Punjab?s Milkfed plans to sell low-calorie sweets

At a time when everyone is aware of low-calorie food and shoppers are often heard asking for diet colas, roasted snacks and low-oil preparations, cash-rich Milkfed plans to launch a range of products for the fitness conscious customers.

Written by Swarleen Kaur

January 11, 2010 22:46 IST

At a time when everyone is aware of low-calorie food and shoppers are often heard asking for diet colas, roasted snacks and low-oil preparations, cash-rich Milkfed (Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Limited) plans to launch a range of products for the fitness conscious customers.

Come next summer, Milkfed?s flagship brand, Verka, will launch sugar-free barfi, pinni and kheer. Milkfed has recently purchased the technology for making these popular sweets using artificial sweeteners. The knowhow has been purchased from Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore.

?Some local sweet shops sell what they call sugar-free sweets for diabetics, but they are misbranding their products this way. Their technology may be compromised. On the other hand, the processes specified by CFTRI are highly researched and standardised. We will use only those artificial sweeteners which are completely tested by the institute,? Verka managing director VK Singh said.

Verka also wants to introduce sugar-free lassi, but is awaiting the government regulations to be specified in this regard. The artificial sweeteners approved for sweets have not been recommended for lassi yet.

The revised regulations are expected in this month. VK Singh says there is a huge demand for Verka lassi and the sugar-free lassi is expected to clock robust sales too.

Meanwhile, Verka has asked CFTRI to develop technologies to increase the shelf-life of kheer it launched some time ago. ?Currently, the shelf-life of kheer is seven days. Through improved processes and packaging, we want to take it up to a month. We want to increase the market for kheer so that women, who want to serve a traditional dessert, naturally opt for our product,? he said.

Milkfed also plans to launch ready-to-serve juices. ?The same technology (one purchased from CFTRI) can then be used to make all seasonal juices,? Singh said.

As of now, Verka sells mango and pineapple juices in tetra packs. The ready-to-serve juices will be made with a different technology, Singh said.

This article was first uploaded on January eleven, twenty ten, at forty-six minutes past ten in the night.