#WeeklyRoundUp: All The Food Stories You Might Have Missed This Week

So much happens in the world of food on a daily basis and sometimes it’s difficult to cover everything, so if we missed anything, we’ll add it to our weekly round-up and give you the lowdown on everything food related happening in India and around the world. From startups getting new funding to established brands expanding into new businesses, rebranding and revamping of popular brands and names, we’re covering everything that you might have missed out on.

Patanjali to invest Rs 500-crore for food processing unit in Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh government and Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd. Are to set up a Rs. 500 crore food processing unity in the Dhar district in the state. The government also cleared 400 acres of land at Rs. 25h lakh per acre to Patanjali Ayurveda at Pithampur.

A top official of the Madhya Pradesh Industries Department said, “We had learnt that Maharashtra government was eager to give 400 acres of land to Patanjali for the food processing project in Nagpur. But our officials did not lose heart…kept wooing (MD) Acharya Balkrishna to come to MP and invest Rs 500 crore in the food processing project.”

Petoo Has Received More Funding From Existing Investors and HNIs

Bangalore-based food startup Petoo has raised $500,000 from its existing investors and HNIs (high-net-worth individuals) through online deal-making platform LetsVenture.

Petoo is set to use the capital to fund the ongoing food research initiatives and roll out its new products across the country, Kumar Setu, co-founder, told TechCircle. “We have been researching on ways to preserve food and have developed some products. We would like to use the funds to roll out those products to the market to test the right channels,” Setu also said.

Part of their research, Petoo has been trying to find a way to keep food fresh for longer time, even up to months, without the need of preservatives or refrigeration. The company, which now has 11 locations in Bengaluru, claims to have developed solutions for 30 odd food products to keep them fresh longer.

Crowdfunded Coffeemaker Promises Cold Brew in 10 Minutes

Meet Prisma (no, not the photography app), a new coffeemaker that promises to brew cold coffee in 10 minutes or less! They launched an Indiegogo campaign on Monday and they’ve already raised almost $100,000 in a week.

Cold coffee isn’t a new drink, but with Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts adding it to their menus for the summer, it’s now become a really big thing and this coffeemaker is just the perfect addition to your kitchen. Traditionally, cold coffee takes about 12 hours or more to make, but Prisma is aiming to cut down the process to less than 10 minutes. You can fund the campaign as well, by visiting their Indiegogo page today.

Tea Board of India partners with WTCE for domestic tea trade promotion

The Tea Board of India is at the forefront of making the country the leading producer and supplier of quality tea in the global market and as part of their strategy to promote domestic and global tea trade, they have booked a large pavilion at the World Tea & Coffee Expo (WTCE) to be held in October in Mumbai.  

A few of the board initiatives include accident insurance scheme for plantation works, launching the e-auction to bring uniformity across all auction centres. The expo has an exhibition as well as a two-day high-level conference and workshops on tea and coffee, where buyers from across India and the world will come together.

Other big stories this week:

– Deepak Iyer has been appointed the Managing Director for Mondelez India

– Zomato crosses 1 million online orders on July 31^st, catching up with Swiggy in the Indian market

– Amazon Pantry, the grocery delivery service by the e-commerce website, launched in Hyderabad as part of a pilot program

– YumLane receives $1 million in seed funding led by Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal

– McDonald’s is on a healthy diet by reducing sodium in their mayonnaise and fries