Would you buy British naan and chapatis...in India?

Honeytop, a British specialty foods company, wants to sell its products - including Peshwari naan, chapatis and parathas - in India, the company said on December 1.

The Honeytop bakery, which is located outside of Mumbai and will open sometime in early 2011, has plans to distribute its flatbread products to major Indian groceries and markets.

The idea is akin to an Indian company gearing up to sell pudding in Yorkshire, but the company's managing director David Laurence told a trade publication that "we believe our naan bread is so good that it will find a ready market with Indian consumers."

Naan, which is actually a generic term referring to flatbreads consumed in Central Asia, the South Asian subcontinent and parts of the Middle East, is a regional staple food for millions of people. It is also the standard accompaniment of Chicken Tikka Masala, often called Britain's "real national dish."

Taste-test Honeytop bread at McDonalds stores across Europe and the Middle East - the pancakes, as well as the naan bread used for the fast food chain's "Indian" burger, are both made by the company.

Honeytop also produces Tesco brand naan (both ready to eat and frozen), including Peshwari, Garlic & Coriander and "light," which costs from £.055-2.00 per package (approx. $.85-$3).

Fresh-baked bread hot from the tandoor (clay oven) and chapatis right off the skillet are generally available at virtually any Indian restaurant, fast food joint, bakery or grocery. Mumbai is also the birthplace of the "Frankie" - a chapati roll filled with any number of things, from vegetables to mutton.

Street food joints like TIBBs, Hema Cold Drinks and Aga Brothers sell Frankies all over Mumbai for 40 to 50 rupees ($.80-$1.10). TIBBS franchises bake their own breads fresh daily and will soon open locations in Goa and Dubai.

One area where Honeytop products might have an advantage is in packaging - resealable zip-lock sure beats paper when trying to keep bread fresh.

http://www.ilovetibbs.com/