Dishing out tasty treats made of milk
Ever-tasted the sweet winter delicacy of Punjab called Pinni? Made with roasted wheat flour, sugar, ghee and nuts, the sweet can be sampled at the food stalls run by a bunch of college students in the city.
Other than Pinni, one can also try other value-added products made by the final-year BTech (Dairy Technology) students of the College of Dairy Science and Technology at Kaimanam, near Karamana, at these stalls. The products include yoghurt, curd, gulab jamun, payasam, marble cake, cupcake, lassi, sambharam, butter buns, kulfi, paneer cutlets, sip-ups, carrot halwa, and ghee cookies.
The college, under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), encourages students to foster their entrepreneurial skills and apply their classroom learning to real-world production and sales through the university's flagship experiential learning programme, Vaibhavam. The students learn vital skills needed to launch and run a food business through this programme.
In their seventh semester, the students receive seed funding to design, produce, and market the dairy-based products. With guidance from faculty members Rejeesh R., Shyam Suraj S.R., and Rachana C.R., they handle every aspect of the business. The early weeks of the semester focus on product selection, branding, pricing and creating FSSAI (Foods Safety and Standards Authority of India)–compliant labels. With the guidance of their teachers, the students craft a business plan for their venture. The whole operation takes 70 days. After that they open the stalls.
K-LAIT
Every year, a new brand name is coined for the venture. This year, the class of 12 students has named their brand 'K-LAIT', combining K (for Kerala) and the French word for milk.
Pinni is a new addition to their product range and is in high demand. Yoghurt is also much sought after, reflecting growing health awareness among consumers.
'Earlier, we used to produce several fat-rich products,' says Dr. Rejeesh. 'But for the past two years, we are complying with the HFSS (high fat, sugar, and salt) mandate under the FSSAI which encourages reducing such ingredients while enhancing health benefits.'
'We also receive pre-orders at the stalls,' says Akshitha V. Antony, a student.
Challenges too abound. 'Since it's a short-term venture lasting three-four months, we are not able to buy packaging material in bulk,' points out another student Vismaya Ramesh. 'As we rely on ride-hailing services for transportation, a portion of the earnings goes towards its cost,' says her classmate Devika S. Janaki.
The stalls, the students say, are set up at various locations, including government offices, on the museum and zoo premises, and other colleges. A permanent stall is maintained at the BSNL Regional Telecom Training Centre (RTTC) at Kaimanam, where the college campus is located. The students also participate in expos and events.
(The writer is an intern at The Hindu Bureau in Thiruvananthapuram)
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