Since its inception in 2020, the Nihkan brand has constantly been striving to bring innovation in sustainable food production practices. During the Covid phase, Dr Suhas Nandurdikar, an innovation expert in supplying innovative & qualitative raw materials in cosmetics and pharmaceutical Industries since 1999; realized that food & nutrition was one vertical where the company could diversify its portfolio. Nihkan benefited from his mentorship and started with green banana flour from the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra and currently offers a range of nutritious gluten-free and plant-based superfood products, including green banana flour, sprouted millet flours, and dehydrated ready-to-cook mung bean and mix grains sprout and its flours. The company also offers a range of savory and sweet snacks like cookies, millet bhakris, and millet crackers for guilt-free indulgence.

With its manufacturing unit located in Faridabad, Nihkan ensures frequent testing of its products in NABL-accredited labs and follows clean labeling practices as per FSSAI & FDA guidelines. The company has developed a 100% natural dehydration methodology to produce a premium quality, chemical and preservative-free range of products for modern food choices. It follows sustainable food production practices like solar conduction dryers and eco-friendly and fully recyclable packaging material to make the planet a better place to live.

Speaking about the USP of its products, Kanika Nandurdikar, founder, Nihkan, added, "We produce 100 % natural products using specialty ingredients which are ancient to India. We have curated the finest products to provide convenience, taste and wholesome foods for daily nutrition."

Healthy food alternative for gluten-free population

Millets are a superfood for people who follow a gluten-free diet. According to Kanika, Nihkan is on a mission to support the challenges faced by consumers who have "diet restrictions" either due to lifestyle choices or conditions such as celiac disease, gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, and lactose intolerance.

She added, "As people outside India are more health conscious and more aware of allergies/intolerances, our products target international markets. Also, our products are very versatile to use, this makes them convenient to be used by the Global population, not only Asian. But post covid, even things are changing in India as well; people are looking for healthier alternatives rich in nutrition, so we are working very closely with nutritionists to spread this awareness and make our products reachable to them."

Sharing about the acceptability of their products, Kanika added, "Nihkan has proved itself by filling the gap in the UK market by providing the customers with the best range of gluten-free products. Our customers include all age groups. We have surely been able to make space in the hearts of our customers."

With the advent of digital marketing and post-covid change in the market scenario, Nihkan is planning to invest in online eCommerce platforms, both domestic and international.

A natural, safe and hygienic processing

While focusing on eco-friendly and sustainable produce, NIHKAN has adopted a natural, safe, and hygienic way of drying agricultural produce using the solar conduction drying method. Kanika explained, "The major problem of handling any agri product is its microbial contamination due to the presence of moisture in it and short shelf life, especially when dealing in fruit like banana or millet-based flours. So, we researched dehydration methods and finalized on solar conduction dryers, which are natural, safe, and hygienic ways of drying the agricultural produce."

According to her, the temperatures while processing is kept at reasonably low levels so that they do not affect the nutritional parameters of the product. The produce remains nutritive, and the taste is not hampered. Furthermore, the main advantage is prolonging the shelf life of produce.

Innovation and sustainability

The company has solid goals for bringing innovation and aspires to be the pioneer world leader by expanding its limits in sustainable and eco-friendly products. Kanika shared, "We believe sustainability is important in this era. We source products from local farmers and follow sustainable food production practices like using solar conduction dryers, which are eco-friendly as well. Our packaging is fully recyclable and can be reused and recycled. We focus on plant-based ingredients for sustainable growth."

According to Kanika, the company does a lot of research on specialty ingredients and formulations using them. She added, "We use sprouted grains of millet and legumes and green banana flour to formulate our key recipes, an evolution. Our sustainable methods have created a lot of awareness among users even in India. We are learning, adapting and growing by penetrating the healthy food category."

Nihkan also plans to introduce a new product range soon, giving consumers a solution for healthy eating and daily convenience. While disclosing plans to venture into other domains, she added, "We are also focusing on the corporate gifting domain, which includes healthy whole grain sweet and savory products that are ready to eat. Our range is called a guilt-free indulgence."