Snapshots of Food Industry News
Patanjali Ayurved acquires Haryana based RH Agro’s rice mill
With the aim of launching 18 rice brands by Diwali Ramdev’s Patanjali has bought the Haryana rice mill of RH Agro for Rs. 70 crores. Besides this, Patanjali has also leased four other rice mills across the country to facilitate its rich brands release. These new mills will allow the new FMCG to produce 3.2 lakh tonnes of finished rice a year from procured paddy. The rice mills will also enable the company to produce region specific rice for local sale as well as produce rice for export.
Patanjali Ayurved partners with thousands of farmers to produce traditional variants of rice. Besides the mill in Sonipat which will process basmati rice, the two mills in Madhya Pradesh will process pusa rice, the Telangana mill is to process the aromatic Sona Masuri while the Fazilka mill will process rice grown in Punjab. The rice brands will be available in stock keeping units (SKU) of various sizes and the prices will range from Rs.67 for Sona Masuri steam rice and Rs. 2,100 for 25kg of Lashkari. The rice brands are likely to have a shelf life of two years which is double that of the prevalent shelf life.
Rs.30 crore expansion plan for Lite Bite Foods
Lite Bite Foods, the multi-cuisine restaurant chain is to expand the operations of some of its restaurant brands. The restaurant chain will invest Rs.30 crore to launch a new format of Punjab Grill and provide healthier foods and reduced portion sizes. The company feels that reformatting Punjab grill will allow them access to millennial consumers who prefer to opt for healthy menu options.
Same store, Quick Service Restaurants have been showing a slow down with growth only reaching only single digits. However, Lite Bite Foods thinks that offering a differentiated cuisine could be the answer to more consumer tractions. Lite Bite Foods has over 100 restaurants in India with brands like Punjab Grill, Zambar, FresCo and the Artful Baker in their basket.
Coca-Cola to make ready-to-drink coffee for Dunkin’ Donuts
The Coca-Cola Company will produce Dunkin’ Donuts ready-to-drink coffee beverages which will be in keeping with Dunkin’ Donuts specifications. This will be Dunkin’ Donuts first foray into the beverage market. With the help of Coca-Cola’s extensive network of bottling partners the company hopes to sell and distribute Dunkin’ Donuts ready-to-drink beverages. The coffee beverage will include high-quality Arabica coffee blends with real milk and sugar in a variety of flavours.
The Dunkin Donuts coffee is aimed at increasing their brand relevance with existing consumers and attracting younger consumers. Dunkin’ Donuts has partnered with The Coca-Cola Company since 2012 to serve Coca-Cola products, including soft drinks, juices, enhanced waters and energy drinks, at Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the United States and select markets around the globe. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is to be launched first in the US and the company says that it will share net profits of the sales on the ready to drink coffee with the US based Dunkin’ Donuts franchise partners.
InnerChef raises $2.5 million from Japanese Mistletoes and M&M Partners
InnerChef a joint venture of Rajesh Sawhney, Sanjeev Singhal and Bal Dighent offers ready-to-eat meals and desserts. The food delivery platform has raised US $2.5 million from Japanese company Mistletoe, and Singapore’s M&M Partners besides others. The funds are likely to be used to expand the reach of the company to other cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Presently the company operates in Gurugram.
Desserts are the heart and soul of InnerChef’s product line. It also wishes to encourage and provide opportunity to women entrepreneurs and therefore the company has hired Indian women who specialize in dessert making. Rajesh Sawhney says he wishes to provide opportunities to at least 10,000 women entrepreneurs from around the neighbourhood in Gurugram. The latest funding will enable the company to build a world-class brand for itself.
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