shelf 

life and improve consumer acceptance both in the domestic and 

international markets. 

• Development of new technologies in Food Processing & Packaging 

and also to provide for the mechanism to facilitate quick 

transfer of technologies to field through a net work of R&D 

Institutions having a Central Institute at the national level with 

satellite institutions located strategically in various regions to 

cover up the whole Country and to make available the required 

testing facilities. This could be done by establishing a new 

institution or strengthening an existing one. 

• Development of area-specific Agro Food Parks dedicated to 

processing of the predominant produce of the area e.g., apple 

in J&K, pineapple in North East, Lichi in Bihar, Mango in 

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh etc. etc. 

• Development of Anchor Industrial Centre and/or linkage with 

Anchor Industrial Units having network of small processing units. 

• Development of Agro-industrial multi-products units capable of 

processing a cluster of trans-seasonal produces. 

Backward Linkage 

The Policy will promote: 

• Establishment of a sustained and lasting linkage between the 

farmers and the processors based on mutual trust, understanding 

and benefits by utilizing the existing infrastructure of cooperative, 

village panchayats and such other institutions. 

• Mechanism to reduce the gap between the farm gate price of 

agro-produce and the final price paid by the consumer. 

• Development of Futures Market in the best interest of both the 

farmers and the processors ensuring a minimum price stability 

to the farmer and a sustained supply of raw material to the 

processor. 

• Setting up of an Equalization Fund to ensure sustained supply 

of raw material at a particular price level and at the same time 

to plough back the savings occurring in the eventuality of lower 

price to make the Fund self-regenerative. 

Forward Linkage 

The policy will promote: 

• Establishment of a strong linkage between the processor and the 

market to effect cost economies by elimination of avoidable 

intermediaries. 

• Establishment of marketing network with an apex body to ensure 

proper marketing of processed products. 

• Development of marketing capabilities both with regard to infrastructure 

and quality in order to promote competitive capabilities 

to face not only the WTO challenge but to undertake exports 

in a big way. 

Given the trends in the Indian food and beverage sector including 

key industry consideration, it is imperative for the Indian industry 

to leverage the emerging opportunities at once. These could be: 

• Exploitation of the huge untapped potential in processed foods. 

• Opportunities presented by contract farming, captive supplies of 

raw materials, disintermediation and direct access to farmers, 

availability of new and improved seeds and farm technology. 

• Value addition to unprocessed categories of food such as dairy, 

fruits and vegetable, staples and edible oils. 

• Exploitation of increasing health and safety awareness of the 

Indian consumer - this would pave the way for value added 

products on a health platform. 

• Investment in supply chain in order to improve costs, tighten 

supplies and minimize wastage. 

• Investment in better packaging and cold chain infrastructure will 

aid the processed food and beverage sector as these would aid 

in processing of fruits and vegetables. 

• Exploration of appropriate regional branding strategies in order to 

appeal to the deep rooted traditions, values and customs of the 

consumer 

• Taking advantage of the inherent ethnic tastes and food habits 

of the Indian consumer -- this provides the local food players 

a distinct advantage over foreign entrants into the sector and 

poses an entry barrier for the latter 

• Exploitation of the increasing consumerism fuelled by new job 

opportunities, larger disposable incomes and the emerging boom 

in modern retail trade. 

• Opportunities for growth through the inorganic route, both domestically 

and outbound this would provide access to new product 

categories, brands, markets and new technologies. 

• The SEZ /AEZ opportunity would also provide players the added 

incentive to develop greenfield projects within these zones and 

enjoy additional fiscal benefits 

The Indian Foods & Beverage industry is poised for a 

significant leap forward -- these are interesting times and continued 

success will depend on a proper understanding of the landscape 

and challenges therein, quickly exploiting emerging opportunities, 

skillful execution of strategic mergers and acquisitions and effecting 

a seamless organisation to evolve into truly global players. 

