A small help from South Indians

[ajuvignesh]

Hi all,
My previous post was deleted as the link added was invalid.

My friend and I am planning to open a small snack factory in South India.I would like to get help from you guys for finding the ideal taste choices.
If you're from south India, kindly take some time to fill up this form so that it will help our firm immensely.
Thanks in advance.

Link -> https://forms.gle/bgfqH74rn1M1Xd5B8

 

[Jith77]

done. Although frying in coconut oil is not essential. I know decades old local guys who continue to sell well without it.

I have people requesting me to bring back coconut oil fried ones when i visit hometown. The first time i had a hard time finding out shops in town which had them - not many that point. My personal preferred seller doesn't use coconut oil though - have been buying from them since 90s

 

[kratu]

Hi all,
My previous post was deleted as the link added was invalid.

My friend and I am planning to open a small snack factory in South India.I would like to get help from you guys for finding the ideal taste choices.
If you're from south India, kindly take some time to fill up this form so that it will help our firm immensely.
Thanks in advance.

Link -> https://forms.gle/bgfqH74rn1M1Xd5B8

While customer surveys give you some data but the real insights come from actual sales figures. Because, when it comes to actual spending the story might change.

Instead, I would make small batches with/without coconut oil and then see what sells more. And other variations of oil. One could also be healthy cold pressed oil. And check with customers if they specifically ask for something. You get more insights there.

 

[ajuvignesh]

done. Although frying in coconut oil is not essential. I know decades old local guys who continue to sell well without it.

I have people requesting me to bring back coconut oil fried ones when i visit hometown. The first time i had a hard time finding out shops in town which had them - not many that point. My personal preferred seller doesn't use coconut oil though - have been buying from them since 90s

Thank you
Yeah, coconut oil is not mandatory. But has a unique taste to it. Although in my town, most shops sell chips fried in palm oil which is a big no for me.

While customer surveys give you some data but the real insights come from actual sales figures. Because, when it comes to actual spending the story might change.

Instead, I would make small batches with/without coconut oil and then see what sells more. And other variations of oil. One could also be healthy cold pressed oil. And check with customers if they specifically ask for something. You get more insights there.

Thank you Thats exactly is the idea now. Experimenting with oil. Lets see how it goes.

 

[uncle_lazy_at]

Hi all,
My previous post was deleted as the link added was invalid.

My friend and I am planning to open a small snack factory in South India.I would like to get help from you guys for finding the ideal taste choices.
If you're from south India, kindly take some time to fill up this form so that it will help our firm immensely.
Thanks in advance.

Link -> https://forms.gle/bgfqH74rn1M1Xd5B8

I prefer Coconut oil but I think (i could be wrong) the shops selling chips with the tag "Coconut oil" are mixing mixing coconut oil and other oil(palm oil?).

Additionally, I also don't link the chips which are very thin. You might know "Alban" from Nagercoil, if I remember correctly, their Coconut oil chips are very thin compared to the non-coconut oil version. I didn't like their coconut oil version.

 

[ajuvignesh]

I prefer Coconut oil but I think (i could be wrong) the shops selling chips with the tag "Coconut oil" are mixing mixing coconut oil and other oil(palm oil?).

Additionally, I also don't link the chips which are very thin. You might know "Alban" from Nagercoil, if I remember correctly, their Coconut oil chips are very thin compared to the non-coconut oil version. I didn't like their coconut oil version.

yes, some shops mix oils. Most likely coconut oil and palm oil. I have heard of Alban chips but never tasted them. Have tried beyond snack chips which are thin and I didn't like it much. Once you try thick chips, one cannot go back to thin chips is my opinion

 

[kratu]

I’m not sure if this is helpful here. Unfortunately, street vendors and small shops tend to reuse oil to their extreme, where the fat inside the oil burns into black toxic residue. There is a limit to how much it should be reused.

Either the vendors don’t have an idea or they don’t follow good practices, because of economics of running the business.

There is growing customer demographic that are preferring a more healthier food, even if it is slightly expensive. Or would reduce oil food altogether.

Again, just saying.

 

[ajuvignesh]

I’m not sure if this is helpful here. Unfortunately, street vendors and small shops tend to reuse oil to their extreme, where the fat inside the oil burns into black toxic residue. There is a limit to how much it should be reused.

Either the vendors don’t have an idea or they don’t follow good practices, because of economics of running the business.

There is growing customer demographic that are preferring a more healthier food, even if it is slightly expensive. Or would reduce oil food altogether.

Again, just saying.

I totally respect your opinion. If my plan materializes, then there will be an in house oil filtration system and also, fresh oil will be constantly added in.

 

[manofernando]

I totally respect your opinion. If my plan materializes, then there will be an in house oil filtration system and also, fresh oil will be constantly added in.

Filteration can be used for removing solid particals. The de colouration of oil is due to oxidation of oil, which is suppose to happen due to the nature of our high temperature cooking. And adding new oil to already oxidized oil is as good as using the old oil. The only way to conserve oil is to do a big batch of frying and discard the oil.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Filteration can be used for removing solid particals. The de colouration of oil is due to oxidation of oil, which is suppose to happen due to the nature of our high temperature cooking. And adding new oil to already oxidized oil is as good as using the old oil. The only way to conserve oil is to do a big batch of frying and discard the oil.

