Snapshots of Food Industry News
Lite Bite Foods Master Concessionaire for Four New Airports
Lite Bite Foods, one of India’s largest Food and Beverage companies, has been selected as the master concessionaire for Indore, Kannur, Kozhikode and Bhubaneshwar airports after intense bidding. The company plans to open close to 60 new self-owned or franchised brand outlets in the coming financial year, mostly in these new airports. Lite Bite Foods will offer a large portfolio of foods from its most popular brands such as Street Foods by Punjab Grill, Baker Street, Clink Bar and Naashto and from franchisee outlets like KFC and Subway.
The company is also expanding its footprints at Ahmedabad and Bengaluru airports and is also scaling its operation at the Mumbai, Pune and Jammu airports. To further diversify its portfolio, the Lite Bite Foods aims to operate across a large number of emerging Tier-II city airports. As an established player within the travel F&B sector, the company will leverage their existing expertise and credibility to enter the Tier-II segment and build brand awareness and loyalty among the emerging travelers in these cities. At the same time, they aim to lead the segment by creating a benchmark that exceeds the expectation of every traveler across India.
ASSOCHAM- EY Report: Organic Packaged Food Market to Cross Rs.871 million by 2021
A study conducted by industry body ASSOCHAM and global consulting firm EY say that the market size of Indian organic packaged food is expected to cross Rs.871 million by 2021 at a growth rate of 17 percent. The growth is attributed to the expanding urban population base, rising health concerns, growing consumer spending on food products and deterioration of food quality of conventional foods; factors which also drive global organic food market. In addition to the growing domestic market, India is the second largest exporter of organic products in Asia after China. The major export destinations are the US, European Union, Canada and New Zealand. Oilseeds comprised half of India’s overall organic food export, followed by processed food products at 25 percent
In India, organic packaged food and beverages is an emerging niche market. With the growth in demand in the sector, there have been several new entrants in the organic food market in India. Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt Ltd. has emerged as the market leader, with 37 percent value share of the packaged organic food market and 7.8 percent share of the packaged organic beverage market. It has increased its share in the organic food market in recent years, while smaller niche players have taken significant share away from it in the organic beverage market. Metropolitan cities have witnessed a 95 percent increase in demand in the last five years and many organic food companies are adopting the online route to expand their consumer base. Among the states, Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under organic certification, followed by, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Japanese Food Company Ajinomoto to Create Awareness of Safe MSG Consumption
Ajinomoto, Japanese food processing, and seasoning company are working to create awareness about the safe consumption of aji-no-moto or monosodium glutamate (MSG) seasoning in India. They will use the wide-reaching social and digital media to launch a series of cookery videos and shows on Indian recipes to build an awareness campaign. They feel that this would boost a demand for aji-no-moto and also address consumer safety. Once the demand for the product increases the company is likely to produce it from their facility near Chennai. MSG is made from tapioca starch, corn, wheat, rice and sugarcane molasses through a fermentation process. It is used in foods to enhance taste and deliciousness of the food.
The Indian subsidiary of Ajinomoto presently imports aji-no-moto seasoning from its Thailand factory. The Indian subsidiary started operations in 2003 and offers a range of products that include aji-no-moto, specific menu seasoning mix Hapima (available in fried rice mix original, hot and spicy and masala), Blendy 3-in-1 Masala Chai and Coffee Mix. In India, the demand for MSG is about 10,000 tonnes per year and most of it comes from China. Ajinomoto’s Hapima consumption increased by 200 percent in India and now the company intends to boost their Blendy 3-in-1 Masala Chai and Coffee. Presently Ajinomoto has 44, 000 outlets in Tamil Nadu and they will increase by another 22, 000 by next year to offer Blendy.
Papparoti Plans 25 Cafes in India in Five Years
Malaysian coffee chain brand Papparoti, known for their buns, is planning to open 25 cafes in India within the next five years. There the first outlet was launched in India at Delhi’s DLF Mall only just recently. The opening of 25 stores in India is part of their aggressive growth strategy and they intend to propel the brand as one of the largest and most successful in the region. Papparoti sees great potential in the Delhi-NCR market. Originally launched first in Malaysia in 2003, the brand has a presence all over the world, with 407 outlets and kiosks across the world. Genext V&M International has brought the Malaysian Papparoti concept to India.
Varun Beverages Acquires PepsiCo’s Jharkhand Franchise
Varun Beverages has acquired PepsiCo in India’s previously franchised sub-territory of Jharkhand and a manufacturing facility in Jamshedpur. With this addition, the company has a franchise for PepsiCo products across 21 states and 2 union territories.
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