Bengaluru Bioinnovation Centre turns Kalaburagi pulses into energy bars

What if Kalaburagi’s pulses could travel further than the grain market? The Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) is exploring that possibility by turning locally grown pulses into ready-to-eat energy bars, aiming to create more value within Karnataka’s agricultural supply chain.

The Bengaluru-based life sciences incubator has developed six variants using pulses grown in Kalaburagi as part of the Kalyana Karnataka Bio-Economy Mission, in association with the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture.

The range includes bars made from toor dal, black gram, green gram and Bengal gram, along with a multi-pulse variant and a higher-protein formulation.

From raw grain to packaged food

Kalaburagi is one of Karnataka’s important pulse-growing regions, but much of its produce currently leaves the district as raw grain. Higher-value processing and the resulting margins are often captured elsewhere.

BBC is looking at whether locally grown pulses can instead become shelf-stable, plant-based protein products that can enter the packaged-food market.

The four single-pulse variants use pulse crisps as their main pulse component, combined with roasted peanuts, jaggery, oats and pumpkin seeds. The formulations do not contain synthetic colours, flavours or chemical preservatives.

Shri Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT, Biotechnology and e-Governance, Government of Karnataka, said the opportunity lies in creating more value from what the state already produces.

“Karnataka has strong agricultural production, but the next opportunity is to create more value from what we grow. Innovation is not just about developing new products; it is about understanding what we produce, recognising emerging market and consumer demand, and finding new ways to present our agricultural products so that they can reach more consumers and increase consumption.”

He added that the initiative could connect Bengaluru’s innovation ecosystem with businesses and producers in Kalyana Karnataka. “This initiative is an example of how Bengaluru’s innovation ecosystem can work with Kalyana Karnataka to turn locally grown pulses into higher-value products, while creating opportunities for farmers, FPOs and local enterprises.”

Building a local value chain

Dr Mohamad Adil AA, Managing Director of Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre, said the project is intended to demonstrate how agricultural commodities can be developed into new products.

“The idea was to look beyond the pulse as a raw commodity and explore what else can be created from it. By developing ready-to-eat products using locally grown pulses, we are demonstrating a possible pathway for value addition that can eventually be taken up by FPOs, SHGs and MSMEs in the region.”

The single-pulse bars currently contain around 4 grams of protein per 30-gram bar, with approximately 122-123 kcal and 1.8-2 grams of dietary fibre. The higher-protein FOS variant provides about 4.85 grams of protein per 30-gram serving.

The nutritional claims are subject to final accredited laboratory validation and FSSAI declaration. The wider Kalyana Karnataka Bio-Economy Mission is focused on building a region-specific bioeconomy around agricultural strengths including tur, red banana and sugarcane.

Its roadmap covers areas such as disease-free planting material, bio-inputs, processing, value addition, use of agricultural by-products and stronger market linkages. BBC will now conduct shelf-life and stability studies, nutritional testing and consumer acceptance trials, alongside packaging and FSSAI licensing.

If the process moves ahead, the technology could eventually be transferred to interested farmer producer organisations (FPOs), self-help groups (SHGs) and entrepreneurs in the region, creating a route for more of the value generated from Kalaburagi’s pulses to stay within the region.