Quinoa, like millet, falls under the umbrella of ancient grains and has been pushed to be commercialized to stand at par with its counterpart’s rice and wheat. Likewise, 2023 is dedicated to the international year of millet by the UN, and 2013 was the international year of quinoa.
We saw the boom of Quinoa at the beginning of 2011, which went up high until 2014, and now it has eventually busted. However, Quinoa is still called the superfood and is relevant even today in 2023. Quinoa, like millet, falls under the umbrella of ancient grains and has been pushed to be commercialized to stand at par with its counterpart’s rice and wheat. Likewise, 2023 is dedicated to the international year of millet by the UN, and 2013 was the international year of quinoa. And we can draw parallels to understand and predict the fate of the millet revival project.
One such start-up, Soulfull, a Tata subsidiary founded in 2011 by Prasant Parmeswaran, was inspired by the quinoa movement and how it transformed the food system in America. Mr. Parmeswaran envisioned bringing back millet on our plates and making the ancient forgotten grain millet relevant today. It is one of the fastest-growing companies in the millet-based product space. Soulfull offers a broad range of products to cater to two target groups, kids and adults. Soulfull not only sells products but also creates awareness and health benefits.
Both start-ups and big businesses focus on changing our food system by making millet accessible for us. We did a quick research work on millet-based companies and listed their contribution in helping to bring millets back on our shelves.
Slurrp farm was founded by two mothers whose passion for child health and nutrition led to the start of the company in 2016. Slurrp Farm is a brand created to cater food for toddlers and kids, and its product portfolio includes products made with oats, ragi, nuts, jowar, and fats. Another company, Millet Amma, was started in 2017 to replace refined flours in our kitchen shelves with millet-based ingredients. Native Food store was established in 2016 to make ancient grains available online. This company further set foot in the export market in 2017, and in 2020 they opened a retail store in Chennai, India.
The most recent company in this space was Millet Bank which started in 2021. “Millet Bank has a strong mission to preserve millet food culture by reviving the ancient wisdom of millet foods.” Their goal was to revive millet in our food system and boost the farmer’s economy. Millet bank creates multiple linkages between farmers, entrepreneurs, and customers to create a sustainable ecosystem within the millet-based product landscape.
We salute many such people for creating awareness of millet’s nutrition and sustainability and reducing environmental impacts. Companies also work closely with millet farmers to ensure they reap good income from their crops and reduce the carbon footprint by reducing the miles millets set before entering the manufacturing site. It’s the play of supply and demand, as we can recall from our fundamental economics lesson; as supply also increases, we see a reduction in the cost. Demand for millets can be accelerated by creating awareness of the benefits of millets with the help of the industry, academia, and the government. Let us all work to uplift Millet!!!
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