American chocoloate maker Mars,Tata Trusts to work on addressing nutritional gaps

To help address the nutritional gaps among children, American chocoloate maker Mars and Tata Trusts on November 28 introduced a lentil-based snack aimed at increasing protein intake.

Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts which is the largest charity in the country and own the largest conglomerate Tata Group, termed nutrition as an "important cause" critical for the country, saying it it "enduringly improves the quality of people's lives and achievements."

Tata Trusts and the Chicago-based Mars International had entered into a partnership in 2016 and the snack venture was launched here on November 28 as part of the partnership.

'Gomo Dal Crunchies' will be manufactured at Mars' local facility here and distributed in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. It will be sold in Rs 10-and Rs 20-packs.

While Rata Tata was not present at the function, Mars chairman Stephen Badger and Tata Trusts managing trustee R Venkataramanan were present at the launch. Tata spoke through a video link.

"The world is facing huge social, environmental and health challenges that require forward-thinking partnerships and collaboration," Badger said, claiming his company has the capability to help address some of the challenges by creating commercially viable products.

The collaboration counts on partners' expertise, which will include Mars developing, marketing and selling the product, while Tata Trusts helping in identifying distribution areas thanks to its understanding of local communities.

Tata Trusts are also working on other initiatives in the area of malnutrition, including helping in schemes like the Centre's Integrated Child Development Scheme, working with governments on policy and advocacy on interventions like food fortification; and supporting direct production and distribution of affordable nutritious products like Gomo, a joint statement from the organisations said.