Exploring the Future of Food: Trends, Innovations, and the Journey of Scandalous Foods

By Sanket S , Founder, SCANDALous Foods (ADITOF)

?? Please provide insights into the current trends shaping the food industry, particularly in the realm of innovative and unconventional food products?

The recent data indicates a noticeable shift towards healthier dessert options. Consumers are becoming more conscious of their dietary choices, seeking desserts with less sugar, healthier ingredients, and greater nutritional value. This trend has led to the emergence of innovative and fusion variations of traditional desserts, such as mithai sundaes and vanilla angoori basundi. These new creations retain the essence of traditional sweets while offering a modern twist that caters to contemporary tastes.

Alongside innovation, startups champion artisanal production. Many work closely with traditional Halwai families to handcraft regional specialties like Mysore Pak or Malai sandwiches. They use time-honored methods like slow-fire cooking in copper vessels or hand-beating paneer into sheets. Customized packaging in boxes and gift hampers elevates sweets into presentable gifts rather than regular purchases. Beautiful food photography on social media highlights the visual appeal. This approach frames mithai as lovingly made, premium treats that command value. It redefines sweets as an artisanal category comparable to luxury chocolates versus a daily commodity.

The food industry is witnessing a dynamic shift driven by innovative and unconventional food products, with Japanese and Korean cuisines at the forefront of this transformation. The rising global popularity of Japanese foods such as sushi, ramen, and matcha, alongside Korean staples like kimchi, bibimbap, and the spicy rice cake dish tteokbokki, reflects a growing consumer appetite for diverse and unique flavors. This trend is significantly influenced by the global phenomenon of Korean pop culture, particularly the influence of BTS, whose massive fanbase has contributed to the surge in popularity of Korean food. Their endorsements and social media presence have made dishes like Korean fried chicken and dalgona coffee household names worldwide.

?? How does Scandalous Foods differentiate itself in a highly competitive market, and what unique value propositions does it offer to consumers?

I believe we have a highly disruptive idea that could potentially create a new category in the post-meal impulse buying space. Our USP’s include preservative-free sweets with a remarkable 6-month shelf life, available in convenient single-serve sizes. We are an affordable sweet manufacturing business with competitive prices.

?? Please share some industry statistics or market research findings that highlight the growing demand for alternative food products, such as plant-based, sustainable, or functional foods?

Functional foods are poised for significant growth, while the market for authentic plant-based alternatives in India may face limitations beyond a certain price point. With approximately 38% of the population being vegetarian, the remaining majority consumes non-vegetarian food and is less inclined to seek plant-based alternatives. For instance, a lifelong vegetarian who has never eaten chicken is unlikely to opt for a plant-based chicken substitute. This cultural context suggests that while functional foods that offer health benefits will thrive, plant-based meat substitutes may not achieve widespread acceptance or market penetration in India.Continued Advancements in Technology, Health-Conscious Choices, Sustainability Practices and Personalization is something which is going to trend in the coming year. We foresee a surge in demand for sweets infused with natural ingredients, superfoods, and reduced sugar content. Secondly, there is a growing emphasis on sustainable and eco-friendly practices. Brands that prioritize environmentally conscious packaging and sourcing methods are expected to gain a competitive edge. Also, the increasing role of technology in streamlining B2B operations cannot be overlooked. We anticipate a greater adoption of digital platforms for order processing, inventory management, and customer interactions.

?? What are some key challenges you've encountered while navigating the food industry landscape, and how have Scandalous Foods overcome these obstacles to achieve success?

A strong backend infrastructure is crucially lacking to support the Horeca (Hotel/Restaurant/Café) industry, presenting immense potential for improvement in warehousing, cold chain logistics, and leveraging technology enablers. The food service industry in India is currently at an adolescent stage, where the importance of a robust backend is increasingly recognized. However, the absence of input credit from the government for the food service sector poses significant challenges. For example, a gulab jamun sold at Rs. 20 actually costs Rs. 21 to produce, and when considering bulk sales, this discrepancy significantly impacts pricing and profitability. Addressing these backend inefficiencies could substantially enhance the industry's growth and sustainability.

