The cold diggers

Sharan Goyal, founder of Pizzo, at his cold storage facility in Chembur. He launched the brand in 2019 with four varieties, peri peri paneer, margherita, farm fresh and exotic veg. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

In entrepreneur Lisa Suwal's Delhi home, momos were eaten as routinely as dal chawal. On days when friends and family would visit, they'd be served on request. "Everybody loved our momos. Some even suggested we start a business," she remembers. It is a versatile dish, afterall - one that doubles up as a snack or meal, and can be steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried.

But frozen momos? Suwal faced skepticism when the fresh and frozen deli meats brand launched Prasuma Momos, "ready-to-eat fresh and frozen momos" in October 2019. It sounded like a paradox to many, says the 34-year-old, who is Chief Product Officer with her company. She was intent on disproving the belief that frozen is unhealthy. "When it comes to health, frozen meals get a bad rap. The truth is that fewer preservatives are needed for frozen foods because freezing naturally preserves food," she explains. Suwal ensured that her claim was supported by R&D that lasted five years. Along with sourcing top grade raw material, her team relied on technology to retain the nutritional freshness. "While the main technology, that is freezing, is fairly simple, there are a host of other factors that go into fine-tuning it. For instance, the size of the momo so that it's the right level of plump is an important factor, as is what temperature should it be frozen to and at what point in the process should it be removed from the deep freeze."

Aditya Wanwari, who was forced to shut down two restaurants in the pandemic, ventured into frozen foods with Foodlez. The brand offers momos with zero preservatives

Suwal has company and competition from restaurateur Aditya Wanwari who launched his ready-to-cook frozen momo brand, Foodlez, during the pandemic. Nuggets and kebabs were already mainstream with big players like McCain and Al Kabeer. Momos presented an uptapped market. Tibetan chicken, mushroom and edamame truffle are some of the flavours they launched. He says the decision to not use preservatives meant a drastic reduction in shelf life: from a year to three months. "But that's all right, because customers say they'd rather compromise on longevity than nutrition."

It comes as no surprise then that the coldest aisle in the supermarket has been seeing hot sales in the last couple of years. According to reports, India's demand for frozen food is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.17 per cent between 2021 and 2025, reaching R224.90 billion by 2025. While the Coronavirus pandemic impacted the frozen food market in India, with some manufacturers suffering significant losses as a result of restaurant closures and disruption of the supply chain, the sector has managed to tide over the slump, thinks Laksh Yadav, CEO, Cocoberry India.

"Until recently, the Indian frozen food industry's regular product selections were confined to smileys, green peas, sausages, nuggets, and French fries. However, in the last five years, the frozen food business has undergone a transformation," says the man at the helm of the frozen yoghurt brand. Although Yadav has marketed his product as dessert, he has made the nutritional content its USP. "It is a nutrient-dense diet because in addition to basic nutrition, it includes active probiotic bacteria that can aid a healthy gut, reduction of blood pressure, and enhancement of the immune system." Despite it being a skinny treat, Yadav had to battle initial resistance from customers. "Many would comment on the flavours being sour and tangy, and even compare it to ice cream, so we had to educate consumers. Our creations are an acquired taste."

Lisa Suwal of fresh and frozen deli meat brand Prasuma has used family recipes for the range of Prasuma Momos

While Yadav pegged his offering on health, Sharan Goyal, founder of Pizzo, a frozen pizza brand, had a more challenging task at hand. "Pizza is a product that's so easily misunderstood in our country," he admits. "People are conditioned to think that frozen foods are packed with chemicals and preservatives, when in fact the opposite is true. People don't realise that their favourite international burger chain and favourite pizza chain freeze everything in their central kitchens and only thaw and reheat them in the outlets. Hence, the burger they ordered was fully frozen 10 minutes before they took a bite. My mother buys frozen peas from the supermarket, but tells me that frozen pizza is unhealthy," he says. With the glut of pizza delivery brands in the city, Goyal has gone the extra mile to ensure his product doesn't get lost in the crowd. In addition to making their own cheese, Pizzo uses vacuum packaging and a blast freezing setup to increase shelf life. "Each product is designed to last 12 months with the taste unsullied."

Incidentally, Goyal was originally running an ice cream company. "I was speaking to a veteran chef, and we were discussing ways to control cost in the hospitality environment. That's when I landed the idea of frozen pizzas. The idea is to manufacture authentic hand-tossed pizzas and use a proprietary blast freezing system to lock in the flavour and texture without using preservatives." They targeted the B2B space and landed clients such as Novotel, Taj Hotels, Orchid and the Lalit. But when the pandemic hit, Goyal remembers having 7,500 frozen pizzas in stock and all clients closed for business. "We had to act fast, so we started selling the pizzas directly to customers via WhatsApp."

Wanwari says launching in the lockdown proved lucky because supermarkets were more open to offering their shelves to newer brands such as his. "At the time, demand [for frozen food] was high and it was a win-win. Now, they are not as welcoming to newer brands," says Wanwari.

Laksh Yadav, CEO, Cocoberry India, says opened yoghurt can be stored for five to seven days and is usually safe to consume for at least one to two days and beyond, depending on the expiry date on the product

Although the sector has made significant progress, challenges continue to strike. "The primary challenge remains inadequate cold chains in India, our tropical climate, and illiterate manpower," says Goyal. "It is difficult to explain to hotel staff that you cannot refreeze a thawed pizza. We need more customer education and consistency in production." That said, the influx of players in the segment has only meant glad tidings. "It reflects an openness on part of consumers to embrace quality frozen foods. It also indicates a shift toward more sustainable and customised food options and a desire to cut back on waste," Suwal says.

Enter frozen mixers

With the growing popularity of frozen foods, there's no reason for drinks to be left behind. Mixologist Gaurish Rangnekar's new venture Iceburst is an artisanal frozen mix, crafted with natural ingredients. The idea, he says, is to give patrons a refreshing restaurant-style drink in the convenience of their home. All you have to do it is freeze, peel, pop, drop and stir the Iceburst cubes into a glass of soda, wine, gin, vodka or a spirit of your choice. Currently, the flavours, priced at R199, include lime and mint, cranberry and cinnamon, cucumber and ginger, watermelon and basil coffee and vanilla.
Where: iceburst.in