Thank you so much. Will keep this in mind.

 

[kratu]

This video helped me to understand it better.

 

[hifimaddy]

I am aware of certain shops in Trivandrum, Kerala, that offer pure coconut oil at prices lower than the typical market rate. As a result, their orders are widespread throughout Kerala and even beyond. My friend, however, has the opportunity to visit their warehouse. What they do is purchase already used oils from bakeries and fast food shops, then they undergo multiple filtering processes to make it exceptionally clean and infuse it with coconut oil flavours. It has the taste and aroma of pure coconut oil, but I don't think it's even edible. This is just one example I know of personally, but there are many worse situations out there.

 

[Nitin K]

I am aware of certain shops in Trivandrum, Kerala, that offer pure coconut oil at prices lower than the typical market rate. As a result, their orders are widespread throughout Kerala and even beyond. My friend, however, has the opportunity to visit their warehouse. What they do is purchase already used oils from bakeries and fast food shops, then they undergo multiple filtering processes to make it exceptionally clean and infuse it with coconut oil flavours. It has the taste and aroma of pure coconut oil, but I don't think it's even edible. This is just one example I know of personally, but there are many worse situations out there.

Using rancid or overused oil is rampant in the food industry & one has to be careful especially in today's times.

 

[COOLDUDE7808]

decide your customer base first ...there are people who are looking for home made authentic taste ...which means you use traditional ingredients including coconut oil which will remind your customer of his grandmother .

Second would be to reach out to others who are just looking for something which taste well and they could be south indians or others who may or may not like cocunut oil so use what they like and ensure that it taste well .

I have shops here in Mumbai keeping two versions of banana chips - coconut oil and other oil . Similarly there is Mysur Pak which is slightly harder (the traditional one -which I prefer) and the modern one which is made in Ghee and melts in your mouth but its too sweet for me ( which others prefer)

Study demographics ...religion , caste etc of the market ...the same snack will vary in the way its prepared based on these factors ...if you can incorporate that in your making then your consumer will get that home cooked taste .

 

[ajuvignesh]

I am aware of certain shops in Trivandrum, Kerala, that offer pure coconut oil at prices lower than the typical market rate. As a result, their orders are widespread throughout Kerala and even beyond. My friend, however, has the opportunity to visit their warehouse. What they do is purchase already used oils from bakeries and fast food shops, then they undergo multiple filtering processes to make it exceptionally clean and infuse it with coconut oil flavours. It has the taste and aroma of pure coconut oil, but I don't think it's even edible. This is just one example I know of personally, but there are many worse situations out there.

Thanks for bringing it to the light. I will make sure I ship out healthy stuff.

decide your customer base first ...there are people who are looking for home made authentic taste ...which means you use traditional ingredients including coconut oil which will remind your customer of his grandmother .

Second would be to reach out to others who are just looking for something which taste well and they could be south indians or others who may or may not like cocunut oil so use what they like and ensure that it taste well .

I have shops here in Mumbai keeping two versions of banana chips - coconut oil and other oil . Similarly there is Mysur Pak which is slightly harder (the traditional one -which I prefer) and the modern one which is made in Ghee and melts in your mouth but its too sweet for me ( which others prefer)

Study demographics ...religion , caste etc of the market ...the same snack will vary in the way its prepared based on these factors ...if you can incorporate that in your making then your consumer will get that home cooked taste .

Thank you so much for the Tip will do the exercise.

 

[ankurjaiz]

Done. Good Luck!

 

[ajuvignesh]

Done. Good Luck!

Thank you so much!

 

[hydra]

Done. (Yesterday, but wasn't able to post in detail here).

I try to follow a healthy lifestyle, and Banana Chips fried in coconut oil are the only snacks I have. And being very sensitive to the oil used (I use only coconut oil, butter and ghee to cook), I buy only from a friend/gym-mate who makes Banana Chips (the regular kind, and the jaggery coated kind) fried in Coconut Oil in his spare time.

He typical runs a few batches just once a month, and supplies to people he knows. He is 15 to 20% more expensive to buy from than the market rate, but he has a regular clientele who appreciates his work and his product (the taste, salting, chip thickness and crispness) are just right. He also has some secret combination of spices he puts in his jaggery chips that make them taste subtly better than the regular ones.

He buys the oil straight from a local mill (I do the same for household use) that I know personally.

(He's now moved to a new job with more time spent working, so his clients have been left without a supplier for a while now, heh heh.)

Most of the bakeries and bulk production units here claim to use coconut oil and that too only once, but since their claims can't necessarily be believed, because they sell at regular market rates, I avoid them. A couple of these nearby are probably true to their word, going by taste, but I tend to be paranoid when it comes to oil.

 

[hifimaddy]

When discussing health-related strategies, it's important to note that deep frying chips or other snacks in virgin coconut oil is quite unhealthy. Virgin coconut oil has a lower smoking point than even virgin olive oil. (While virgin coconut oil is suitable for medium frying, our South Indian chips are typically deep-fried.) For a healthier alternative, consider using refined coconut oil. The optimal choices for deep frying are refined sunflower or peanut oil. Many may disagree with my perspective, but this is the reality. (I used to enjoy fried foods cooked in pure coconut oil, but I haven't used it for nearly 7 years now.)