Frozen food brands are broadening its horizons by venturing into Quick- meal category and Sumeru claims to change the breakfast scenario in Indian homes with its new range of products.

MICHELIN STAR Chef Alfred Prasad recently collaborated with Sumeru, frozen food brand in India, owned by Innovative Foods Limited (IFL) to bring out a premium gourmet range of products. Frozen food brands are broadening its horizons by venturing into Quick- meal category and Sumeru claims to change the breakfast scenario in Indian homes with its new range of products. Alfred Prasad is the youngest Indian chef to receive a Michelin star at the age of 29, credited with elevating the reputation of Indian food with his delicate treatment of fresh, seasonal produce. BW Hotelier spoke to Chef Prasad, to know about his thoughts towards this collaboration and frozen food.

Tell us more about this collaboration.

I always wanted to come back to my roots which is India. The collaboration with Sumeru gave me the opportunity to take my creations directly to Indian homes. Sumeru has an in-depth understanding of the freezing process and logistics involved to transform my recipes into a frozen version that tastes as good as fresh. Their vast and brilliant knowledge of consumer preferences and the market segment. Our shared ideologies of the healthy and nutritional aspect of our products (without colours, preservatives or artificial enhancers) were important factors that led to this collaboration, the first of its kind in the country.

Frozen food vs fresh food, how do you interpret this collision?

There is a lot of misconception around Frozen food. We are happy to eat ice-creams which is frozen, but when it comes to meals or any other hot dishes we presume frozen is bad. Freezing is perhaps one of the oldest techniques of food preservation and the one that also needed minimal or no preservatives. With advance freezing technologies like IQF (individual quick freezing) available today, we can ensure not only the texture and taste of food, its nutrients are persevered intact too. People are now becoming aware of frozen food. There is a growing demand particularly among the younger generation of the country through this primarily driven by convenience and taste, they are also conscious and particular about health and nutrition too.

What USPs do you find in Sumeru?

Our Sumeru range works brilliantly for this target group that are strapped for time and seek convenience but don’t have to compromise on nutrition and taste. We have worked hard to ensure the healthy aspect of our products and of course, no preservatives or artificial colours and flavours are used. The cooking process & unique packaging technology (IQF) ensure nutrients & flavours are locked and frozen would be just as good as fresh.

Do you plan to add any new variant of Sumeru?

The first set of products we are launching under the Sumeru-Alfred Prasad gourmet range are – ‘Super Millet Khichadi’, ‘Coromandel Roasted Chicken’, ‘Coromandel Shahi Paneer’ and ‘Signature Pepper Chicken’. We have a few more in the pipeline which will be launched in 2019.