Dalitfoods.com: Defying caste with a food portal

In 2007, Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit entrepreneur and advisor to the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was researching how two decades of economic liberalisation had transformed Dalit lives in Uttar Pradesh, when he noticed something. “I saw 80-year-old Dalits, some even older, working with their hands, doing hard, physical labour. I asked myself how are they able to do this at this age.”

The foods that Dalits have traditionally eaten, Prasad discovered, were shunned by the upper castes—millets, barley, pea flour, black gram. “These foods have always been cheaper than rice and wheat, which only the wealthier upper castes could afford,” says Prasad. Talking to dieticians across the country, he also found that these foods are considered “superfoods” today. “Look at what Dalits have for breakfast: dried peas soaked overnight with salt and crushed red chilli. This is especially warming and nutritious for winters. This is healthier compared to processed flour or sugar,” explains Prasad. And that’s why octogenarians can do the work of people half their age.

Prasad had a new mission: to promote foods that were once considered part of a poor man’s diet and source them from Dalit vendors. And so dalitfoods.com, an e-commerce website, was born.

Instead of masking the products under a generic brand, Prasad decided to openly flaunt their links to caste. This, in a country where the Dalits are considered the lowest in a multi-tiered caste structure, and for centuries have been “untouchable”. More important, those from the upper castes refused to eat with them or even touch food made by them.

So, what gave Prasad the confidence about the branding? The project, done with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Advanced Study of India revealed that Dalit lives had transformed significantly in the last 20 years. With increased access to education and employment, thanks to the government’s reservation policies, their purchasing power had gone up. With that, untouchability came down and social discrimination reduced, and social mobility increased. “Of course, economic advancement hasn’t fixed the wrongs of the caste system, but, it has narrowed the gap with the upper castes,” he says.

Prasad believes customers of all castes can benefit from the austerity that characterises the lives of impoverished Dalits. Which is why, he raised Rs 25 lakh from friends and family to set up the venture, and tied up with the Confederation of Indian Industry for the launch. “Kartik Bharat Ram [of DCM Group], one of the biggest upper caste industrialists in India, launched the website,” says Prasad.

The website offers everyday products such as turmeric powder, chilli powder, barley flour, and mango pickle. Most of the food is grown in water-starved areas—turmeric in the drought-prone parts of Maharashtra, coriander in Madhya Pradesh, and red chilli in Rajasthan. Since its launch in July, the products have been flying off the shelves. The portal has been raking in Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 in average daily sales. Part of the revenue earned from sales will go to the Dalit vendors.

Prasad measures success on the basis of who is buying. The products have found buyers across various categories. J.J. Irani, former director of the Tata group, is a fan of the mango pickle while his wife Daisy says she uses their turmeric powder every day. “Many Guptas, Mishras, Singhs, Sharmas, Patils [all upper castes] are placing orders—India is changing!” he exults.

Even though Fortune India didn’t ask him about a comparison with yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s massive empire of food, soaps, and ayurvedic medicines, Prasad had this to say: “Coconuts are cracked at Baba Ramdev’s events, but at mine, champagne bottles are uncorked. I’d like to think we are more modern and forward looking.”