Thrust Areas 

The vision 2015 of the Government of India for the foodprocessing 

sector aims at: 

• Enhancing and stabilizing the income level of the farmers 

• Providing choice to consumers in terms of wide variety and taste 

including traditional ethnic food 

• Providing greater assurance in terms of safety and quality of food 

to consumers 

• Promoting a dynamic food processing industry 

• Enhancing the competitiveness of food processing industry in both 

domestic as well as international markets 

• Making the food processing sector attractive for both domestic 

and foreign investors 

• Achieving integration of the food processing infrastructure from 

farm to market 

• Having a transparent and industry friendly regulatory regime 

• Putting in place a transparent system of standards based on 

science 

• The following specific targets would be to increase: 

• The level of processing of perishables from 6% to 20% 

• Value addition from 20% to 35% 

• Share in global food trade from 1.5% to 3%, by the year 2015 

An estimated investment of Rs. 100,000 crores is required to 

achieve the discussed vision, of which Rs.45,000 crores is 

expected to come from the private sector, Rs. 45,000 crores from 

Financial Institutions and Rs. 10,000 crore from Government.

4 APRIL, 2010 

13

14 4 APRIL, 2010

4 APRIL, 2010 

15 

A New Concept of Functional Foods 

in Japanese Culinary Culture 

Whenever the subject of functional foods or nutraceutics is 

raised, reference to Japan is almost inevitable. Compared to North 

America or Europe, Japan is far ahead in labelling legislation, 

product development and consumer awareness of products. This 

in part is the result of pressure by Japanese food manufacturers, 

but there can be no doubt that the Japanese consumer is also a 

factor. 

As early as 1984 the term “functional food” was used by 

Japanese Ministry of Education Science and Culture as the 

Japanese began to recognize the health problems associated with 

an aging population. At the same time there was an ever increasing 

desire to verify the reports that certain foods and their ingredients 

could be useful in combating many chronic diseases. The Japanese 

in their wisdom decided to both increase funding of basic research 

related to food / health matters and also to set up a mechanism 

whereby food manufacturers could receive official approval for the 

claims they wished to make about their food products. It was 

decided that eleven categories of foods or ingredients could be 

identified that had potential health benefits based on the current 

scientific evidence. These categories ranged from dietary fiber, to 

lactobacteria to minerals. 

By 1991 the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare had in 

place a policy that allowed food manufacturers to declare that their 

product was a “food for specific health use’ or FOSHU if it could 

be shown that the food or an ingredient was on the approved list 

of eleven. The Japanese consumer was therefore assured that any 

food designated as FOSHU was expected to have a specific effect 

on health due to it composition. By early 1996 a total of sixty-nine 

products had been approved as FOSHU.

16 4 APRIL, 2010

4 APRIL, 2010 

17 

A Syndrome : Sugar-Free Foods & Drinks 

Despite health and wellness being the 

most talked-about fad in foods and beverages, 

foods and beverage companies in India say 

they are not seeing dip in demand for sugary 

or fried, salty foods. Even though ‘diet foods’ 

are flooding retail shelves, companies say 

consumer offtake of such products is limited. 

So, beverage companies have not cut 

back on spends on colas. The aloo tikki 

burger is fast-food chain McDonald’s biggest 

seller in India. Sugary mango Frooti accounts 

for more than half of Parle Agro's sale and 

pizza chain Domino’s India is the Michiganbased 

firm’s fastest-growing market although 

on small base. Further, restaurant chains like Haldiram’s say there 

is negligible consumer demand for sugar-free sweets. 

Says PepsiCo executive director Punita Lal: “Even when we 

do have no-sugar variants or low-sugar variants, it’s not as if that 

becomes the first choice of all consumers. I don’t think that change 

has happened as yet, and between intention and behaviour, there 

exists a gap. So, while the consumer is showing more trends of 

being health and wellness conscious and there certainly is a lot 

of talk, she is not walking the talk that much.” So, while PepsiCo 

talks about portfolio transformation to ‘good for you’ products and 

is pulling out sugary drinks from schools, and has Tropicana juices, 

Gatorade sports drink and Nimbooz nimbu pani in its portfolio, the 

maximum marketing and ad spends of its roughly Rs 100-crore ad 

spends are directed to its fizzy drinks Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7- 

Up and Mirinda. 

