Griffith Laboratories, the food ingredients major which chipped in its supply chain expertise during the recent devastating Chennai floods, is now working to develop a range of food products specific for natural calamity situations.
The company, operating in India for 10 years, manufactures dry mixes, seasonings, marinates, sauce mixes, flour mixes and food bases.
In an age of climate change and the El Nino phenomenon, earthquakes, droughts and floods are expected to be common occurrence. Going forward, the company is working to develop food products to cater to the needs of victims of these natural calamities. At its local R&D facility, the company is developing products like Dalia and Kichidi mixes infused with flavour and appropriately fortified. “A range of easy-to-use soup mixes have also been developed and supplied. These need to be mixed with water and consumed and will provide the much-needed nutrition to those impacted by such crisis,” stated Sujesh Govindan, technical director, India & Middle-East, in a telecon with FnB News.
Delving into the strategy of reaching the flooded locations in Tamil Nadu, he said that the company worked out a simple and effective logistics solution to press 18 truckloads of essential supplies carrying food, water and medicines into service.
It was Griffith Labs’ expertise in supply chain management that led to selecting right mix of foods and ensuring safe delivery to last mile. “Since Chennai city had ample support, we moved to locations 40 to 60 km around the city, and small towns and villages in and around Neyveli and Cuddalore. The company was able to get maximum response for its initiative as it teamed up with school teachers, medical practitioners and religious leaders in these regions to help flood victims. These local representatives were well respected in the society and hence in a better position to manage the crowds and affected people better,” he pointed out.
While the company manufactured soups for flood victims, it coordinated with Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provided tamarind rice or puligore and chapatis, and Nilgiri Dairy Farm Ltd for supply of buns and breads. These food items were repackaged at the Griffith Labs in Bengaluru to ensure they were safe, fresh and easy-to-handle, according to him.
“Since food is known to spoil in no time, we ensured that right products were chosen for distribution to the flood victims in manner that was convenient to carry and distribute to locations which were farflung and bore the brunt of heavy rains that occurred during the northeast monsoon in November-December. Specifically Chennai and its surrounding districts of Neyveli and Cuddalore with numerous river systems and wetlands were full of marooned victims badly in need of supplies,” he added.
While providing support to flood victims in India is a first-of-its-kind effort for the company, it has been actively supporting the chilli farmers in Ongole, Khammam and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh with sustainable initiatives like good crop produce, buy-back assurance, drinking water supply, education and healthcare support. They are also the promoters of Bangalore Food Bank amongst other local community initiatives.
