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No aam entrepreneur, he uses mango pulp to churn out natural ice cream
At aam maotsav, CM relishes Malihabad’s natural mango ice cream, praises Muslanhuddeen for his efforts
Four-day-long Lucknow Aam Mahotsav was thrown open to public from Tuesday after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the gala event at Awadh Shilp Gram on Monday.
The CM also urged everyone to visit the exhibition to promote the local farmers. With farmers and small entrepreneurs coming from all corners of UP and other states, as many as 800 mango varieties have been put on display along with other mango byproducts to relish.
One of them is the ‘Natural Mango Ice Cream’ stall set by 24-year-old youth Muslanhuddeen from Bhadwana village in the mango belt of UP’s Malihabad. “These ice creams are made up of mango pulp with no added essence and chemicals,” said Muslanhuddeen who has set up his company ‘Sweet Well’ in 2019.
The CM stopped at his stall and praised his efforts and also directed Muslandhuddeen to sell these natural ice creams in Lucknow as well. Chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra also visited his stall to relish the natural mango kulfi.
“Every year a lot of mangoes are wasted and they remain unsold due to some minor issues. So we tend to put them to use. With a special kind of non-harmful preservative, we preserve mango pulp throughout the year. We then add milk, cream and sugar powder to produce ice creams,” said Muslandhuddeen. He claims that his ice cream is distinct from other brands available in the market as it is made without the use of chemicals, powders, or essences. “It is only because of this that the CM and other government dignitaries have recognised our efforts and we set up our stalls in every fare organised by the government.”
Muslanhuddeen says he sells products worth Rs25-30 thousand rupees every day and earns a profit of around ₹1 lakh per month. His company is also a source of employment for 25 people who earn ₹700-800 per day. The products are sold through the carts in the Malihabad area currently but he is also planning to sell them at ice cream parlours as well.
Muslanhuddeen credits the idea of mango ice cream to ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow. He approached Shailendra Rajan, ex-director of CISH, for assistance in establishing a mango ice cream factory.
Rajan said, “When asked why he was interested in a particular product, his response was crucial to us. He wanted to utilize the mango which remained unsold so that its pulp could be utilised and preserved with the expertise of CISH scientists. The pulp extracted last year was shared with the entrepreneur. Hundreds of ice creams were made from the pulp and sampled by a diverse group of people. This initiative prompted us to use the mango festival as a testing ground for a variety of ice cream varieties.”
After the production, consumer feedback was taken from both rural and urban areas. Customers could easily distinguish between ice cream made from natural mango and that made with artificial essence and colours, he said.
