-By Vishal S S (cbedit@imaws.org)
Bikanervala is known for its fusion style of sweets. Lesser is known that Bikanerwala takes more effort on the research and development. Not just on the product and consumer safety, but also on the composition and testing, R&D plays a key role. Team Chef Bharath interacted with Mr. Deepak Bhatt, Chef Manager Research and Development, Bikanervala Foods, Delhi. Deepak is more concentrated on bakery and confectionery like bread, chocolates, pastries as so on.
Chef Deepak has been a veteran exhibiting his talent and extraordinary skills in the field of culinary for the past fifteen years. After finishing his degree in IHM Delhi, he was working in various fields. He joined Bikanervala three years ago as a manager in the department of research and development. The Bikanervala team wanted to change this track and wanted to experiment with something new and unique apart from other food brands. And this is the place where Chef Deepak gave his major contribution.
The Fusion style of making
As in Bikanervala, the contribution that Deepak gives is extraordinary as he wants a fusion style of making. According to Deepak, The makers should be more conscious of the person who consumes the food. This should be healthy, nutrient, and rich. At Bikanervala, he changed most of the things like, adding jaggery instead of white sugar, which is healthier. This has also impacted the increase in demand at Bikanervala.
The team always tries not to depend on machines for making. But in some cases when there is large-scale production, they have to adapt to that. Most of the things they try to produce manually. Bikanervala started a branch in south India, Chennai which is having a huge response and demand recently.
USP
“We always try to use the original raw materials. The substitutes or alternative options are not used because this will change the quality of the product. The Team is very particular on each and every mixture that is added which should be balanced and healthy on its diet. If we are in need of butter, we make sure no other alternatives are used” added Deepak.
Major Challenge
The biggest challenge is to make the idea pass to our teams and take it to the next level. This is very difficult in execution as people in the team come from different cultures and experiences. We have a very big team for quality checks and up to two associates are being kept for every stage of the process.
Bikanervala has a review department in which monthly reviews on sales and discussions will be frequently organized. “This is mainly to concentrate on the area of packaging, appearance, hygiene which are considered to be very important factors after this post-pandemic. I have contributed very healthy and nutrient products which have impacted the growth in sales”. added Deepak.
COVID – 19
The Food Industry was impacted very badly during the Covid-19 lockdown, our life was totally stuck. Our salaries were cut by twenty to thirty percent and sometimes went to forty percent when the corona cases were at their peak, because of this loss there was no revenue generation happening. Most of the employees were unemployed during this situation as manpower was reduced to thirty to forty percent to normal capacity.
Bikanervala is also available as an online platform, providing a wide variety of choices. They have categories like Bulk order, banquet, and catering. Now after the post-pandemic period, people have started coming out of their homes to explore new varieties of foods. They like to spend their time with their families and friends by approaching the shops physically. But even though Bikanervala has an online platform, the team claims that more sales are happening offline when people directly come to the shop and enjoy their fine dining.
Best Wishes From
Crust ‘n’ Crumb Food Ingredients Pvt. Ltd., a global player in the Baking & Confectionary industry, specializes in developing, manufacturing, and marketing creative and innovative baking solutions to industrial bakers, commercial and craft bakers, food service companies, confectionery manufactures, and flour millers.
