Snapshots of Food Industry News
Canadian Burger Chain Mr. Sub Goes Indian
Mr. Sub is a fast food Canadian burger chain and has their first outlet in Delhi. They are taking care to cater to Indian tastes with foods like the achari chicken tikka and spicy sambal veggie/chicken meat balls and curried soya. About 95% of their menu has been customised for the Indian palate and for this they have engaged local chefs to work on an exotic menu choice. The fusion of Indonesian sambal sauce with red paprika is another popular spicy sandwich base. Non-vegetarians are likely to enjoy the Pizza Sub and children will like the less spicy potato paneer patties.
Mr. Sub’s biggest USP are their sauces but they are also known for their choice in breads and cookies that are freshly baked like the chipotle bread and five grain bread. They like to customise each order with different breads and sauces which have healthy ingredients. At the start of the festive season Mr. Sub will offer more varieties like corn and oat patty for veggies and Moroccan chicken and lamb for the non-vegetarian palate. The brand has been brought to India by Beverly Food & Beverages. Founded in 1968, Mr. Sub has around 305 outlets in Canada and they hope to open another 30-45 outlets in the Delhi-NCR region by the end of March 2016.
Review of Fruit Concentrates and Puree Market
Fruit concentrates are extensively used in the beverage industry for manufacturing nectars and used as natural sweeteners and colours. Purees are used as a base in sauces, soups and drinks. Both concentrates and puree have a longer shelf life and are suitable for use as a base. Major fruits used are pineapple, mango and banana. Among these, pineapple is the most popular fruit concentrate, accounting for 60% of the world’s fruit juice trade. Mango concentrate is a base ingredient for almost all drinks. A number of industries use banana pulp to enhance the flavour of drinks as it is cheaper than mango. The market is segmented as bakery items, dairy products, confectionery and beverages. Since concentrates and purees are derived from fresh fruit they offer similar nutrient benefits and that is why energy drinks is the largest segment in functional beverages, followed by sports drinks and nutraceutical drinks. The major markets for fruit concentrates and puree are European Union, the Middle East and the U.S.
India is the second largest producer of fruit in the world as production stands at a whopping 94 million tonnes. On the other hand another advantage is that India produces a variety of different fruits in the various regions of the country. However, lack of infrastructure for cold storage, warehousing, inadequate infrastructure for quality control and testing, inefficient distribution channels, high inventory carrying cost, high cost associated with packaging and high preferences for fresh food and seasonal availability of raw materials are all restraints hampering the growth of the fruit concentrate and puree market. Major international players in the fruit concentrates and puree market are Oceanaa, DoehlerGroup, Capricorn, and Mine Products among others.
Holachef becomes the 14th Start-up to receive investment from Ratan Tata
Holachef a Food Tech start-u got an undisclosed amount of investment from Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. Holachef feels that with Ratan Tata to guide them Holachef will definitely become a leader in the food tech space. Launched only in 2014 Holachef was launched for retail consumers in September 2014 in Mumbai’s Powai area. Currently, its services are available in Mumbai and Pune and consumers can place orders from their website or through mobile app on Android and iOS.
After his retirement in 2012 Ratan Tata has invested in 14 start-ups in his personal capacity. He feels that Tata Trust’s expertise will be able to give a strong push to new businesses. He invests in start-ups based on quality and intelligence of the entrepreneurs. Tata’s investments also encompass a wide range of sectors, from health to women empowerment to technology. Ratan Tata said that these new ventures are making a difference in places where they operate and they help the community prosper. Ratan Tata has joined Kalaari Capital, a venture capital fund, as an advisor.
Hindustan Unilever to exit non-core businesses, decides to sell Modern Bakery
Nimman Foods Private Ltd is all set to buy Hindustan Unilever’s bread and bakery business under the Modern brand. Everstone Group is backing the purchase for an undisclosed amount. The Modern brand was bought from the government by HUL in 2002 and since then the company has improved profitability. However, since HUL has decided to exit non-core businesses they are selling the company even through it has shown sustained growth. HUL feels that the sale to Everstone will unlock the full potential of the Modern brand
The 42-year-old Modern brand commands a market share of more than 45 per cent. The business consists of a full range of white and sweet bread, health and wellness bread and value added bakery products such as cakes, muffins, buns, pavs and cream rolls. The Everstone Group is a Singapore-based venture capital and private equity firm that manages about $2.5 billion of assets. Everstone also jointly owns the Indian franchise of US hamburger restaurant chain Burger King.
