A healthy diet involves consuming foods that are rich in nutrients and maximize your health benefits. Among the components of the diet, we will see amaranth flour, bread, pasta. These products are not considered useful by everyone, but this idea has something to oppose. Direct arguments – in the story of the manufacturer of eco-products, which has no analogues.

Let’s look at the research results

We are talking about the results of studying amaranth and the composition of products based on it. Amaranth itself, first of all, is distinguished by the content of vitamin E and squalene in the active form, which, in turn, is an essential component of human skin and is actively involved in the synthesis of hormones and vitamin D. The seeds of this plant are called “grain of the XXI century” because valuable composition, significant amount of nutrients. It is gluten-free and contains a number of important substances for the body. It:

• almost perfect protein;
• lysine and other amino acids;
• iron;
• calcium;
• magnesium;
• phosphorus;
• potassium.

In addition, amaranth seeds contain twice as much vitamins of groups B and A, E than fiber and oat bran. It is not surprising that it is grain that becomes the basis for the production of useful products.

The oil contains essential polyunsaturated fats and acids, as well as vitamins, including those of groups E and F. The maximum amount of nutrients is stored in cold-pressed oil.

Flour contains all the valuable substances characteristic of the main product. There are many useful elements, minerals and vitamins that help strengthen the body.

These and other amaranth-based products help us feel energized, healthy, and in great shape. During the COVID-19 epidemic, they help to strengthen the immune system, an easier course of the disease.

About one of the types of products based on amaranth

It should be noted right away that we will talk about pasta, but about the unique products of the Mak-Var Ecoproduct company. Now she has her own online store with a focus on healthy eating, but a few years ago it was very different. Alexey Vartanyan, the founder of the company and the owner of the trade mark. I would like to note that by his basic education he is an electrical engineer, and also the Chairman of the European Institute of Healthy Nutrition public organization.

– I started back in the year 2000, and not because I wanted to produce healthy food products (then no one was interested in this, but there was a trend).

There was a pasta shop – the smallest, with low capacities, but what was interesting: people wanted to buy yellow pasta, as if with the addition of eggs. And I was faced with the fact that if you do not add this dye, then no one will buy pasta from me. Once I decided to make pasta not yellow, but brown – with the addition of bran, and positioned them as pasta with fiber, useful for the body. But at that time it was not in demand, and at first I did not even know what to do with them. The first buyers were people who had diabetes, because fiber slows down the release of sugar. Yes, they knew that pasta should not be consumed with this disease, because it is fast carbohydrates, but they wanted to … Therefore, it was better to buy pasta with bran. I started selling macaroni with bran in shops for diabetics.

But, as it turned out, the main argument was missing – a piece of paper, a certificate that the products were useful and were made by experts.

“When I started selling pasta and offering my products, I was told:“ You invented something and say that it is useful. Give me the appropriate piece of paper. ” There were even cases when the sanitary station, when I brought brown pasta there, did not want to take them for tests. So I went to the National University of Food Technologies (NUFT), the department of pasta production, and we began to very fruitfully cooperate with Professor Vera Gavrilovna Yurchak and her graduate students. I helped them in the preparation of dissertations, candidate dissertations – they conducted their research at my facilities and equipment. I completed refresher courses with them and received a diploma in food production.

Much has been done in terms of self-education. As the interlocutor noted, in the local technical library there is no book on the production of pasta, no matter what has been read. In collaboration with scientists, several recipes / gluten-free pasta, in particular / have been developed. And all this happened, so to speak, without interrupting production.

– At first I sold such pasta only in Vinnitsa. But word of mouth worked: relatives, their friends learned that there are pasta that are more suitable for diabetics than ordinary ones. Then there was almost no Internet, they talked more on the phone, and they began to call me from Kiev and say that they wanted to buy such pasta. And the logistics, the cost of delivery to Kiev was more expensive than these pasta cost. But I saw that this does not stop people, and I realized that the products have the right to life throughout Ukraine. As soon as my pasta came to the attention of people who are engaged in healthy eating (this is a kind of caste where everyone knew each other and shared information), I decided to expand the assortment and give pasta with various additives. This is how pasta with amaranth, milk thistle, flax (meal) appeared. And gradually a market for healthy eating was formed. Since then there were actually no social networks, but there were forums, and supporters of healthy eating wrote to me and asked me to make other types of pasta, as well as flour, so that you could make some buns and dough dishes yourself. This is how the packaging of flour and meal was arranged.
– So, there are additives useful for health in pasta.
– All these herbal supplements are like products of grain processing for oil – linseed, milk thistle, amaranth. The dry residue was dried and ground for me.
– Don’t you make butter yourself?
– No, we do not produce oil. It’s already I communicate with partners. In Ukraine, I went through almost all manufacturers at that time and chose those that produce really useful oil, because there is a lot of counterfeit. I chose those in whom I am absolutely sure, and began to cooperate with them.
– What additives?
– I have a lot of them. These are pumpkin, flax, milk thistle, amaranth, grain germ, grape seed, walnut.
– By whose authorship is the product, whose recipe?
– Pasta has no analogues, we have patented them (protected by three patents), and the authorship is mine, that is, I am the owner. So, only I can make rye pasta (rye pasta with additives is patented).
– Pasta is not considered a very healthy food. What do you say to the supporters of this opinion?
– It’s all relative – not very healthy food. Here Italians eat pasta, one might say, both day and night, but they have many slender, fragile women. There is a Mediterranean diet that provides a certain amount of seafood and pasta, and this does not harm the body.