Well-known nutritionist Dr Anjali Mukerjee says a lot of 

marketers are not doing enough to convert 

consumers to healthier products. 

She says: “There are consumers who 

want healthy foods, but often they are 

unable to understand what benefits socalled 

‘nutritional products’ really offer 

them. Marketers often do not communicate 

the benefits of what they call ‘healthy’ 

foods clearly to consumers.” 

So, pizza chain Domino’s India 

doesn’t see the urgency of printing calorie 

information on its food packs just yet, 

unless it is made mandatory by the law. 

Domino’s Pizza CEO Ajay Kaul says: 

“The consumer here is still far off from the day when calorie intake 

of pizzas becomes a concern.” He cites research reports which 

state that the Rs 60,000-crore food retail market, organised pizza 

and pastas account for a mere 2% share. 

Similarly, Parle Agro, which makes mango drink Frooti and 

apple-based juice Appy, stepped on the wellness platform last year 

with the launch of wheat-based snack Hippo. But the company’s 

Parle Agro joint MD Nadia Chauhan says her company is not repositioning 

its existing brands on the health platform. “We are far 

away from a situation where the Indian consumer seeks only ‘socalled 

healthy’ foods options,” says Ms Chauhan. 

Restaurant chain Haldiram’s says its low-calorie products 

hardly generate consumer demand. Says Pankaj Agarwal, MD at 

Haldiram: “We have not noticed any change in consumer offtake 

of our foods.” He says the chain stocks low-calorie foods ‘just in 

case’ there are takers.

18 4 APRIL, 2010 

Spice King Ginger More Than Meets The Taste 

It is commonly believed that spices were added to foods before 

refrigeration and other forms of preservation became common, as 

a way of masking the taste of foods that had started to spoil. Many 

voyages of discovery were undertaken to find sources of these 

valuable plants and herbs. 

MedilinePlus4 

Ginger [Zingiber 

officinale Roscoe 

(Zingiberaceae)] is well 

known in many tropical 

countries, both for its 

taste enhancing properties 

and also as a traditional 

medicine. It is the 

ginger tuber that is used 

by cooks around the 

world to add that distinctive 

taste to food. 

Ginger is a low-growing tropical plant which is easily grown 

indoors. A small piece of a mature ginger root can be used to start 

a new plant. Once it is placed in a pot with good potting soil, the 

pot should be kept warm and constantly moist during the growing 

season, since ginger naturally often grows in wet, almost marshy, 

conditions. 

Traditionally ginger has been used to help relieve digestive 

upset/disturbances including lack of appetite, nausea, digestive 

spasms, indigestion, dyspepsia and flatulent colic (carminative) as 

well as an expectorant and anti-tussive to help relieve bronchitis 

as well as coughs and colds. 

Ginger contains several nonvolatile pungent principles namely 

gingerols, shogaols, paradols and zingerone, which contribute to its 

taste and which account for many of its reported beneficial health 

effects. Studies conducted in cultured cells as well as in experi- 

mental animals revealed that these pungent phenolics found in 

ginger possess anticarcinogenic properties. 

So, some spices not only make your food taste good, they 

also are good for your health. 

Reference 

Kundu JK, Na HK, Surh YJ. 2009. Ginger-derived phenolic substances with 

cancer preventive and therapeutic potential 


by the street food vendors 

• Health checks to ascertain the 

status of health for insurance 

• Reporting on the specific steps 

needed in capacity-building 

activities for the street food 

vendors 

(B) Upgradation/Establishment 

of “Food-Street”: 

Local ethnic dishes are one 

of the major factors that attract 

the tourists. If the varieties of 

these ethnic dishes are made 

available at one place with all 

sorts of civic amenities and infrastructure, 

it will certainly cause 

a tourist-delight and give a considerable 

boost to the industry. 