Lite Bite Foods introduces The Artful Baker
The trend for patisserie and boulangerie is on the rise in India. The pastries and breads served in these bakeries have become quite popular with the rise of middle class incomes. To take advantage of the trend Lite Bite Foods, a leading F&B retail company in the country has introduced The Artful Baker. This patisserie and boulangerie café is located in Select City Walk. Artful Baker’s culinary team has developed unique macaroons, muffins and breads that offer a variety of flavours but not the accompanying calories. The Artful Baker hopes to create the laidback weekend culture of day dining with their offer of some of the best delicacies at affordable prices.
Though starting out as a pop-up the bakery will expand into a full time café. The range of goodies on their menu will include breakfast bakeries, salads and sandwiches, pizzas, mains and grills, picnic baskets, desserts, refreshing drinks and a selection of beers and wines. They have as their chef Sahil Mehta who is India’s first certified bakery, pastry and chocolate expert from LeNotre, France. He is the man behind many renowned patisserie brands such as Choco Diva, Renaissance and L’opera. The café will offer artisanal breads and patisserie that will combine authentic techniques with quality ingredients. The ingredients have been selected carefully and menu planned keeping in mind the health-conscious customers.
GreenDot Health Foods, makers of Cornitos enter ready-to-eat segment
Cornitos is the flagship brand of the Faridabad based GreenDot Health Foods. The company has been steadily expanding its presence in snacks from ‘nacho crisps’ to ‘pop n crunch’ and has now entered the ready-to-eat segment, which the company calls the ‘do-it-yourself’ segment, with the launch of taco shells. Taco bell is the name of the meal snack that has fillers and they can be eaten as a ‘smart meal’ at home or in the office. The company is targeting the young consumers who are fond of international recipes with Indian flavours. Similar to Yum! Brands’ Taco Bell will also target the HoReCa industry initially as the demand for this product is very high as taco shells are used to create various recipes. The company had revenue of Rs.34crore in 2014-15 which is a good 40 per cent more than the previous year.
Healthy snacking is still at a nascent stage in India and this kit with six tacos which will have fillers and salsa sauce is being seen as an attempt to give impetus to this segment. The smart meal will cost Rs.99/- and it will be available in modern trade. The company in investing Rs.20crore to increase its production capacity 1.5 times and will compete for market space with ITC and Pepsi which together command a huge share of the Rs.15, 000crore snacking market. GreenDot Health Foods is targeting revenue of Rs.10crore from the new range.
Britannia invests in agro-processing unit in Andhra Pradesh
FMCG major, Britannia will make an investment of Rs.125 crore in first phase of investment in the proposed agro-processing facility that is coming up in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. They would like to be located in an area that will help to serve markets in Chennai and Bengaluru also. The investment is a response to Chief Minister Naidu’s presentation of Andhra Pradesh offering major advantages in agriculture and allied sectors including horticulture, livestock, fisheries, dairy and poultry. Britannia’s business is generated from biscuits while the balance comes from cakes, dairy and rusk and so this could be a good investment.
Baba Ramdev’s atta noodles could have a long wait for product approval
Hoping to take advantage of the void created by the ban on Nestlé’s Maggi noodles Baba Ramdev‘s Patanjali group is hoping to hit the market soon with their brand of noodles. However, Patanjali is still awaiting product approval from FSSAI for which they had submitted their application in June 2015. However, obtaining the approval could take some more time as FSSAI has discontinued its product approval process. The process will now be available only after it becomes a regulation, which could take as much as six months’ time.
Presently the noodles are undergoing testing and the company hopes to see them on the shelves in a couple of month. However, Baba Ramdev has already had an informal launch even though the product cannot be sold without approval as it is a product for which there are no standards as yet. The yoga guru said that the launch was only made for internal testing and they had every intention to comply with FSSAI regulations and said that the product does not have any MSG.
Coffee Board: 14 per cent rise in India’s coffee exports in April-August
Despite low global prices coffee exports from India have seen a jump of 14 per cent. From an export of 1.26 lakh tonnes a year ago coffee exports rose to 1.43 lakh tonnes during April-August. In value terms, coffee exports rose to Rs.2, 414crore from Rs.2, 148crore in same period last year. Despite the increase the coffee export realisation remained low because of the global prices reacting to the currency depreciation in Brazil. India exports both Arabica and Robusta varieties, besides instant coffee with Italy, Germany, Turkey, Russia and Belgium being major importers.
While there are no immediate supply concerns according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) but supply stocks in most producing countries are waning. This could see a surge in prices if production does not meet the target. On the other hand coffee production in India is expected to peak at 3,55,600 tonnes in the 2015-16 marketing year (October-September) because of adequate rains in most coffee growing states.
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