Snapshots of Food Industry News
Investments in Hotel and Food Park on ITC agenda
ITC has been diversifying from its core business and venturing into the hospitality and consumer goods space. In the coming few years the company is planning to invest Rs.800crore in Odisha. Out of this Rs.630crore will be invested in the food processing park and the rest of the money will be invested in the hotel. The hotel property is likely to come up at Bhubaneswar, while the details of the food processing park are under discussion.
Besides investing in these two projects ITC is also considering investment in agroforestry for which it is working on the plans. ITC is recognized as a leader in the tobacco industry but now it is clearly diversifying and will be investing more than Rs.25, 000crore across verticals in the coming years. The company is excepting consumer demand to go up as the rural consumer is likely to receive MNREGA payments and there is hope of a better monsoon.
A new flavor on the cards for Pass Pass Pulse Lovers
DS Group is experimenting with a new flavor in confectionery with the success of its hard-boiled candy ‘Pass Pass Pulse’ which has a Kachcha Aam flavor. The new flavor in the confectionery segment will be called ‘Pulse Guava.’ It will not only have the taste of Guava but will also contain just the right tanginess to make it popular across the country. ‘Pulse Guava’ will be served as a powder-filled inside candy and will be available in a pillow pack at the cost of Re.1.
The DS Group has initiated these flavors keeping in mind the Indian consumer. Once the Guava flavor is launched the company will be working towards creating more innovative flavors as DS Group considers flavors an integral part of the company. The marketing for ‘Pulse Guava’ will be in line with Pass Pass Pulse which communicates the message of happiness through sharing. After the success ‘Pulse Guava’ received in test marketing the company will launch the product pan India. DS Group entered the Confectionery business in 2012 with the launch of ‘Pass Pass Chingles’ – mini chewing gums.
Coca-Cola to bring new fruit-based flavors via its Fanta brand
Coca-Cola is all set to pilot launch a new Fanta variant at the Make in India week. The new juice-based fizzy drink is named Fanta Green Mango and has been prepared to keep the tastes of the Indian consumers in mind. The new product is priced at Rs.30 for a 300 ml can and will initially available in the Delhi – NCR and on e-commerce platforms like Grofers. The Fanta brand aims to extend its portfolio further with other juice-based drinks.
This is a response to the call made by Prime Minister Modi’s when he asked multinationals to add fruit juices to their drinks so that farmers could have another market for their produce. Coca-Cola is helping about four lakh farmers as they are the largest buyers of Indian fruit pulp like mango, guava, litchi etc. the company buys more than Rs.4,000crore of input from farmers. With the launch of Fanta Green Mango, the company hopes that it will create a new demand in this sector. In the last three years, the company has set up six Greenfield projects for juice and sparkling drinks with the intention to help the rural economy.
Jubilant Food takes a plunge in the quarter ended December 2015
Jubilant FoodWorks’ (JFL), the owners of the Domino’s food chain, said its net earnings plunged 9.3% during October-December 2015. The company said that this was because of higher employee costs and depreciation. The firm posted a Rs.31.7crore net profit, which was lower than the Rs.35 crore posted at the same time last year. According to experts, the company could suffer financially if it continues with regular offers like buy one get one (BOGO) free especially as consumers would wait for the offer and not purchase at other times.
However, the year on year basis showed a profit at Rs.633.8crore compared to Rs.554.3crore last year. This was because of price hikes in September and November 2015. JFL also opened 40 new restaurants in nine new cities during the period, bringing Dominos’ store count up to 1,000 and city presence to 225. The company’s same-store sales grew by 2% compared to a growth of 1.9% last year. Jubilant is hopeful about the online ordering platform as it makes up 36 percent of total delivery sales. They intend to invest in expanding technology and identify innovative ways to extend their business on multiple channels.
DAJani says
How many registered FBO’s in INDIA TILL DATE? Please also let me know the no. of licensed FBOs in Gujarat state.
Dr. Saurabh Arora says
Hi the total number is now over 3300000, I dont have the exact number or the number in Guj