Here, the emphasis is to provide 

a rich experience of the traditional 

culinary expertise to the 

tourists. As such, 25 cities of 

tourist attraction shall have one 

street identified as Food-Street. 

Each Food-Street shall have a 

minimum of 25 food-stalls. Infrastructure 

facilities would be provided 

for food vending activities 

in terms of the following:- 

Provision of installation/ 

upgradation of modern food stalls, 

• Electricity Supply 

• Water supply and drainage, 

• Waste disposal system, 

• Public utilities, 

• Environmental beautification in 

the form of fountains, lighting 

arrangements, seating arrangements 

like benches etc. 

OBJECTIVES:- 

The objectives of the Scheme 

are to:- 

Promote clean, safe and 

good sanitary food service at 

affordable rates in locations of 

tourist importance 

• Reduce the risk of food borne 

diseases to the tourists 

• Promote Indian Food

4 APRIL, 2010 

19 

Gourmet foods flying off shelves in India 

NEW DELHI: PV Narasimha 

Rao was a scholarly Brahmin from 

Andhra Pradesh as removed from 

exotic coldcuts as chalk from 

cheese. But along with a slew of 

import restrictions that were revoked 

as part of the landmark 

economic reforms during his stint 

as prime minister were those on 

food products. Nearly two decades 

later, that policy change has helped 

usher in an era of unparalleled 

culinary variety in Indian retail 

stores. 

In the early 1990s, when India 

faced a severe balance-of-payment 

crisis, it would have been impossible 

to fathom the kind of food that 

is being bought today in some 

pockets. At New Delhi’s Le Marche 

chain, you can buy Godiva chocolates that will set you back by 

Rs 4,300 for 235 gm. At Mumbai’s Godrej Nature’s Basket chain, 

if you bought a kg of Iberico ham, you will be billed Rs 9,000. In 

Chennai, the capital of a state where political parties routinely come 

to power promising rice for Re 1 per kg, the Nuts and Spices chain 

retails Darjeeling White Tea for Rs 15,000 a kg. 

An increasing number of Indians seem to be cooking up a 

gourmet storm in their kitchens and this passion for fine food, 

variously hailed as a mark of refinement and reviled as a sign of 

gluttony and snobbery, is translating into brisk business for a 

number of retailers and importers, all of whom seem to be on an 

expansion course. On an average, players in this elite segment 

report a 30-35% year-on-year growth, and all of them agree on one 

thing: that the market is hugely 

underserved. 

The range of products demanded 

by well-heeled Indians and 

expats living here has also grown 

immensely. 

Any gourmet store worth its 

Foie Gras must stock cheese 

sourced from at least seven countries. 

Oils, sauces, cereals, concentrates, 

honeys, syrups, nuts, 

olives, spices, spreads, truffles, 

vinegars must all come from different 

countries and all kinds of 

varieties and qualities must also be 

available. A standard gourmet store 

has about 5,000 stock keeping 

units, or SKUs. Two brands of 

olive oils or two varieties of the 

same brand will both count for two 

SKUs. Apart from a few organised chains, a large number of grocers 

in prosperous neighbourhoods are also now stocking gourmet items. 

Le Marche, which opened its first outlet in 2005, has seven 

stores today. Everytime a new mall opens in the Delhi-NCR region, 

the developer wants a Le Marche store, says Mini Yadav, who runs 

and owns the store along with her husband. Franchisee enquiries 

are pouring in from neighbouring states but she is not interested. 

“A lot of care goes into opening a store. When you are retailing 

fine foods, everything from the lighting, layout and training of staff 

becomes critical. We cannot expand too soon,” Yadav says. Her 

revenues have grown from Rs 20 crore in 2007 to Rs 40 crore 

now, and she wants to take it up to Rs 100 crore in the next few 


20 4 APRIL, 2010 

The Legal Syndrome of Coca-Cola India Unit 

NEW DELHI: Coca-cola, the world’s largest beverages maker, 

should pay Rs 216 crore compensation for pollution and depleting 

groundwater, a Kerala government panel has said. 

