Wholesome values : Our Ethos
About 5 min reading time
Introduction
Lately, we have been asked many questions. "Why are you researching the best oil for cooking?" , "What is the sense in spending more on plastic-free packaging?" or "Why not opt for the easier option of sugar instead of jaggery?". These questions voice the same concern. Isn't business supposed to be about making profits and reducing costs? What kind of strategy is this and why are we waiting so long to launch a product, one which has no shortage in the current market. In fact, it is very easily available in every city of India.
We believe that we are going to be a big organization someday and a reputed one for that matter. Once an organization is known and established, it is expected from them to think best about nature and humanity. Does that mean that they have to get it there without thinking about concerns that are troublesome for humanity or nature right now ?
We want to take that responsibility right from the beginning. We call ourselves leaders and that's what leaders do.
Who is going to care about what oil we are using in the kachoris ?
We do. We want to treat our consumers the way we’d treat ourselves.
“Food we respect is food we serve”. This is the motto that naturally progressed along our journey in trying to set up Old School Foods.
Old School Foods also started as a vision to be able to have the right knowledge and faculty to serve our families in the best manner possible which always doesn't have to be the most expensive one. It needs to be well researched and developed as a consequence of high standards of due diligence.
Vision for Safety
Safety comes without asking.
The safety of our employees, the food we serve, and the safety of our consumers is the prime foundation stone for our kitchen operations. Months before our actual date of kitchen launch, we had the entire safety blueprint ready which included:
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HACCP Standard of Safety in our Kitchen Operations
- HACCP originated in the 1960s, when NASA, the Pillsbury Company, and the U.S. Army Laboratories collaborated together to provide safe food for upcoming space expeditions.
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Blueprint of Kitchen Operations Area considering operational flow and associated safety dynamics
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Key safety SOPs for kitchen operations from receiving of kitchen supplies to packaging and delivery till the consumer
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Logbooks of critical events like receiving standards of inbound supplies or supervisor audits
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A fundamental checklist of items and equipment required to conduct a safe environment
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FSSAI which is a mandate for running a kitchen
Behind every successful business, there are millions of happy faces
We strongly rely on consumer insights and incentivize constructive feedback. The feedback that helps us improve as a brand and strengthen our ties with the consumer is something we take very seriously.
Hence, as a foundation, we have been running a testing group, our brutally honest testers who share their feedback and insights about our products. The more brutal the feedback is, the more refinement it will bring to our line of products, and thereby more is we incentivize for such honesty.
We want to build the most consumer-centric brand that one could associate with.
Food we Respect is Food we Serve
When our motto, “Food we Respect is Food we Serve” talks seriously about the respect we give to the food, it means that we are thoroughly due diligent with the food that we have to offer to our consumers. Be it about the ingredients, or the processes, or the people.
- We ensure the highest quality standards even for the third-party associations that we have and ensure the processes that they follow with their supplies are robust and standardized.
- The ingredients that we shortlist for our line of products are well-researched and we believe that food is something that goes inside our bodies and when someone trusts us with that level of delicacy we only want to deliver the best.
- The methods and operations in our kitchens are planned with exceptional details to minimize the wastage of kitchen supplies that comes along which is a big part of our motto in respecting food.
Why a well-researched oil?
Oil may seem transparent but can be a source of unwanted repercussions on health and situations human don't relish. We want to be sure with our choices that contributes in a better life for our consumers.
Oil is actually a source of energy for the plants, nuts, seeds they are extracted from and are quite essential to human bodies. So, why not dive deep into the best choices available out there which doesn't always need to be the most expensive one.
And that's why it doesn't affect us if consumers don't ask us what oil we are using. We wish they would but if they don't, the least we can do is be right on our part and make an effort to increase their awareness.
Why plastic-free packaging?
It's not just us who believe that plastic is not adding any value to the planet. Planetary efforts are in place to reduce plastic print from society. Plastic is cheap because it's in high demand. It's only up till a point when alternates gather enough demand so that supply chain becomes cost-effective. But until that happens, should no one take the responsibility of trying to eliminate plastic ?
Yes, a lot of consumers might not care. That's also because somewhere they rely on the leaders to take the first step. And that’s who we are.
Why atta (whole-wheat flour) instead of maida (refined flour)?
When grains are refined to make white flour, the germ and bran portions are removed, leaving only the endosperm shedding away all the fiber, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants from it. What is left is pure carbs and very low amounts of other nutrients, which is harmful to our body.
Below image and table shows anatomy of the wheat grain and particulars about atta (whole-wheat flour) and maida (refined flour).
| Particulars | Bran rich source of fiber, trace minerals, phytochemicals, and Vitamin B |
Germ Packed with antioxidants, Vitamin B/E, source of heart-healthy unsaturated fats |
Endosperm Contains complex carbohydrates and protein to provide energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atta | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maida | No | No | Yes |
| Carbs/g | 63 | 52 | 79 |
| Proteins/g | 16 | 23 | 7 |
| Fats/g | 3 | 10 | 0 |
| Fiber/g | 43 | 14 | 4 |
| Iron (% of daily req.) |
59 | 35 | 7 |
| Others | Vitamin Bs | Vitamin Bs omega-3/6 lipids |
While each part contributes important nutrients, the “whole” grain offers the most nutritional benefits.
Although, using atta has led to many challenges along with the product development but we have been persistent in the vision of a no-maida product and finally got what we envisioned.
Why jaggery instead of processed sugar?
To start with, we would like to establish that we are basing our entire kitchen operations on the usage of jaggery and we have completely eliminated processed white sugar and we share our thesis in this section.
It is wise to say that jaggery is sugar itself as it contains 65-85 % sucrose compared to that in white sugar. Then how does using jaggery instead of processed sugar become a better choice?
First, jaggery is derived from traditional non-sulfur processes which is not the case with the production of white sugar and the use of sulfur (above the permissible limit of 70 ppm) may be associated with harmful effects mostly breathing and respiratory concerns. Jaggery also contains a variety of minerals like iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium.
| Per 100 mg | ||
|---|---|---|
| Particulars | Jaggery | Sugar |
| Sucrose, g | 65-85 | 99.5 |
| Reducing sugars, g like glucose and fructose which lowers the risk of developing overweight and obesity and hence lesser chances of diabetes. |
10-15 | - |
| Proteins, g | 0.4 | - |
| Fats, g | 0.1 | - |
| Total Minerals, mg Magnesium found in jaggery strengthens the nervous system and potassium conserves the acid balance in the cells |
0.6-1.0 | 0.5 |
| Phosphorous, mg | 4 | |
| Calcium, mg | 8 | - |
| Iron, mg prevents anemia |
10 | - |
| Energy Kcal | 383 | 398 |
Jaggery deteriorates fast and becomes watery within 3-4 months because of the presence of moisture and hence we ensure our supply chain is robust and well-planned to take that into consideration.
Overall, jaggery is known as ‘medicinal sugar’ and the health benefits are significant like anti-toxic and anti-carcinogenic properties, improving digestion, cleansing the liver, relieving tension and constipation, boosting energy, purifying blood, treatment of bronchial or lung infections, and premenstrual syndrome also preventing rheumatic afflictions and bile disorders.
Conclusion
Well, this is just the start for Old School Foods. We have great visions of where we want to take this project and how the name Old School Foods becomes resonant with Food that is trusted as if it’s coming from the home.
Why we discuss this ethos here is because we want to set it for the record right from the start that Old School Foods stands for “Respect Food”.
If you liked our approach in building the organization, give us a thumbs up at
contact@oldschoolfoods.in