By Raajwrita Dutta
鈥淚 was part of my family鈥檚 electronics distribution business, but I never really wanted to work in that field,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hen I discovered that millet ice cream was almost non-existent in the market, I knew this was an opportunity to offer something different and unique to all dessert lovers looking for a healthier alternative.鈥
Why ice cream? The ingenious way to win over young taste buds
Millets are known for being rich in iron, calcium, potassium, and other essential minerals. Yet, the entrepreneur noticed a common problem. 鈥淐hildren generally dislike the taste of millets, which limits their consumption. I believed ice cream could be a clever way to overcome that barrier. It is familiar, enjoyable, and suitable for all age groups,鈥 he explains.
The concept began to take shape in 2020 when Gautam initiated an in-depth research and development journey. Over the following three years, he experimented with various millets like sorghum, foxtail, pearl, and finger millet, and paired them with flavours such as chocolate, mango, coffee, and more.
鈥淓very batch taught us something new. Sometimes the texture was off, or the flavour was not quite right,鈥 he recalls, chuckling. 鈥淲e even ended up feeding some failed batches to cows, until eventually they refused to eat them,鈥 he laughs.
One of the toughest challenges was working with millet milk, which, unlike regular cow鈥檚 milk, contains tiny dust particles. 鈥淔iltering out these particles without losing the nutritional value was a major hurdle,鈥 he admits. His engineering skills became indispensable as he designed and built a specialised machine to filter the millet milk effectively, producing a smooth and nutrient-rich base for the ice cream.
鈥淭he entire process had to be invented from scratch as there was nothing in the market to filter millet milk,鈥 he says. First, the naturally grown millets are sourced directly from local farmers and farmer producer organisations. These grains are carefully washed and dried to remove dust. The cleaned millets are then milled and filtered to extract the milk.