Millets are popular for their nutritional benefits. It provides extra benefits like antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-tumorigenic, and antibacterial materials. Consuming millet boosts immunity, detoxifies the body, reduces cancer risk, increases energy, strengthens the brain and muscles, and improves respiratory immunity. Compared to processed grains, millets are more nutrient-dense. Millets contribute to a well-balanced diet and play a significant role in sustainable nutrition. Lack of awareness about the nutritional content of existing dietary patterns and unwillingness to adapt eating habits are two major contributors to poor production and consumption. Millets are no longer extensively grown, and as a result, there are barely any of them on the market. Since 2003, several studies have been performed to assess the millet's increasing demand. This study's objective is to compile marketing mix strategies from those studies and then provide an intelligent perspective on such strategies.
Top1. Introduction
Cereal is an indispensable staple that is consumed by the vast majority of people worldwide. By offering a significant number of calories, protein, and a few specific micronutrients and non-nutrients, cereal grains play a significant part in the diets of people. It also accounts for more than 56% of energy and 50% of protein spent globally. The cereal crops like wheat, maize, rice, barley, sorghum, millet, oat, and rye are all most cost-effective. Cereal grains called millets are divided into two major and minor groups. The primary millet varieties include finger, sorghum, and pearl, while the minor varieties are foxtail, proso, kodo, barnyard, and small millet. Millets are more naturally pest-resistant than common cereals like wheat and rice, which means they require less chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow. Millets also require a very less water to produce than these common cereals. The ability to combat metabolic disorders, a reduced threat of seditious bowel and heart disease, as well as gastrointestinal issues alike stomach ulcers and colon cancer, have all been related to consuming millet. Additionally, studies have indicated that it promotes bone formation and lowers cholesterol, blood sugar, blood lipids, blood pressure, and hypertension. The first grains, millets, were domesticated at the beginning of human civilization thousands of years ago. Evidence from Northern China suggests that 4000 years ago, noodles were produced from two species of millet, proso and foxtail millet. Small-seeded grains from several tribes and genera that are taxonomically part of the Poaceae family are referred to as millet. Around 90% of the millet produced worldwide is consumed in underdeveloped nations (Shahidi & Chandrasekara, 2013). According to estimations given by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), millet output reached 28.33 million metric tonnes in 2019 and 30.08 million metric tonnes in 2021. Africa is considered as the largest area in the world for millet production and consumption. Further 55% of the world's productivity comes from this area, with Asia coming in another with 40%. Only Africa consumes additional 40% of the world's millet, particularly in Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Sudan. The frequent use of millet in underdeveloped countries like India and Africa are important the challenges for food and nutritional safety. High yield and excellent drought resistance of the crop in semi-arid areas of Africa. As a result, initiatives are being undertaken to increase millet production as a response to the region's problems with food security and climate change. African countries began enacting laws in May 2021 to promote millet planting and consumption, employing farmer networks, seed fairs and public seed banks. The development and production of millet seed is the only area of public and private investment where millet entrepreneurs have a substantial impact (FAOSTAT, 2023). But according to Shah et al. (2023), the major barriers to selling millet products include ignorance, unfamiliarity, difficulty in preparation, physical attributes, lack of affordability, loss of trustworthiness, client mistrust, and millets' protracted gestation period. According to Saxena, Saini, and Sasmal (2002), 45.3% of youths did not know how to prepare millet due to the rapid shift towards eating ready-to-eat meals. The majority of customers are aware of the advantages of millet intake, but they have not yet begun doing so. In spite of the fact that 80.6% of women surveyed and believed millet to be nutritious, only 62.7% of them reported eating (Rizwana et al., 2023).