Scandalous Foods maintains competitive pricing, ensuring affordability for the market.

?? Kindly provide details about any recent innovations or product developments that Scandalous Foods has introduced to meet evolving consumer preferences and dietary needs.

We realized that restaurants sell ice cream post meals because it's easy to procure an ice cream. It's standardized and seamless.

Sweets don't find a way in restaurant menus because it's not easy to procure sweets with a shelf life and in standardized formats.

We use blast freezing technology to preserve sweets for 6 months and by tying up with 3pl cold chain players they're serving their sweets across cities whilst producing them in Nasik. They also came out with single-serve format as post-meal consumption is usually bite-sized and not a 500g or 1 kilo pack.With respect to the sweets industry, we are about to step into a delectable journey in 2024 with the next wave of mithai trends, where innovation meets tradition. From fusion delights like jalebi waffles to health-conscious options using jaggery and superfoods,Shahi tukda, jalebi rabdi,in frozen formats the landscape of mithai is evolving and how. Sustainable packaging, customization, globally inspired ingredients, and natural colors are now redefining the art of sweet crafting. With extended shelf life and an emphasis on core materials, modern mithais are not just treats but stories of culinary craftsmanship. Also 2024 will be a world where size doesn't limit the magic, and every bite is affordable and accessible and an exploration of flavors, textures, and has the essence of tradition.?

?? How does Scandalous Foods leverage technology and data analytics to optimize its operations, enhance product quality, and drive business growth?

Scandalous Foods leverages cutting-edge technology and data analytics to optimize its operations, enhance product quality, and drive business growth. By integrating advanced food technology, the company ensures that its products meet the highest standards of quality and safety. Automation plays a key role in streamlining production processes, reducing manual labor, and minimizing human error, which leads to consistent and superior product output.

Demand planning is another critical area where Scandalous Foods excels. Using sophisticated data analytics tools, the company accurately forecasts market demand, adjusts production schedules, and manages inventory efficiently. This not only prevents overproduction and wastage but also ensures that products are always available to meet customer demand, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

?? What strategies do Scandalous Foods employ to engage with consumers and build brand loyalty in a crowded marketplace?

Scandalous Foods employs several strategies to engage with clients and build brand loyalty in a crowded marketplace. As a B2B company, we may not interact directly with end consumers, but we actively engage with our clients to understand their needs and pain points. By doing so, we provide tailored solutions that improve and benefit their businesses.

?? Are there any upcoming trends or emerging opportunities in the food industry that Scandalous Foods is particularly excited about exploring or capitalizing on?

Impulse buying of mithais for post-meal consumption represents a significant opportunity. We aim to capture 10% of this category, which we believe is a $20 billion market. By capitalizing on this potential, we can significantly enhance our market presence and drive substantial growth. We somehow emerged as a trendsetter in the cloud kitchen sector, diversifying offerings beyond ice creams and western desserts, introducing popular sweets like gulab jamun and rasmalai with a shelf life of six months in 2023. Our innovative approach led to the inclusion of a mithai section in various restaurant menus, achieving a sales milestone of 15 lac pieces in our first operational year across 250 touch points. Currently we have expanded to a larger manufacturing unit, we aspire to amplify revenues by 8x by the end of 2024, targeting wedding and corporate caterers. Additionally, strategic distributor setups are underway to reach smaller restaurants and caterers in Mumbai, Thane, Nasik, and Goa.

?? Please provide some insights into Scandalous Foods' future plans for expansion, product diversification, or potential collaborations within the industry?

Initially, we expanded our factory. Now, our focus is on enhancing automation and technology, alongside expanding our distribution area. Additionally, we plan to launch our B2C operations in the financial year 2025-2026 with the introduction of our mithai cafes.Scandalous Foods will always target affordable sweets in India. We want to be the Monginis of sweets. Currently, we have a single-serve format. In future we will come up with mithai sachets, bars, cookies & waffles too. Imagine a jalebi waffle, a moong dal halwa cookie, a motichoor sachet, a gajar halwa bar. Scandalous Foods should be able to reach a revenue of about 400 crore ARR in 5 years.