New market reality resulted in a change in the character of Bengali sweets
image for illustrative purpose
The inimitable Bengali sweets have turned exotic from the earlier days of the simple and bare sandesh, rasogolla, chamcham and a host of chhena goodies. Some prefer to think of it as the first tentative steps of Bengali sweet makers, who annually do business worth over Rs 8,000 crore, towards 'globalisation'. Looking beyond Bengal, the traditional, family-based industry is now talking of export markets and patents terms unheard of in the past. But before plotting their moves to create an international market, or perhaps simultaneously, they are concentrating on tapping a ready market in other parts of the country. It is precisely this time, Robin Ghosh, Managing Director, Infocom, and President, Santiniketan Society for Youth Empowerment, has set out on an exciting journey to set up the country's first "Misti Academy" (institute to train and groom sweet makers). Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Ghosh, former Chief Economist, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, shares his thought of how to make the unassuming misti go places and his dream of letting Bengali Sweets become a global epicurean delight.
You are an economist and management consultant by training and a successful entrepreneur and serial entrepreneur by profession. What suddenly prompted you to take up this ambitious project of setting up a Bangla Misti (sweatmeat) Academy?
Bengal has a very rich tradition and heritage of sweets. Almost each district has more than one variety of sweets identified with that region. The recent tussle between Bengal and Odisha about GI tag for Rossogolla is fresh in the minds of sweet lovers. Even the present State government has been branding Bengal as the sweetest part of India for the past few years. I always wanted to do something different and have tried to do something pioneering and different. So I thought why not to do something in this field, which is so close to Bengalis' hearts and has got tremendous business and employment generation prospects.
What exactly would you like to do and what are your objectives?
My objective is to protect and preserve the heritage of Bengali sweets and desserts by creating a pool of industry trained skilled craftsmen. We shall sensitise the stakeholders about hygienic norms and processes, sensitise entrepreneurs and skill workers regarding scientific process of Misti making and desserts along with knowledge imparting about latest food making technology, quality control techniques and processes. Another aspect would be knowledge sharing about modern packaging, modern management tools, techniques and management systems, about food laws and a complete array of consultancy. My dream is to popularise sweets from Bengal and in the process ensure that the State witnesses a revival of tradition and heritage. We will be rediscovering the traditional sweets of Bengal and will be re-branding them to a national and global platform.
Bangla Misti Academy will be set up under sponsorship from Santiniketan Society for Youth Empowerment, a non-profit and non-governmental organization aimed to preserve the heritage of sweets of Bengal and create employment opportunities for young men and women. To achieve this objective, Bangla Misti Academy plans to collaborate with www.banglamistionline.com, an online marketing unit to protect and preserve the heritage of Bengali sweets and desserts and sensitise entrepreneurs and skill workers regarding the scientific process of Misti making.
You were telling me about the huge business prospects. So how big would be the overall sweetmeat market in the State and what are the changes taking place to take it to the international level?
Bengali sweet makers annually do business worth over Rs 8,000 crore and are moving towards 'globalisation' and increase this amount. Looking beyond Bengal, the traditional, family-based industry is now talking of export markets and patentsterms unheard of in the past. But before plotting their moves to create an international market, or perhaps simultaneously, they are concentrating on tapping a ready market in other parts of the country.The new market reality has resulted in a change in the character of Bengali sweets. Generally made of sweetened cottage cheese (chhena), reduced solidified milk (khoya), or flours of different cereals and pulses, the delicacies now come with a blend of nuts, pistachio, rose water and cardamom. Not just that, the enterprising sweet makers are adding a dash of some internationally preferred flavours like black current, kiwi and strawberry to the desi spread.
You have curated many projects and are considered to be a pioneer of Bengal television industry. Infocom, a multi-media company set up by you, created innovative television serials which unfolded many genres of television software. You would certainly like to replicate the same success story here?
Sweet makers of Bengal are now taking steps to integrate traditional and modern methods of production. That's exactly where Bangla Sweet Academy wants to play a crucial role in making it happen smoothly.Besides people of Asian origin, Americans and Europeans could be potential customers of new Bengali sweets. The new avatar of sweets will help in effectively marketing the products and convince the overseas market of the nutritional value of either a sandesh or a rasogolla compared to pastry, which is full of empty calories.
