Pabrai’s Fresh and Naturelle Ice cream now in spice-flavoured variants [ Transfreez mobile refrigeration - India's most effective Cold Plate Reefers ]

Pabrai’s Fresh and Naturelle Ice Cream has launched a range of spice ice creams in flavours such as ginger and honey; aniseed (saunf); cinnamon; Matcha green tea; Sichuan peppercorn; Wasabi and lemon grass.

Besides these, there are Five Spice and sandalwood ice cream. They are available in sugar-free variants at both outlets of Pabrai’s Fresh and Naturelle - Central Market, East Patel Nagar and Connaught Place Outer Circle (opposite Haldiram’s).

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Source: fnbNews.com

Dhavalikar launches Goa Dairy's ice cream range [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

PONDA: Urging Goa Dairy not to entirely depend on milk supply from local farmers, cooperation minister Pandurang 'Deepak' Dhavalikar has asked the dairy to be self-reliant by starting its own cattle farm to get uninterrupted milk supply to manufacture dairy products.

Dhavalikar was speaking after launching Goa Dairy's ice cream range during a function held at Ponda on Tuesday evening.

The dairy has launched family packs, part packs, big and small cups, chocobars, dolly, kulfi, cones, cassattas in vanilla, strawberry, mango, butter scotch and pista flavours. "The dairy is producing about a tonne litre of ice cream per day and if the demand increases, the dairy has a plan to increase the production to two fold," dairy MD N C Sawant said.

Speaking further, Dhavalikar said, "Several private dairies may come in the state and take away milk from local farmers. In such a case Goa dairy should have its own animal farm with around 2,000 milk producing cattle like the dairies in other states," Dhavalikar said. Stating that although the government would be there to help the dairy, Dhavalikar said that the dairy authorities must not think that the government would always launch schemes and farmers would continuously supply milk to it. The dairy should think of how it would get continuous supply of milk throughout the year, the minister asserted.

Speaking on the occasion, Ponda MLA Lavoo Mamledar said that earlier people were reluctant to eat ice creams in winter, but now ice creams are widely eaten throughout the year, adding that the dairy must maintain standards and quality of the ice creams.

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Source: Times of India

Strawberry welcome for tourists to Maharashtra [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Remember the Beatles hit ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’? Head for Maharashtra, where, after mangoes, grapes, oranges and chickoos, the western Indian state is now wooing tourists with another trademark fruit - luscious, juicy red and dark pink strawberries.

In a first, a nine-day Strawberry Festival got under way over the weekend across the state in select malls to promote it as a tourist destination through strawberries.

"We have selected five centrally located malls in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad where the farmers will directly sell their produce to the customers during the festival," Nayna Bondarde, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) regional manager at Pune said.

The timing could not have been more apt - markets across the state are flooded with baskets of the fresh fruit which are lapped up by the people, though the prices are a bit on the higher side this year.

Restaurants and ice-cream parlours have joined the fray by adding fresh strawberry as a must item on fruit salads, ice-creams, crushes, juices and milkshakes on their regular menus.

Until now, the Strawberry Festival had been celebrated on a modest scale in the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani twin hill-stations and Pune, but now, with MTDC backing, it has been catapulted on the state`s tourism map.

"After all, Maharashtra produces around 30,000 tonnes of strawberries annually worth more than Rs 100 crore ($16 million)," Strawberry Growers Association of India President Balasaheb Bhilare said.

This accounts for around 80 percent of the country`s total strawberry produce, with Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani topping in terms of size, taste and quality, he added.

Being a delicate, highly-perishable commodity, around 80 percent of the production makes to the dinner tables, Bhilare said.

The remaining around 20 percent is used for commercial foods production like jams, jellies, confectionery, squashes, juices, ice-creams, and the like, through some of the big players like MAPRO, Mala, Manama, Pure Berries and Madhusagar and smaller companies mostly based in and around Satara district.

Explaining the rationale behind the fest, MTDC General Manager Kishori Gadre said that strawberry needs to be promoted aggressively both among the people of the state and other domestic markets.

"Already the state is famous for its mangoes which are being savoured across the country and even globally. But strawberry being highly perishable needs faster consumption; What better way than tourists coming to Maharashtra to enjoy the fruit fresh?" Gadre said.

Accorded the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag since 2010 (akin to a patent), Bhilare said that strawberry needs a stable, cool but dry climate of 18-25 degrees C to thrive and this is available mostly in the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani mountains in western Maharashtra.

