Shareat

Interview

A Pani Puri Innovation

Shareat has launched a line of pani puri kits. Jayesh Patel, Managing Partner, Innovative Food Products, talks about their products.

IFEA: What made you decide to start manufacturing Pani Puri Kits?

JP: We were very fond of Pani Puri, Poochka or Gol Gappa and would consume this street food regularly. One day, the whole family was infected with food poisoning and our son was infected with Hepatitis.

It was a tough time for the family. That day we realized that hygiene in India is a challenge and so Indian street food needs a revolution. We decided to give the panipuri a modern avatar. Thus, Innovative Food Products LLP is manufacturing India’s favourite street food, pani puri in the most hygienic way possible. We have created a niche new category of ready-to-fry puris with masalas to make the pani. Presently, we make 2 crore pani puri every day. We are inching towards increasing our production to fulfil the ever-increasing demand of hygienic and whole wheat pani puri. We still have a long way to go to meet the potential market demand.

IFEA: How did you go about establishing the brand?

JP: A Innovative Food Products LLP was established in the year 2016 with brand name Shareat, as a manufacturer of a wide range of cereal pellets. The company has installed its second fully automatic European production line, where minimal manual intervention is required and production has been raised to 2 crore pani puris per day from January 2022. Slowly and steadily, climbing the value chain ladder, the company is also adding a plethora of other innovative products to the bouquet to cater to the rapidly growing processed food industry.

IFEA: What are the unique features of the Shareeat brand?

JP: Pani Puri was one of the snacks that many missed during the Lockdown. The growing awareness about hygiene was an advantage for Shareat. Two years of extensive R & D went into creating the products that use healthy ingredients and are free from harmful chemicals while giving the desired taste. Our ‘Quickies’ Pani puri kit consists of Ready to fry Puris, mashed potatoes, and a ready mix for the pani in flavours like mint, tamarind, turmeric, garlic, hajama hajam, etc.

Our sophisticated laboratories check the products for taste, texture, size, colour, expansion, oil absorption, moisture content, ash content, micro biological analysis and other parametres before they are sent to the stores.

IFEA: Where are the pani puri kits available?

JP: The products are available across India, in many superstores and even many neighbourhood provision stores. Ecommerce option is also available for online purchase.

IFEA: How can the Hotel Restaurant and Catering Sector benefit from using your products?

JP: We have institutional packs for bulk users. By using our readymade puris and masalas they can save hugely on human resources.

They can have special pani puri and chaat stations with minimal manpower at weddings and other events.

For a hotel or restaurant buffet, the Shareeat pani puri solutions are amazingly profitable.

Our pani puri machines can be installed at places with high footfall like multiplexes and malls.

IFEA: How are you marketing and selling the pani puri kits?

JP: The products are available across India, in superstores and even many neighbourhood provision stores. They can be ordered through most of the popular ecommerce sites.

We are also supplying B2B to the food and hospitality industry. The kits have become a convenient solution for buffets.