Snapshots of Food Industry News
Flipkart Grocery Services now in Over 50 Cities
Flipkart’s grocery business has grown threefold in the past one year as they have expanded to more than 50 cities, including Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Vellore. Flipkart’s expansion will cater to consumers in seven large cities and about 40 neighbouring smaller cities. Users will have access to high-quality grocery products and offers along with quick deliveries and a seamless grocery shopping experience.
Grocery continues to be one of the fastest-growing categories, with the increase in demand for high quality food and household supplies. There has been an increase demand for groceries from Tier-II cities in the past one year as customers now have a preference for contactless shopping. Flipkart is of the view that this trend is likely to continue and it will definitely set the course for the e-grocery space
Nestle Likely to Reach 1.2 Lakh Villages in the Next Three Years
Nestle’s is focussing on the fast-growing rural market as it plans to reach around 1.2 lakh villages in the next 2 to 3 years. In 2017 Nestle covered roughly 1000 villages and this grew to around 89,000 in 2019 but due to the pandemic there was less growth in 2020 as they were unable to service these markets. The company will enter villages that have a population of over 5,000 and will comprise distribution expansion and portfolio tweaking. The company is already working on renovating and innovating some products that they will offer in semi-urban and rural markets. This move will also have a more rural centric communication thrust for messaging and advertising.
Nestle is also expecting a rebound in the urban market soon, which have not fared well due to COVID-19, and for urban markets Nestle is evaluating Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) channels. The D2C is being evaluated by several FMCG companies and Nestle feels it is an interesting space and will provide competitive offering over other channels.
BL Agro Launches its 12th Exclusive Brand Outlet and First in Delhi
FMCG company, BL Agro Limited has launched its 12th Exclusive Brand Outlet (EBO) ‘Nourish’ and the first EBO in Delhi. The ‘Nourish’ store will retail a wide range of 80+ products that the company offers. BL Agro is one of the fastest growing FMCG brands in the country and is committed to providing quality food products. The company has Nourish EBOs operating in Padrauna, Hathras, NOIDA, Jaipur Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Surat. The 12th outlet is now open at Janpath Bhawan in Central Delhi. BL Agro plans to open 100 EBOs in India in the next FY 2021-22. The Company will follow a franchise model to further expand and penetrate the Indian market.
Brand Nourish came into existence in the year 2018 with a promise for nutrition. The brand offers an entire range of food products like atta, rice, pulses, ghee and oils, dry fruits, pappad, pickles, murabba, and spices. Each Nourish product is packed with superior quality ingredients and is produced with finest processes that ensure maximum retention of nutrients. BL Agro boasts of one of the largest distribution networks amongst all branded edible oil and food product players in the country with over 50,000 retailers, across 200 cities in 13 states of India – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu, and in Nepal.
Haldiram’s Partners with Futurelife to Bring Nutritional Product Range to India
Haldiram’s has partnered with Africa’s Futurelife to bring its nutritional food product range to India. The range of products to be launched in India are Smart Foods, Smart Oats and Ancient Grains, Crunchy Granola and High Protein. Haldiram’s intends to be a part of the increasing trend in urban India where consumption of healthier food and beverages is on the rise. The work-from-home phenomenon due to the pandemic has further increased the demand for such products.
Futurelife has emerged as the partner-of-choice for Haldiram’s in India because of its varied portfolio that blends high quality, nutritious and tasty food products which are highly acclaimed by consumers globally. Haldiram will retail Futerlife products in their stores across north Indian states including Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Futrurelife understands India to be an important market and they believe India will be receptive to their range of products.
MM Originals Launches ‘Coconut Paste’ in India
MM Originals from the house of Mezhukkattil Mills has launched one of a kind ‘coconut paste’ for the first time in India. This launch will see the company step into the B2C segment under the brand name ‘MM Originals’. Earlier it was catering to over 22 global brands in the B2B segment. As the name suggests, the product is a paste form of coconut made with inherently present virgin coconut oil and can be used to replace the usage of coconut in recipes without much issues. Two variants of the product, plain and roasted coconut paste are being made available presently. The ready to use product will help homemakers use coconut in their recipes in the most convenient and hassle-free manner.
MM Originals Coconut Paste offers a value-added product of coconut to consumers which has with zero preservative or additives. The product has been launched after several years of research and development so as to make the coconut usage in food universal and accessible. In this convenient form, the qualities of coconut are preserved with the company’s patented technologies in the field of coconut products. The product is 100 per cent natural and is a zero-water content product. This unique product comes in a sustainable and easily squeezable package and has a shelf life of up to 12 months with no requirement for refrigeration. The product will be available in major ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and all major retail markets.
Chai Point Launches Premium Instant Chai Range
Chai Point has launched instant chai in three flavours – Masala, Ginger and Cardamom. The instant chai will be available in convenient sachet, easy to carry formats priced at Rs 180 for a pack of 10. The pandemic has brought about many fundamental shifts in the food and beverage consumption and chai consumption has risen as professionals continue to work-from-home. The brand has launched instant chai especially for those who are working from home to stay abreast with the needs of their customers for who chai is a fuel which keeps them going. The range is a specially crafted beverage without compromising on the authentic taste of homemade chai.
The company aims to grow the instant chai category into Rs 10 crore business in the next one year. Chai Point instant tea is a 100 per cent natural zero preservative product, where actual tea and spice extracts are mixed with the highest quality dehydrated milk in the state-of-the-art German machines. The company has put in a finely measured quantity of sugar and side by side also made available the sugarless options for customers. Customers need to just add hot water to the premix to get Instant chai. The range is now available on the company’s recently launched D2C platform Shop.Chaipoint.com in addition to biggest e-commerce sites including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Big Basket, SuprDaily. The range will also be available across 170 stores.
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