Moscow Diaries — Day 2 of 4 · By Anant Agarwal, Co-founder & Chef, Daily Foodzz · 16 September 2026
Someone we have been supplying for years recorded a message for us at the stand today.
He did it in Russian, and he spoke his mind WorldFood Moscow 2026 Day 2. When we asked afterwards whether he would mind doing one in English as well, he did that too.
We are not going to add much to what he said. But there is something behind a message like that, and it is worth being plain about what it is.
The Message @ WorldFood Moscow 2026 Day 2
We are posting the Russian version first, deliberately. If you are sourcing here, you should hear it in your own language rather than read our translation of it. The English recording is available too — ask us and we will send it.
He has been ordering from us for years, across multiple seasons.
We Would Rather Keep You Than Win You
We are not built to win an order. We are built to still be loading containers for you in year five. That changes what we are prepared to do and what we refuse.
Quality is not something we trade against price. When a lot does not meet the standard, it does not ship. That cost sits with us. It does not arrive in your container and it does not become a conversation between us three weeks later.
What that means on your side is fairly simple. The tenth container looks like the first. You are not re-qualifying us every season. You are not managing our problems for us, and you are not explaining them to your own customer.
Someone can always be cheaper on a single shipment. We would rather be the supplier you stop having to think about.
What Does Not Go Into Your Container
The part nobody photographs is the sorting line. It is where most of what we have just said either happens or doesn’t.
Here is what comes out before anything is packed.
Corn on the cob. Cob length and uniformity within the pack, kernel fill along the whole cob, and any cracked or split cob. Cracked cob is the one we are hardest on — it is almost always a variety problem rather than a handling problem, which means the fix is upstream at sowing, not on the line. Anything that does not hold its shape comes out.
Sweet corn kernels. Kernel size and colour consistency across the lot, broken and shattered kernels, immature or over-mature material, foreign matter. Kernel uniformity is what separates one supplier’s IQF corn from another’s once it is out of the bag and on a plate, and it is the first thing you will notice when you open a pack.
French fries. Length distribution within the cut, dark or bruised material, defects and blemishes. What we pull here is directly connected to what we wrote yesterday about fry performance — the six things that decide what happens in your fryer.
Green chilli. Length grading, colour, blemish and damage tolerance.
Baby corn and peas. Size grading and maturity, which for peas in particular decides both texture and sweetness in the finished product.
The material in the middle. This is the part worth being direct about. Some of what comes off a line is not clearly bad. It would probably pass an inspection. It would almost certainly never be rejected. Shipping it would cost us nothing today.
It does not go into your container. It is diverted to the domestic market instead, and that difference is absorbed by us.
We are not raising this to make a point about ourselves. We are raising it because it is the only honest answer to the question of why one supplier’s tenth container matches their first and another’s doesn’t. It is decided at that moment, on that line, by people who could have looked the other way.
Which is roughly what the message at the top of this page is about, even though he did not put it that way.
The Reception @ WorldFood Moscow 2026 Day 2
Later in the day we were at the B2B/B2G Networking Reception and Dinner, hosted by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India and the Embassy of India in Moscow, jointly with the Russian Embassy.
We were among the Indian manufacturers selected for the Indian Products on Display section. Anant set out and presented the range himself, in chef whites — corn on the cob, sweet corn, baby corn, the mango range and the retort line.
There is only one thing worth saying about that. The person standing behind the table explaining the product is the person who developed it. That is true at our stand this week and it is true on a call in November.
The room itself is worth noting for a different reason. Both governments were in it, on the subject of Indian food processing into Russia. If you are weighing up where to source frozen vegetables and snacks from over the next few years, that is a reasonable signal about where this lane is heading.
Into Day 3
- The message at the top of this page. It was earned on a sorting line over several seasons, long before anyone pointed a camera.
- The sorting standard above is not a description. It is something you can hold us to, and you are welcome to.
- Conversations from the reception that we will be following up on this week.
We are posting one of these every evening until the show closes on 18 September.
If you are at WorldFood Moscow, come and find us — Daily Foodzz, Virun Global Trade Pvt. Ltd., Stand A5097/17, India/APEDA pavilion. Our Russian translator is on the stand all day, so take the conversation as deep as you like.
Come and taste, or ask us for a sample and fry it in your own kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sorted out before a Daily Foodzz container ships?
Cracked and split cobs, cobs with incomplete kernel fill, broken and shattered sweet corn kernels, off-colour or immature material, foreign matter, out-of-grade sizes, and any blemished or damaged product. Marginal material that would likely pass inspection is also diverted rather than shipped.
Can I speak to someone already ordering from Daily Foodzz?
Yes. We can arrange a reference conversation with an existing account in your market or in a comparable one.
How does Daily Foodzz keep the tenth container consistent with the first?
Specification at intake, processing parameters set per lot rather than to one standing recipe, batch records kept through production, and a sorting standard applied to marginal material rather than only to obvious defects.
What causes cracked cob in frozen corn on the cob?
Cracked and split cobs are almost always a variety problem rather than a handling or processing problem. The correction sits upstream at sowing, in the choice of a shorter, more uniform variety, rather than on the sorting line.
What was the MoFPI reception at WorldFood Moscow 2026?
A B2B/B2G Networking Reception and Dinner hosted by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India and the Embassy of India in Moscow, jointly with the Russian Embassy, with an Indian Products on Display section. Daily Foodzz was among the manufacturers selected to present.
Where can I meet Daily Foodzz at WorldFood Moscow 2026?
Stand A5097/17, India/APEDA pavilion, until 18 September 2026. A Russian translator is on the stand throughout.
The Recognition
We have been recognized by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India; APEDA. You can read more about it here
References: Press Release | Department of Commerce | APEDA | News on Air
