ARE you a fresh milk lover? If yes, then a shop in Little India called ‘Pal Kade’ might be a perfect choice for you to enjoy a genuine taste of cow’s milk.
The shop owner Harivinraj Kalimuttan, an enthusiastic youngster who launched his business last December during the movement control order (MCO), shared the insights of his business venture in an interview with Buletin Mutiara recently.
“When we planned to open this shop, I did not know that eventually the MCO would be implemented. However, the confidence that we have in the people in this area gave us the courage to go ahead with our plan.
“We also did a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis on the target group for our business, and we found out that 80 percent of people here would give good support to ‘fresh milk’ beverages.
“Moreover, 30 percent of people who work at the premises in Little India are from India, a place that has a high consumption of fresh cow milk among its people.
“So far, we have been receiving good response,” said Harivinraj, brimming with optimism.
Harivinraj, 24, said he obtained the supply of fresh cow milk for his shop from farms owned by his family at two places, namely Kampung Buah Pala and Island Glades.
“It is a family business passed down from my grandfather, who hailed from India. He started cattle farming with his brother after he came to Penang.
“Back in India, he too had a cow farm. My grandfather was in his 20s when he came here.
“So, now I decided to diversify the business by opening up this shop, specially catering to fresh milk lovers,” added Harivinraj.
Harivinraj explained that fresh cow milk does not contain any chemical substances compared to processed milk.
“There is a big difference between fresh milk and processed milk. Preservatives are added to processed milk to increase its shelf life. Once chemicals are added, the amount of protein and other nutrients in the milk would be lost enormously.
“The fresh milk that we use here comes straight from our farms. It is then boiled and served to customers according to their preferred flavours,” said Harivinraj, adding that fresh milk would normally last two to three days.
One of the unique features of the ‘Pal Kade’ is that it sells a variety of milk beverages which are rarely found elsewhere.
It offers some new flavours, including herbal leaves such as thulsi and some Indian spices.
“We sell safron milk, clove milk, thulsi milk, cardamon milk, honey cinnamon milk, masala milk, caramel milk and others as well.
“We have also introduced the ‘badam’ milk shake, which is probably the first of its kind – a combination of fresh milk and badam (almond).
“Apart from our milk beverages, we also intend to make dairy-based desserts later on,” said Harivinraj.
The name ‘Pal Kade’ means a stall or shop that sells milk after being translated from Tamil.
It is situated at one of the shop houses along China Street. The business hour is from 11.30am till 10pm.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter