Portable food aka Portabites, is my discovery of a new age entrepreneur duo who decided to make a thoughtful business model out of sheer necessity
Enter the world of ready-to-eat mixes and a plethora of packaged food options that give you a feel of home cooked food, away from home. This just doesn’t work for those who might be globetrotting, but does well even for those youngsters who don’t have the time to cook elaborate meals every day. Let’s face it, India is fast approaching the culture of the Eastern countries, where most couples are working and choose to dine out at the smaller eateries run out of homes of women who have been cooking authentic food all their living days.
Small Bites
Meet Tejas and Saagar, who while studying abroad, would miss the home cooked delights and decided to start their own venture into packaged food delights for everyday use. Using indigenous machinery, they introduced the brand Portabites to India; having brought Freeze Dry Technology from the West and developed a range of Indian curries, snacks. The entrepreneur duo is now in the process of introducing health based noodles (gluten free), goat milk powder, and assortments with a beetroot base. The products are all MSG, preservative and additive free. Their camel milk is a revolution of sorts, for those who might be looking at alternate healthy milk options around the globe. Priced between Rs. 115 to Rs. 250, you are sorted for most of your daily meal and nutritional needs.
I now totally believe that nothing works best for Indian palette than the taste of food cooked by your mother or sister in the kitchen. There is something extremely personal about the way meals are cooked in Indian households and most boys turning men never can forget it. They might grow into more practical millennials who are now marrying women who are no more simple home-makers. Most of these women are not just into handling a kitchen or grasping the age old recipes handed down from the boy’s side of the family.
Quick Food Culture
India is fast catching with the South East Asian way of living. From lessons on minimalism to reduce stress of cluttering to moving out to the nearby kiosk for a quick dinner, the millennial is changing the way they do their daily meal. The culture of smaller apartments in Japan has taken away the space for kitchens, leave alone stacking and purchasing of pots and pans. “We decided we needed to do something to keep the Indian tastes alive. Our assortments include a huge number of Indian flavors and we are getting good response,” shared the duo on a telephonic conversation with me.
More About Portabites
The company with no real experience into the food category isn’t deterred by competition. “Our technology is new and we are innovating according to the nutritional needs and demands of the market. Also, our prices justify that we are not here to make only a quick buck but are providing good nutritional food to ensure the customer is satisfied.” They are a more grounded-in-reality kind of brand that is working well for all young working professionals. No surprise to say that they are one of the rare Indian home grown brands that has been built as per the British Retail Consortium (BRC) standards (apparently the highest form of standard in Food and Global Safety).
The Portabite range of Freeze Dry technology is a four stage low temperature dehydration process of food preservation. This technology was initially used by NASA to help astronauts with intake of nutritional food in space. Another huge advantage of this technology is that, it retains the nutritional value of food consuming minimal space, making it easy to carry such packaging along while travelling. Easy to store, these packets usually just need boiling water to bring them back to their natural form. A single pack is belly full for an individual at a 250gm a serving; but appetites could vary. All in all, it is something you would definitely want to keep in your larder. Order online and be surprised!
Happy Eating!
Orange Is Life 