For years, traditional grains like millets had been pushed aside in favour of more commercial crops, leaving farmers with diminishing incomes and an uncertain future.

One such individual affected by this transition was Arvind Kumar, an organic farmer from Uttar Pradesh, whose fortunes—like those of many others—had been on the decline.

“I sold my millet crops in tiny amounts, just enough to scrape by and keep the household afloat. There was no certainty, payments were delayed, prices were low, and hope was fading,” he shares.

But all that began to change when Arvind met Palak Arora, the founder of ‘SatGuru Superfoods’ and its flagship brand ‘Millium’, a name that honours millets, one of the oldest staple grains known to mankind.

Today, her millet-based food business generates Rs 3 lakh every month, combining traditional wisdom with modern science, while uplifting rural farmers who had almost abandoned millet cultivation altogether.

Her journey did not start in a high-tech lab or bustling startup incubator. Instead, it took root during the still and uncertain days of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, when she was in her third year at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM).

It began as a personal search for immunity-boosting and nutrient-dense food, but evolved into a mission to improve the food system and rural livelihoods.

Family, food, and fight drive a personal mission

“I was looking online for easy-to-cook and healthy foods that could boost immunity. What I found were raw millets or coarse flour, but no ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products. Everyone knew millets were nutritious, but no one had made them convenient,” Palak tells The Better India.

She was well aware, owing to her rigorous training in food technology and certification as an FSSC 22000 lead auditor, that millets require specialised processing.

Unlike wheat, which is commonly milled into atta flour ready for instant use, millets require soaking, sprouting, drying, or roasting to break down anti-nutrients and unlock their nutritional potential. This step was almost completely missing from the Indian market, leaving consumers with difficult-to-use raw grains or unprocessed flours.

Adding urgency to her quest was a personal challenge. Her father was battling kidney failure, a life-altering diagnosis that called for strict nutritional vigilance. Doctors revealed that the underlying cause was a prolonged deficiency of essential micronutrients, a realisation that shifted the family’s perspective on food and health forever.........

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