Health-conscious Indians spending over Rs 800 a month on ‘good bread’: Expert

Once there was the humble sliced bread, then arrived the brown bread for the health conscious. Now we have all sorts of bread on the gourmet shelves. The variety of bread available to Indians is increasing every day. Whole grain loaves of bread are available at all supermarkets and urban Indians are spending more on their bread, maybe more than they spend on buying flour every month. Vinay Maheshwari, founder of The Health Factory a health-food start-up, has some very interesting insights.

The growing bread market
Bread is a key component of modern Indian cuisine. Similar to many other nations throughout the world, bread has rapidly risen to prominence in Indian cuisine. Every Indian consumes bread as a snack because it is such a well-liked dish. At least once every week, it is consumed. The average Indian family spends Rs 400–800 each month on bread! Whole grain consumption has increased over time, leading to a multitude of health benefits since whole grain products have higher dietary fiber content than refined foods.

Seeds and grains in bread are now a popular choice
While we highlight the seeds and grains in our staples, do you know your staples could have protein? Seeds can give a balanced nutritional profile as it provides fiber, fatty acids, protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. One of the healthiest foods you can eat is seeds. They pack a lot of antioxidants and good fats into a little package. White bread is a refined carbohydrate food that often has added sugar. they are produced with emulsifiers, chemicals, and hydrogenated fats. These are all your health adversaries. Additionally, it does not provide your body with enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

How to start a bread-making business? 
To start small, you can even bake from home. A small-scale production unit investment of Rs 15 lakhs can be a good start. You also need ambition and effort, consistency, and persistence. We started with 12 loaves of bread a day, but now we produce, on average, more than 5,000 pieces of bread daily. The short-term goal is to produce 50,000 loaves of bread every day.  The current bread market is at two billion dollars while we started as a gourmet or functional brand, we’re now an everyday household brand, yet functional from the product USP we deliver. We invested around RS 30 lakh initially and have now grown to around Rs 50 crore in open valuation.
 
Good old homemade bread
When compared to store-bought breads, which are frequently loaded with sugar and additives, most homemade loaves are probably healthier. Making your own bread has the advantage of allowing you to choose the ingredients. For instance, you may substitute whole wheat flour for white flour or top your food with wholesome ingredients like nuts and seeds. We’ve also been able to make our way to the tables of over 10,000 households with our range that tastes good, feels good and is packed with nutrition.

Can changing your bread really improve health? 
Brands like us are trying really hard to change the habits of consumers and make everyone try new food options like cereals, bars, shakes, and the so-called “healthiest”. Even after making that difficult switch, you still loaded on empty calories, and overdosed on preservatives. So, a switch to a healthy habit can show results over a period of time.