As far as festivals go, strawberry joins the list of fruits like mango, orange, chickoo and grapes which are celebrated annually in the state. The grape festival has an added incentive - coinciding with wine production - which has successfully lured tourists.

Bhilare said that the main strawberry growing season is October-March on around 3,000-4,000 hectares in the region, engaging around 5,000 farmers.

"It starts after monsoon and ends as the temperature starts warming up. Though it takes around two months to grow and ripen, we can manage only a single crop per season," Bhilare said.

Efforts to increase the output by two or even three crops per season would entail heavy investments in technology and related aspects, which is not at present possible.

"We lack proper cold storage facilities at various points; so we are not able to exploit the export potential and earn forex for the country. But, now with FDI in retail, we are starting to deliver strawberries from the farms to homes directly with great benefits for the growers and consumers," Bhilare explained.

Efforts are also under way to identify other areas in the country for growing strawberry. Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are growing the fruit in small quantities, while experiments are under way to grow it in Arunachal Pradesh.

Globally, strawberries are grown in huge quantities in Australia, the US (California and Florida), Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

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Movenpick opens ice cream boutique in Delhi [transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Every success story begins with a dream. And what if that dream is all about ice creams? Well, it cannot get any better! 

When Ueli Prager, the son of a Swiss hotelier opened the first ice cream boutique in Zurich in 1948, he didn't know how far his empire of ice creams will take him. Today, the Movenpick Ice creams can be found in over 300 boutiques across Europe, Asia and Australia.

Now, the good news is Movenpick has launched some stunning dessert creations in Delhi. After expanding its retail presence in Kolkata and Chennai, the boutique featuring a range of 18 ice cream and sorbet flavours, has opened its doors to all ice cream lovers in the capital. At the launch party, Dennis Koorey, Country Business Manager- Movenpick, Australia talked about carrying forward Ueli's vision and assured Delhi-ites of the gastronomic delight that every ice cream scoop guarantees.

We spoke to Tarun Sikka, Managing Director, Star Foods Specialty (Partners and Distributors for Movenpick in India) about the launched flavours and what sets them apart. "All our ice creams are made using natural ingredients with no artificial colours, flavours or additives. Our mangosorbet, for instance, only uses Alfonso mangoes from India, the cocoa used in our swiss chocolate is sourced from a very special region of Venezuela renowned for the finest cocoa in the world," explains Tarun. Are there any new combinations of flavours that people have never tried and can look forward to? "Out of the various flavours- 'Blackcurrant & Cream' is a must-try. It consists of the smoothest swiss cream paired with a delicate velvet textured blackcurrant sorbet, enhanced with blackcurrant morsels for an extra touch of fresh fruit succulence. 'Double cream and Meringues' is another delectable variety one should not miss. This is made with a kind of swiss double cream sourced from a traditional producer of the dairy in the Gruyere region. The caramel coulis (thick sauce) adds a sweet note of contrast and fragments of meringues add a satisfying crunch," says Tarun.

Other flavours include:

Mango Sorbet Scoop: Juicy sun-ripped mango pieces make this sorbet a delicious offering.
Maple Walnut Scoop: Delicate caramelized walnuts and premium maple syrup make this ice cream a pure pleasure for all nut fans.
Swiss Chocolate Scoop: Swiss chocolate shavings blended in a creamy ice cream- a true tasty treat for chocolate lovers.

If, for some reason you do not find time to visit the boutique, you could try the following easy-to-make recipes at home and relish the goodness of each flavour with friends and family:

Recipe: Ice Coffee

Flavours: Espresso Croquant
Sauce: 20ml Coffee Sauce
Garnish: Coffee Beans/Wafer biscuit/Whipped Cream

Method:
-Add 15 ml coffee sauce in base of glass and roll the glass to make a nice coffee sauce base decoration
-Add whipped cream to half way mark of glass
-Add 2 scoops of Espresso Croquant ice cream into glass
-Add a wafer biscuit and whipped cream in between side of glass and ice cream scoop
-Drizzle with coffee sauce and garnish with coffee beans

Recipe: Romanoff

Ingredients
A scoop of vanilla ice cream
A scoop of strawberry ice cream
Sliced strawberries
Strawberry sauce
Whipped cream
Mint leaves
A tall glass

Method
Take a tall glass, put some strawberry slices and pour a little strawberry sauce. Add a scoop of vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Add some more strawberry syrup on top. Garnish with whipped cream, mint leaves and strawberry slices.

