Kerala is known for its abundance of jackfruits. But, what can one do with those jackfruits that go waste and get dumped into junk? Artocarpus Foods at KINFRA here has answers for all such queries.
Artocarpus Foods, an enterprise set up under the leadership of K Subhash, aims to address the challenges of globalized marketing and proper utilisation of jackfruit.
Here, jackfruits are converted into raw materials for other food industries. Jackfruit pulp for ice creams and cakes, paste, powdered 'varikka' jackfruit, and varieties of jackfruit curries among others are exported from the factory. The curries will remain fresh for about a year. For purchases, one can place orders via Amazon.
The list of the products available here is as follows:
Jackfruit dishes: Chettinadu curry, Kadai Kofta, Keema Masala stew, Barbeque, Burger Patties Indian curry
Sauces: Honey fried sauce, chilli sauce, Madras curry sauce, Thai green curry sauce, tomato sauce and Italian sauce
Jackfruit seed dishes and sauces: Thai green curry, Madras curry sauce, Coconut curry sauce
Ripe jackfruit dishes: Chutney squash, Jackfruit cake, Chakka varatti (jackfruit preserve)
Sales
The dishes are exported to Gulf countries, the USA, Europe and Australia. The company is also distributing the products to other states.
According to Subhash, the firm owner, he invested Rs 2 crore to establish the unit. Now, there is an annual income of Rs 5 crores. A total of 30 people are employed here.
Collection of jackfruits
The jackfruits are collected from houses in hilly areas via self-help groups. One kilogram of jackfruit piece is bought for Rs 80-Rs 120. However, ripe jackfruits are bought at Rs 10-Rs 20.
These are mainly brought from Kottayam and Idukki. At times of shortage, they are collected from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.