The Indian retail Food market is seeing a huge change in consumer behaviour with customers being conscious about quality, safety and health.
Established in 1989, Innovative Foods Ltd (IFL) is a well known and major player in the Indian food processing industry which markets their frozen food range under the brand name Sumeru. They have been popular for their range of frozen food products in three different segments – the Staples such as peas and corn as Classiques ; the snacking food items such as fries, spring rolls, nuggets as Wassup and fine foods such as fish, prawns, sausages as 5 Senses. Each of these segments are differentiated by their unique packaging and variety.
Sumeru is currently the only major brand to have a strong presence in veg and non-veg frozen foods segment. They have retailed these multi category products in 200+ towns across India. They have marked their presence in USA, Japan, Middle East, Singapore and UK, though their manufacturing units are based in south Indian state of Kerala. They are also the leading supplier to KFC, McDonalds, Subway and Pizza Hut.
IFL recently unveiled a new line-up of frozen parathas, Sumeru Classiques at The Oberoi, Bangalore on August 10, 2017. Though they already have an existing range of parathas this launch aptly named Launch 2.0 is their entry into healthy and innovative parathas.
I was quite pleased to be present at the launch as it has been quite difficult to find products in the Indian market which are healthy at the same time kid friendly.
The event began with Mr.Suraj Sharma, GM, Marketing IFL taking us through the history of the company, their wide portfolio of vegetarian and non vegetarians foods and the frozen retail market in India.
He stressed on the growing acceptance of frozen foods in India wherein providing products which offer convenience and versatility to consumers has been the main aim of the company. IFL has spent a lot of time and research into making these new range of Parathas with emphasis on taste, health and convenience.
Chef Ajay Chopra, a well known celebrity Chef, TV show host and Judge of Masterchef India was recently named the brand ambassador for Sumeru. We were thrilled that he was launching these new range of Parathas for Sumeru and provided that special touch to the occasion.
The new range of Parathas launched were :
- Beetroot & Jeera
- Turmeric & Ajwain
- Methi & Spinach
- Multigrain
Chef Ajay Chopra’s association with Sumeru paved the way for a delightful cooking demonstration of how it is possible to convert a simple frozen paratha into a restaurant class meal at home within a short period of time. While Parathas are simply used as bread to be served with curries, Chef Ajay showed us that a little innovative thinking goes a long way in changing that mindset.
The dishes prepared by Chef Ajay Chopra were Pindi Chole Quesadillas, Vegetable Lasagne and Shammi Sandwich, all prepared in a span of 30 mins . We got a chance to taste the Paratha lasagne during our lunch and I really enjoyed the dish much to my surprise.
While he showed us the ease in whipping up these quick dishes, there are many more similar dishes which come to my mind and I must thank Chef Ajay in getting me thinking on those lines.
I have seen Sumeru range of products in most supermarkets as well as online platforms such as BigBasket, Zopnow and Grofers. These new parathas would be on the shelves soon at a reasonable price of Rs.80 – 100 per pack of 5.
Without a doubt, this new range of ready to eat frozen parathas would be surefire success as it packs a punch with their unique natural flavours, simultaneously providing a guarantee of no preservatives, added colours or flavours.
