Traditional Healthy Food – This Indian food seller has successfully developed traditional healthy food recipes. He has managed to rake in hundreds of millions of rupiah in turnover per month.
There are many unique and interesting culinary delights that can be found in India. Not only street food that often goes viral, but also healthy food innovations have recently developed. Like a simple food stall called Vasena Poli in the MVP Colony area in the city of Visakhapatnam, India.
This healthy food stall was founded by a man named Chittem Sudheer who is a young entrepreneur with a Masters in Agroeconomics. Through his innovation in processing local food, Sudheer has succeeded in reviving millet, an ancient grain that is rich in nutrients but is less well-known in India. He processes millet into healthy culinary delights that are in demand by many people.
Sudheer first opened his eatery in 2018 with a capital of just Rs 50,000. The main menu is millet idli, a South Indian savory steamed cake, which Sudheer creates using eight to nine types of millet such as ragi, jowar, foxtail millet, and kodo millet.
The process of making it uses fermentation and steaming in vistaraku leaves which gives it a distinctive aroma as well as additional health benefits. At first glance, it looks similar to lontong or buras.
This dish is then served with chutney, a type of Indian dipping sauce, but Sudheer turns it into a healthier version of chutney using local vegetables such as bottle gourd, carrots and ginger.
Rasa makanannya yang enak membuat kedainya ini selalu ramai bahkan dijadikan menu sarapan favorit bagi warga sekitar. Bahkan kini dalam sebulan ia bisa mendapatkan omzet sekitar Rs 750,000 atau setara dengan Rp 146 juta.
Although his income reaches hundreds of millions of rupiah, Sudheer does not only care about his own profit. He always tries to implement a good business model and help local farmers.
To make the millet idli he sells, Sudheer usually buys about 700 kilograms of millet per month directly from tribal farmers in Srikakulam, Vijayanagar and Visakhapatnam at almost double the market price. This step not only ensures the quality of raw materials but also improves welfare and encourages the sustainability of traditional farming.
Sudheer’s dedication to promoting healthy and local food even earned him recognition from the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, who visited his stall and praised the initiative on social media. Since then, Vasena Poli has become a household name and a symbol of successful entrepreneurship in India.
Every day, Sudheer is able to sell more than 200 portions of the healthy version of millet idli to his loyal customers. Most customers or buyers have started queuing in front of his shop since 06.30 in the morning. The price of a portion of millet idli with chutney is also cheap, starting from Rs 50 (Rp 9,800).
Sudheer’s success story of empowering local food to help promote healthy food in India has received much appreciation and inspiration for other healthy food sellers.