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Source: The Times of India

Unorganised ice cream players’ issues - high taxation & poor logistics

The unorganised ice-cream sector in India - which is estimated to be worth Rs 3,200 crore - is grappling with four problems, namely the high rate of taxation levied upon them by the government; inadequate logistic support, the lack of electricity and the fact that there is a lack of control on this segment of the industry.

Vijay Vasant Gaitonde, proprietor, Jyot Dairy, Mumbai (which sells the sweet treat under the brand name Festival Ice Cream), stated that there are about fifteen organised players and at least 15,000 unorganised players in India. “It is growing at about 20% per annum,” he said. A small firm that started operations in 1994, Jyot Dairy plans to expand in the future.

However, Tarun Sikka, managing director, Star Foods Specialty - which brought the Swiss brand Movenpick (which was established in 1961) to India - said that about 60 per cent of India’s ice cream brands constitute the organised sector (which is estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore, and includes the likes of Amul, Unilever and Creambell). 

“The unorganised segment comprises regional players who cater to specific geographies - either a group of cities or states - through small stores,” he added.

Gaitonde said, “We do not export ice cream, but we have collaborated with Sweetheart Ice Cream, a brand based in the United Kingdom. We would also start our export division shortly.”

Problems the sector faces

Movenpick is in the super premium dessert segment, whose biggest cause for concern, according to Sikka, is the rising cost of real estate. “To have our presence in the most upmarket locations in major cities has become an expensive affair. But to sell a premium product, we need to be in the right space, and it is not easy to find a space that strikes a balance between location and rent,” he added.

Regulatory norms

Gaitonde and Sikka stated that as was the case with every category of food products, ice cream was also under the purview of the hygiene norms laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator.

Flavours

Gaitonde said, “Festival Ice Cream is currently available in about 75 flavours, and additions are in the pipeline. To the best of my knowledge, we are perhaps the only company who do not only manufacture ice cream, but two Indian variants of the sweet treat - kulfi and sancha - under one roof.”

In India, Mövenpick range includes 18 flavours of ice cream and sorbet; ice cream dessert creations; gourmet selections; sundaes shakes and fat-free refreshments. “Some of the ice cream flavours served are Vanilla Dream; Swiss Chocolate; Strawberry; Maple Walnut; Cappuccino; Mint Chocolate; Hazelnut; White Chocolate; Banana; Pistachio; Mango; Raspberry and Strawberry; Coconut and Swiss Chocolate; Panna Cotta; Black Currant and Cream, Mango and Cream and Black Currant.

No Indianisation

When asked if Movenpick plans to alter their flavours to suit the Indian palate, Sikka stated, “I don't believe we need to. Indians are now looking for premium tastes with international quality and standards. Mövenpick has a unique Swiss offering that has been well-received in over 40 countries around the world. Our mission is not to try and offer an Indian version of our brand, but to simply showcase Mövenpick's unique brand and its uniformity. Indians have always been passionate about food, and we hope the response to our gastronomic delights would be good here.”

Product differentiation vis-a-vis the competition

“The ice cream variants of our company are unique and are not comparable to any rival product. What makes them stand out is their taste, coupled with a mixture of tradition and technology used to make them,” Gaitonde stated.

“There are three key dimensions to Mövenpick ice cream that differentiate it in the market,” said Sikka. 

“The first is our passion for gastronomy. Mövenpick is an ice cream made by chefs for chefs. It was created for fine dining restaurants in Europe, and that region’s gastronomic heritage is at the heart of all our unique recipes. It is this that allows us to create flavours such as Tiramisu, Panna Cotta and Crème Brulee, to name a few,” he added. 

“The second dimension is our all-natural policy. All our ice cream is made only using 100 per cent natural ingredients with no artificial colours, flavours or additives. Only the finest ingredients, sourced from all over the globe, are used in our recipes,” Sikka stated.

“For instance, our mango sorbet only uses Alphonso mangoes from India, and the cocoa used in our Swiss Chocolate is sourced from a region in Venezuela renowned for the finest cocoa in the world,”.he pointed out. 

“Our third dimension, of course, is Swiss perfection - all our ice cream is made there. Only Swiss cream is used, and it adheres to an exacting standard,” Sikka said.

Packaging

Festival Ice Cream is packed in ITC board packs. Gaitonde said, “Ice cream is stored at a low temperatures in order to increase its shelf life.”

“Star Foods Speciality has invested heavily in the supply chain so as to ensure that there is always a cold chain for the ice cream, no matter what part of India we ship to,” Sikka added.

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Akshay Kalbag, Mumbai