Snapshots of Food Industry News
Britannia Invests in a Greenfield Manufacturing Unit in Assam
Britannia Industries has set up a Greenfield manufacturing unit in Rampur, Assam at a cost of Rs.200 crore. The manufacturing unit has come-up in a record time of 14 months with the support of the Assam government that provided clearances swiftly. The facility will produce a large number of Britannia products that will cater to Assam and other states in the north-east region. This new facility at Rampur will have a capacity of producing 60, 000 tonnes of biscuits annually, while the two other facilities in Assam produce about 30,000 tonnes of biscuits. The company has invested close to Rs.350 crore in the three units in Assam. Out of a business of about Rs.10, 000 crores Northeast India accounts for Rs.600 crore of Britannia’s business annually. Assam is trying to initiate communications with the countries of South East Asia and Britannia would be able to supply their products to these countries from Assam. Britannia is also planning to diversify their business so that they can become a complete food company.
Government Could Offer Incentives on Exports of Milk Products
The central government convened a high-level meeting to discuss several milk related schemes. Under discussion were schemes that included giving incentives for milk products. They could also take up adding milk to mid-day meals, and could reduce GST and increase import duty so that it can give better returns to dairy farmers. Besides central ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal, the meeting was attended by Amul Managing Director RS Sodhi and the Maharashtra State Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices Centre chairman Pasha Patel.
Challenges faced by the milk production centers were discussed during the meeting. It was also decided to offer a 10% incentive on exports of milk and milk products. Another scheme could involve providing milk powder by way of grants to those countries that suffer milk shortage and to which India provides grants. There could also be a cut in the GST rates of ghee and butter to 5% from 12% while import duty could be increased to 60% for lactose. The dairy co-operatives have a stock of more than 1.5 lakh tonnes of skimmed milk powder, out of which 50,000 tonnes could be exported if an export subsidy is provided.
Grofers Targets Rs.2, 500 Crore Revenue on Entering FMCG Segment
Grofers, the online grocery firm, will enter the FMCG segment and is likely to target revenue of Rs.2, 500 crores by FY19. It closed FY 18 with Rs.950 crore sales and for 2019 it is targeting a stronger growth trajectory as it gets a 50 percent contribution from its private brands. The company has launched seven new brands under two categories Budget and Popular G-Brands. The private labels of Grofers have expanded to 250 foods and other non-food products.
Grofers are aiming to drive growth for e-commerce sector by bringing the next 100 million customers to its platform. Grofers range of private label is priced approximately 5 to 50 percent lower than the market price for popular brands in these categories. In the FMCG food sector, it would make its presence felt in food products like tea, fruit jam, muesli, tomato ketchup, corn flakes, rose shahi sharbat. In the last five years, the company has seen overwhelming customer response which has seen them grow tremendously. They have initiated many firsts which have seen them increase their customer base and almost 15 percent of consumers are monthly unique shoppers.
Kolkata based Chowman Expands to 12 Outlets
In Kolkata, Chowman is synonymous with neighborhood fine dining and has become known for its niche authentic Chinese cuisine and the fastest growing fine dining chains. Chowman has a presence in all prime locations in the city from Golf Green to Salt Lake. The newest and number 12 outlet has now been opened at Baguiati, near Jora Mandir bus stop. This outlet is bigger than others as it has seating for 76 but it has Chowman’s signature décor with the elegant red and black color scheme along with low lighting and the bronze Buddha statue. Planters and bells have been placed aesthetically to add to the soothing ambiance.
Chowman offers a wide variety on its menu ranging from various flavors of fish, chicken, prawn, lamb as well as crab meat which can be enjoyed with family and friends. There are now 12 Chowman outlets across the city and 50,000 loyal customers and through their delivery fleet, they can cater to every corner of the city. Chowman is aiming to open some more outlets in Kolkata in 2019 and then foray into other cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.”
Healthy Snack Brand The Mumum Co Raises $5, 00,000 Funding
Mumbai-based children’s snack foods company The Mumum Co has raised $5, 00,000 in an angel round of funding. The funding round will be used for expansion in key metros and Tier-II cities, marketing, hiring and launching new and novel products in the healthy snack category for children. The brand is all set to expand to over eight more cities by the end of the year. The investment was led by Nisa Godrej, executive chairman, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, and Siddharth Parekh and Sumeet Nindrajog, co-founders, Paragon Partners. The brand won the Kids Stop Press 2017 awards for Best Natural Food Brand and Best Mommy Venture within a few months of its launch.
Co-founded by Farah Nathani Menzies and Shreya Lamba, the company was launched in September 2017 when these two mothers struggled to find healthy alternatives for their own children. On reading food labels and nutrition tables they discovered that though foods were labeled healthy they contained artificial flavors, added sugars, high levels of salt and preservatives. They spent a year on research and development (R&D) to create the right natural and wholesome recipes in snack-sized, single serving portions before launching Mumum. The Mumum Co will make a conscious effort to provide children with 100 percent natural and nourishing foods with no preservatives or additives. The founders envision Mumum to become a high-quality health food brand which offers truly natural and trustworthy snacking options to mothers everywhere. Currently, the snacks are available at prominent retail chains across Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune, including Godrej Nature’s Basket, Foodhall and Apollo Chemist and on online marketplaces Amazon and FirstCry.
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