The nine-member committee, headed by additional chief secretary 

K Jayakumar, also recommended setting up of a tribunal and 

compensating the losses suffered by villagers in Plachimada, Palakkad 

district. The panel report, submitted to state water resources minister 

NK Premachandran in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, held that 

besides heavy withdrawal 

of ground 

water, the bottling 

plant run by Coca- 

Cola’s bottling arm, 

Hindustan Coca 

Cola Beverages, 

had "inflicted harm 

on the farming and 

environment in the 

area" by dumping 

solid waste. 

Sludge from 

the plant, supplied 

to farmers as 

fertiliser, contained 

dangerous levels of 

cadmium and lead, 

says the report, 

breaking up the 

damages into 

losses incurred 

under various 

heads between 

1999 and 2004. 

While agricultural 

loss is pegged at 

Rs 84.16 crore, pollution of water resources is at Rs 62 crore, the 

cost of providing water is at Rs 20 crore, the damage to health at 

Rs 30 crore while wage loss and opportunity cost is at Rs 20 crore. 

The plant was shut six years ago after protests against the 

company. 

Coca-Cola, however, rejected the report. "It is unfortunate that 

the committee in Kerala was appointed on the unproven assumption 

that damage was caused and that it was caused by Hindustan Coca- 

Cola Beverages," a Coca-Cola spokesman said. 

Rival beverages company PepsiCo has also come under fire 

in the state over water consumption by its plant, also in Palakkad 

district. Last week, a Kerala assembly panel had said the company 

should cut down the use of water by 60% at its bottling plant at 

Puducheri. 

Denying the charges, a PepsiCo spokesman had said: "Palakkad 

is a model plant and is one of the most water efficient units in the 

PepsiCo system.” 


Curry Pot 


Friends Tandoori 


Khyber 

116 Melton Road 664842 

Laguna Tandoori 

77 Narborough Road 549133 

Manzil 

198 Narborough Road 5400336 

Red Fort 

3 Northampton Street 554268 

Rise of The Raj 

6 Evington Road 553885 

Sharmilee 

71/73 belgrave Road 610503 

Shireen Tandoori Restaurant 


Taj Mahal 

12 Highfields Street 470844 

Taste of India 

21 Welford Road 543993 

The Royal Curry 

3 Highfield Street 542060 

The Tiffin 

1 De Montfort Street 470420 

Vivek 

144 Walnut Street 553031

4 APRIL, 2010 

21

22 4 APRIL, 2010

4 APRIL, 2010 


years. Sure enough, Yadav is now in the process of identifying 

new locations. 

Le Marche is reputed for its fresh meat and seafood as well 

as its range of coldcuts, cheese, pasta, oils and sauces. The chain 

has more than 400 suppliers. With the kind of clientele it enjoys, 

the chain can’t afford to get anything wrong, or not have supplies. 

Godrej Nature’s Basket started in 2005 as a chain selling 

premium fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and organic produce. Two 

years later, it changed course and reinvented itself as “world-class 

gourmet retailer selling authentic world food”. 

Godrej Group’s executive director Tanya Dubash says this 

shift was the upshot of an internal evaluation carried out along with 

consultant KSA Technopak, that showed there was a big demand 

for fine food triggered by “the opening up of the economy, frequent 

travel and the media boom”. 

Dubash’s chain has eight stores in Mumbai and encouraged 

by their success, the group wants to open 12 more in two years. 

It recently opened in Delhi’s upscale Defence Colony neighbourhood, 

and the chain has revenues of Rs 45 crore. Once it executes its 

planned expansion in Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi, it 

should be able to clock revenues of about Rs 150 crore, estimates 

Godrej Nature’s Basket CEO Mohit Khattar. 

