Sunday, Jul 17, 2022 07:30 [IST]
Last Update: Sunday, Jul 17, 2022 02:02 [IST]
GANGTOK,: The Government Fruit Preservation Factory (GFPF), popularly known as Sikkim Supreme and based in Singtam, has come up with four new products targeting the market driven by health conscious customers.
Chief Minister P.S. Golay launched the new Sikkim Supreme products during a function organised by the Commerce & Industries department on Friday at Manan Kendra here.
The new products are sugar-free energy drink, probiotic chocolates, B12 jaggery sachets and glass bottled water (30 ml and 750 ml) under the Sikkim Supreme brand.
Speaking with SIKKIM EXPRESS, GFPF managing director Pawan Awasthy said the four new products with multiple health benefits were launched as more and more people are leaning to a healthy diet after the Covid pandemic. We are giving more emphasis on production of health-related products at present along with our regular products, he said.
Sugar-free Energy Drink
The MD shared that the Sikkim Supreme sugar-free energy drink is also known as no-carbohydrate drink. “We have used Stevia, a popular sugar substitute that is derived from Stevia rebaudina, a native plant of South America. Stevia is plant-based, has zero calories and is much sweeter than sugar. This product has undergone several clinical trials before being launched,” he said.
The GFPF took one and half years to develop the drink for which it has tied up with a company called Joule Health for its pre-mix formula. The energy drink costs Rs. 100 per can and as the company maintains, it is 10 times better than other health drinks as it is sugar free with no carbohydrates.
In the next 10-15 days, we plan to introduce the same drink at a lower rate so that it is affordable for all, said Awasthy.
B12 Jaggery Powder
Consumption of jaggery has increased many folds lately to avoid use of sugar. In this Sikkim Supreme product, jaggery has been mixed with B12 vitamin. We aim to cover all the hotels and institutes so that this product is used in every house as this will definitely be beneficial for our health, said the MD.
Probiotic Chocolate
Awasthy shared that probiotics are used for controlling stomach-related diseases. Our probiotic chocolate product does not have any harmful effect as compared to the conventional chocolate available in the market, he said.
Sikkim Supreme has developed this product with Little Goodness company.
The taste of this chocolate is different, sugar contain is minimum and above all, we have used other minerals which doesn't harm our health, said the Sikkim Supreme MD.
Glass Bottled Water
This product aims to meet the requirement of drinking water for travellers after the State government banned plastic water bottle up to 2 litres earlier this year.
“The ban on plastic water bottles is a great initiative of the State government. We did a market survey and based on our findings, we have introduced 300 ml of glass bottled water at an affordable price of Rs. 25 and 750 ml of glass bottled water at Rs. 40,” said Awasthy.
Sikkim Supreme is also working to introduce 500 ml bottled water.
Consumers can return the used glass bottle and get Rs. 5 in return as cash back.
The GFPF managing director expressed his confidence that the products launched will be accepted by the masses. Similarly, we have five to six more products on line which we are expecting to be in the market in the next 5-6 months’ time, he said. He appealed the people to use local products as much as possible.
