-Vasudevan (cbedit@imaws.org)

Salad days are back again in the small and big cities of Kerala with varieties of delicacies being served to customers for meals, and dinner weekly and monthly. The trend is even more visible as more health clubs now vastly prefer salad combos with combinations of vegetarian, keto, non-vegetarian, fish, and egg as their choices. Caeser salad, broccoli salad, Mediterranean chicken salad, and Moroccan salad have now turned into top chartbusters among the daily gym goers.

Trivandrum and Kochi, the two main cities are witnessing the trend post covid-19, thanks to the extensive blogs and YouTube videos on the health benefits of salads.‘Salad Caffe’, one of the unique online outlets in this league has a blend of vegetarian, non-vegetarian, and keto salads that have been off late receiving excellent responses from the customers. It is a four-year-old online food outlet that provides 50 varieties of salads categorized under vegetarian, Keto, multi-grain, chicken, steak (beef), fish, and egg. There are seven health clubs including gymnasiums in Thiruvananthapuram that have already bought salads in bulk content from the outlet.

“We have been buying vegetarian and keto salads during post Covid-19 pandemic as we saw that regular gym enthusiasts have been preferring salads rather than regular protein diets served in their houses. Salads with grains and fresh vegetables such as broccoli is been highly preferred. On a daily basis 50 to 60 of our regular gym members are consuming salads for their dinner”, said T Sreejith, a gym trainer in Thiruvananthapuram.

Salad varieties catering to people of all ages, the online outlet has already won the hearts of health enthusiasts and daily gym goers as many are of the view that salad consumption is always a healthy option due to its rich presence of Vitamin A, C, Beta Carotene, calcium, folate, fiber, and phytonutrients.

Energy pack salad, nutty salad, Caesar salad, Hawaiian salad, broccoli apple salad, quinoa apple salad, keto cobb egg salad, and Mediterranean chicken salad are the ones highly preferred by customers in the past year. Salads are served with a variety of dressings such as balsamic vinaigrette, egg-less mayonnaise, lime vinaigrette, and keto vinaigrette.

It was the hard work and determination of two youngsters – Shyam Sugathan and SL Shyam who came up with the idea of preparing and serving salads. Shyam who was residing in the Caribbean Islands till 2019 had the initial thought of starting Salad Cafe in Trivandrum. After his arrival, he along with Shyam Sugathan, a close friend of his started the café on an experimental basis where they had to deliver salads directly to the customers.

“There was a huge demand for fresh vegetables, especially leafy vegetables and millets in the midst of the pandemic. Within a few days of reopening our store, we saw that more people started placing orders online and reaching out to us. We ensured cleanliness and thus the quality and safety of the food that is been prepared here will not be compromised”, said Shyam Sugathan, the MD and one of the partners operating the salad cafe at Kowdiar. Salad Cafe is set to open its new outlet in Kochi and by the mid of 2024, ten outlets are expected to open in various parts of the country.

Coming to Kochi, Kashi Art Café is one of the preferred place-to-go for salad lovers, especially gym freaks who look out for a rich protein and vitamin diet after their workouts.

“Salads which have been preferred mostly by tourists are now mostly ordered by youngsters, especially youngsters who are busy going for workouts. Chicken, vegan, and fish are trending these days. There are no special seasons for salads, these days every day we are receiving a good number of orders for salads”, said Edgar Pinto, owner of Kashi Art Café located at Fort Kochi.

Salads that cater to tropical climates have found an answer at ‘Turmerica’, a café at Wayanad that is also a tourist destination with a homestay attached. Salads prepared out of vegetables and fruits grown on the farm have been receiving excellent reviews. “Italian salads, leafy salads such as orange and carrot salads have always had a demand at our café as these are preferred much by the tourists from the neighbouring states as well as foreign tourists. We believe that a person’s food intake is directly proportional to the climate prevailing in that region. Leafy veg salads are most preferable for people living in tropical regions and hence we ensure that we provide the same to our customers”, said Rajagopal Menon, the co-owner of Turmerica Café.

It was following the Covid-19 pandemic that many salads café’s started gaining traction in Kerala as many among the age group between 25 and 50 began opting for salads as their main course.

Praveen, Owner of ‘Café-17’, an eat-out that serves salads and other delicacies feels that post-Covid-19 there is a demand for salads. “These days the demand for salads is increasing as people between the age gap of 25 and 50 are opting for salads. We also found that women, mostly between the age turning out for salads to us”, he said.

Of all the café owners who were reached out by us, many are of the view that the sales of salad combos are expected to go high as many youngsters and middle-aged are moving towards a more healthy diet module where they prefer organic vegetables and fruits to be part of their daily lives. The trend has become more evident post the Covid-19 pandemic.