Less harmful durum pasta, where the protein structure acts in a different way on the body. But if any of the women thinks that pasta spoils the figure, then I can say that it is not so much pasta that adds extra pounds, but yeast dough. Pasta can be harmful only for diabetics, there are fast carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed, and as a result, sugar is released. This is if they are made from soft varieties. And more depends on the amount of what you use.

– The pasta of your production is interesting because there is amaranth among the ingredients. Do you, your family, take it into your diet? If so, what are the sensations?
– When I decided to make pasta with various additives, amaranth was my priority. Amaranth, milk thistle, and pumpkin are the three positions I decided to do first. Amaranth in Ukraine at that time was completely unknown, but in America they knew him well, and a friend from America told me: “Here we have pasta with amaranth,” and I asked what kind of amaranth it was. When I found out all its useful properties, about squalene, and how this squalene was found, and it is in amaranth up to 10 percent (and in the shark liver, where it was first detected – no more than two), I realized that this is a very useful culture, and it must be put into production. This is how pasta with amaranth appeared.

I read a lot about the properties of amaranth and realized that I was on the right track. In my opinion, milk thistle and amaranth are the main components, and the first is good for the liver, and the second is for immunity.

My family’s diet includes pasta not only with amaranth, but also with other additives. If I thought they weren’t useful, I wouldn’t use them.
– How do they affect health?
– It’s not electronics, where you turned on the toggle switch – and that’s it, you’re healthy. Not immediately felt. But if consumed regularly, it is noticeable. Especially for those whose immunity is weakened, for example, by chemotherapy.

In general, I, for example, use not only amaranth. The diet contains pasta with various additives, we add various meals to salads, to yoghurts. Over the past 15 years, I have never been to a doctor.

So, the production of pasta and other products in the company is growing. But it is known that high-quality equipment is needed to produce quality products. I wonder what the selection criteria are – power, cost or something else.

– Our equipment is Ukrainian, that is, domestic. I will not say that it is modern, because it is already ten years old. But the technology is modern. This is a vacuum pasta making, low-temperature drying.

By the time the question arose of which equipment to choose, there really was no choice. Domestic equipment was designed for the segment of mid-level manufacturers, Italian – very powerful, costing millions of dollars, designed for large enterprises. And there were small Italian machines designed for the production of pasta in a cafe or shop.

Having declared itself as an enterprise with unique products, it is probably not easy to resist competitors. Alexei Vartanyan also has his own, almost unique position regarding this.
– When I look at competitors in the market as competitors, the thought immediately arises of how to overcome them, and some kind of negative appears. Thinking how to outrun the competition is a very unproductive path.

At first it was very difficult, because I was the first to master the healthy food market. He actually did not exist then. I had no competitors here at all. And this is very bad.

Just imagine: I made pasta with amaranth or grape seed, and they are of an unusual color (brown), I come to the store, I say that there are such healthy pasta, come on, you will sell them. They say: “No, nobody asks us like that. When people ask, come, we’ll have brothers. ” Then I decided that let there be competitors who, just like me, are forced to promote such products, which will lead to its demand.

Today I am ahead of competitors, I have been in this market for several years, and they are just starting. They will “fill the shots” and offer the same or similar products. Therefore, I do not consider those who make similar products competitors. They are just people who do the same things as me. But at the same time, I think for myself how to make my products better, so that the buyer of my products becomes more convenient in terms of packaging, taste or other qualities. Thus, I automatically overtake the competitors.

Although I must say, I study competitors, what they are doing, and if they have something that they thought of, and I did not, then, of course, I take it into service.

– What can you tell people who are trying to find their place in the market?
– There is such a mistake, and I did not avoid it, – you think that you have made a super-product, and you just release it on the market, they will immediately grab it, but in the end it turns out that this is a dead product. After all, what you think does not mean that your customers think so. People still need to explain a lot what is most useful and what is not, and there is a lot of counterfeit on the market.

And I would also like to advise “not to harness the cart in front of the horse.” You must first study the market and give the buyers what they want to buy. Then improve the product.

The main thing is not to be afraid. You don’t have to think for a whole year what to give to the buyer, but you have to try. To do one thing in a small amount and offer, if everything is good – you go ahead, it didn’t work out – you do something else. But by no means give up. If you chose the direction, then you have to go. They say that a successful person is distinguished by the fact that he quickly makes a decision, but cannot refuse it for a very long time.

– You are participating in the “Taste of Ukraine” project initiated by the Association of Amaranth and Amaranth Producers. Where do you see the prospects for such participation?
– There are always prospects. When I started, no one knew such products, and I only “promoted” them on the Internet, so I am sure that participation in any projects is beneficial. A wonderful project has appeared that promotes Ukrainian food products, and also healthy food products, so participation in it is simply necessary. This is how you promote your products, healthy food in general, and domestic producers.

Our manufacturers are actually very good, but modest. Here in Europe there is something insignificant, and they will promote it so that it seems just super. We have unique projects, great products, and their authors are so modest and do not consider it something special that deserves attention. Therefore, their products should be promoted, and in particular by such a project.

When the Association appeared, I was already on the market. But thanks to her, I learned a lot about new producers and the use of amaranth, and ideas appeared that can be implemented.

The Association itself is needed, and it is very good that we have it. Unfortunately, amaranth is little known in Ukraine. The Association gives an opportunity to promote it, and to manufacturers who are just starting out, does not allow newcomers to “step on the rake.”

But the main thing for a beginner is to learn, and if a person wants, he will know. Because there are many people who have degrees, but … nothing else.

Alexey Vartanyan’s experience proves the importance of combining desire, perseverance and learning. Under this condition, the goal is achieved.