Snapshots of Food Industry News
Tata Global launches instant coffee brand
Tata Coffee is a new brand launched by Tata Global Beverages and will compete for market space with Nescafe and Bru made by Nestle and Hindustan Lever respectively. The second largest tea maker has ventured into the coffee business now. Tata Coffee has been developed conjointly with Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) and group firm, Tata Coffee. Tata Coffee will manufacture the coffee from beans that will come from Tata plantations in South India which produce the famous Arabica and Robusta coffee blends. Presently 70 per cent of the sales for Tata Tea come from tea brands and coffee has 20 per cent business from brands like Eight o’clock and Grand, outside India.
Maggi noodles production has begun in all Nestle plants in India
Nestle India has announced that the Maggi has resumed production in all five of their manufacturing units. Everyone’s favourite instant noodles are back on the shelves since November after lifting of the five month ban imposed by FSSAI. With production also beginning from Nestlé’s manufacturing plant at Tahliwal in Himachal Pradesh all five manufacturing plants in India have begun production. The company’s other plants at Karnataka, Punjab, Goa and Pantnagar in Uttarakhand had already resumed production last month. The ban on Maggi instant noodles had led to the destruction of 30,000 tonnes of Maggi and a loss of Rs.450 crore.
Goli Vada Pav ties-up with online ordering sites Foodpanda and Swiggy
Ethnic Indian food brand Goli Vada Pav has tied-up with Foodpanda and Swiggy in Mumbai, as a pilot project. In the next phase the company intends to follow this up with tie –ups in Gurgaon and Bengaluru. This move is in keeping with its digital strategy. The online ordering companies will deliver for Goli Vada Pav and where they do not have a presence Goli will outsource it to hyper-local players like Opinio which serves three markets and here Goli will begin delivery in December.
Foodpanda and Swiggy have a foothold in Tier I cities and hence it makes sense for Goli to integrate with them instead of launching their own App. The orders these companies give will come on a single platform which will make it easy for Goli franchisees to follow through. Franchisees are also listing independently across various food platforms. The company also intends to open 1000 stores by 2020 to back- up delivery orders. They will also begin full meal menus and focus on bringing stores to tier 2 and 3 cities. In tier I cities they will concentrate on home-delivery enabled through digital mediums like apps. Ten stores in Bengaluru are equipped with the home delivery app while Badapav.com has been launched for placing orders online.
Maiyas Beverages and Foods offer Rasam Xpress in cubes
Maiyas Beverages and Foods have changed the way rasam will be made in the south. After a research of 10 years they have come up with Rasam Xpress cubes. This cube will make the same aromatic South Indian soup, rasam in just 30 seconds. The product is natural and has no preservatives, additives and chemicals and has a shelf life of one year. Those who cannot make rasam the authentic way, office-goers, working couples, senior citizens need no longer be without their essential rasam.
The manufacturing technology for the rasam cubes has come from Germany and Taiwan and has been developed with the use of nanotechnology which has helped retain the natural flavour. The company has made two versions – Regular Rasam and Pepper Rasam cakes and will be officially launched in Karnataka on 6 December 2015. Besides being available in retail stores the Rasam Xpress cubes can be bought online and are likely to be priced at Rs.10 and Rs.15 a pack. The product will be available in Chennai in 2016.
K Hospitality to strengthen its presence in India’s bigger cities
The food service and travel retail, K Hospitality has decided to strengthen their presence in bigger cities and so will invest Rs.150 crore to expand into travel retail like rail. The company has a recent contract to develop food courts at the Pune and Visakhapatnam railway stations. Funded through accruals, debt and equity infusion by promoters, the investment will also be used to enhance its delivery services and digital systems. Its subsidiary, Travel Food Services (TFS), runs the travel retail and manages brands like Smoke House Bar & Cafe, KFC, Domino’s, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Cafe Coffee Day and Haagen-Dazs at airports. It partners with Gate Gourmet for in-flight catering and with Lagardere Travel Retail for duty-free shops and news and books through the Relay brand. Last year, the company entered the lounge management business, starting operations at Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai and also has a contract to operate outlets at Mangalore airport.
In their restaurant business, K Hospitality also operates food and beverage outlets in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata apart from Muscat and Salalah overseas. It owns foods brands like Copper Chimney, Irish House, Bombay Brasserie and Serafina apart from its banqueting and corporate food service business. Start-ups might be closing shop but traditional players like K hospitality are showing steady growth. About 60% of the company’s business comes from travel retail and the remaining 40% from restaurants. It has been able to show a growth of 34% in the first six months this year.
Pizza Hut to be a 1000 strong in five years
The US based franchise brand, Pizza Hut, is planning to reach the 1000 mark in the next five years. Competition like Domino’s Pizza will soon be reaching the 1000 outlet mark and so Pizza Hut is keen to reach that mark too. At present Pizza operates 400 outlets, including 250 delivery stores and 150 restaurants. They are looking for opening their outlets in areas that get a good weekend crowd. There focus is also on catering for snacks, lunch and dinner.
Pizza Hut began more than 55 years ago in USA and has since become a global brand. They operate 13,300 restaurants including over 7,800 units in the US and over 5,500 outlets outside the US in 88 countries and do not include the Yum! brand operational in China and India. They have also begun their delivery operations to take advantage of the trends.
Tea Trails to set up 25 outlets
Tea Trails, which offers an experience of almost 80 varieties of teas with various blends, is hoping to open 25 outlets mainly in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi – NCR and Ahmedabad. The brand has granted Master Franchise for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra which is part of its strategy. Tea Trails has already raised funds from a few HNIs and is in the process of raising further investment to support expansion plans. In the next five years Tea Trails hope to have 500 outlets.
India is the second largest tea consuming market in the world but the Tea Café market is practically non- existent. Tea Trails has therefore ventured into this interesting Café space. It began with Mumbai but now the company has chalked out a pan-India expansion strategy that is a combination of company owned and franchise outlets. Their carefully curated range of the finest teas from around the world along with suitable tea accompaniments offers a different experience in India.
Burger King opens in Chennai, aims 50 stores this year
US-based quick service restaurant Burger King’s has opened an outlet in Chennai and with this the count has reached 34. By the end of this year the brand hopes to open at least 50 restaurants. Since its launch in in India in November, 2014, Burger King has opened outlets in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Hyderabad and Chennai. The stores are being opened by Everstone Capital-led Master Franchisee while there are options for the sub-franchisee model as well. The company is present in 100 countries and territories worldwide with more than 14,000 outlets.
Appointments & Promotions
Sanjeev Puri Elevated to Director, FMCG For the ITC Group
ITC has named Sanjeev Puri as Director of its FMCG business with effect from December 6, 2015. Sanjeev Puri will take over from P Dhobale. Puri would also have responsibility for ITC’s Packaging & Printing Business (PPB) and Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division (PSPD) business from January 22, 2016. At present Puri is President of ITC’s FMCG Businesses which includes cigarettes, foods, personal care, education & stationery products, matches and agarbattis. The changes are being made as two of its executive directors are retiring in December and January.
Pramod Patwari to be promoted as CFO Balrampur Chini Mills
Balrampur Chini Mills will promote Pramod Patwari, currently GM (Finance & Accounts), as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Pramod Patwari is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience and has been with the company for over 8 years. This is in keeping with the company’s line of succession. Patwari’s appointment would be considered at the next meeting of the Board of Directors of the company.
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