In the gourmet retailing business, challenges are often local, 

and success in one city doesn’t guarantee a similar experience in 

another. Ahead of Godrej Nature’s Basket’s launch in Delhi, Khattar 

and his team scoured the city for good, high-quality bread that would 

meet the standards of their demanding customers. They tried many 

suppliers but weren’t satisfied, till they found Red Moon Bakery, 

where Canadians David and Anna Hambly bake a wide range of 

breads, bagels, cookies, cakes and pies. 

Sourcing premium vegetables are a similar challenge. The 

chain has engaged a supplier of premium fruit and vegetables from 

the wholesale market at Azadpur Mandi in Delhi. The shelves are 

replenished twice a day. The mandi’s supplies sit alongside imported 

produce such as guava and dragonfruit from Thailand, muskmelon 

4 APRIL, 2010 

23 

from Japan, leeks, asparagus and zuccini. 

Godrej Nature’s Basket’s unique promise is that customers 

can ask for a taste of most items, be it cheese, coldcuts or tea, 

before deciding to buy. The Defence Colony store will soon open 

a wine section, where wines from seven countries will be stored 

at 14 degrees Celsius. Well, no luck if you want to taste the wine 

before opening your wallet! 

Cut to Chennai, which is today Sunil Sanklecha’s domain. 

When he decided to modernise his family’s grocery store in the 

city in 1999, Sanklecha says he had no idea of the scale of the 

success to come. His Nuts and Spices chain has grown to a 15- 

store franchise, a one-storey shop has opened in Hyderabad, and 

another will launch in Coimbatore this year. His revenues have 

grown about 35% year-on-year for some time now. This year, he 

will clock Rs 27 crore in sales. 

Sanklecha gets more than 200 franchisee enquiries every 

year—even from faraway cities such as Patna and Bhubaneswar. 

But like Le Marche’s Yadav, he is averse to taking the franchisee 

route. Sure, apart from the profits, retailing gourmet foods is also 

a good way to befriend a city’s elites. 

“You come on a Sunday and there will be 12 ambassadors 

at my store,” says Le Marche’s Yadav. Nuts and Spices’ Sanklecha 

seconds that: “You name any celebrity in Chennai, be it filmstars, 

industrialists, politicians or anyone. They are all my customers.” 

Retailers rely on a range of importers for steady supplies to 

their shelves. Among them is Anil Chandok, who in 2002, disappointed 

by the setbacks 

in his software business and struck by how poorly Indian food 

stores were stocked, started Chenab Impex to import fine foods. 

Today he is a leading importer of olive oil and is soon diversifying 

into coldcuts and cheese. He brings more than 50 gourmet brands 

to India. 

Jehangir Lawyer’s Fortune Foods is another big player—he 

imports a wide range of coldcuts and cheese. This year, his 

revenues will touch Rs 25 crore. Interestingly, while retail stores 

accounted for about 2% of the company’s sales till a few years 

ago, now they account for more than 20%. 

Sourcing and retailing temperature-controlled products, such 

as cheese and meats, is a big challenge due to the nascent cold 

storage facilities in the country, says Rustom Dalal, a consultant 

at Fortune Foods. “It sometimes costs us less to transport 

something from Italy to Mumbai than to send the same consignment 

from Mumbai to Kolkata,” he says. 

Gourmet retailing is an emerging category where standalone 

chains might do better than large-format shopping destinations, says 

Harminder Sahni, a retail consultant. “Overseas, you will find that 

niche stores in high-end electronics or fashion do well. As the 

market here evolves, many such players will start taking positions,” 

he adds. He says this opportunity is created because high-end 

shoppers like to shop with other people like themselves. 

There must be something to that theory. When Le Marche in 

Vasant Vihar started storing chilled domestic beer, some “unwanted 

elements” started coming into the store, according to Yadav. “Our 

regular customers were not feeling comfortable, so we stopped 

storing chilled beer,” she says. 

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