Snapshots of Food Industry News
Kraft Heinz to Consider Complan Sale in India
Kraft Heinz Co. is contemplating the sale of children’s milk drink brand Complan in India as they envision that it could fetch $1 billion. The company is working with an adviser to gauge the business and they could attract local companies and private equity firms. Kraft Heinz is planning to sell Complan in India because GlaxoSmithKline could sell its stake in its Indian consumer health subsidiary, the owners of brand Horlicks. Kraft Heinz had bought Complan from Glaxo in 1994 and though deliberations are underway, Kraft Heinz could keep its business. The company has made no comments on the sale as yet. Kraft Heinz has had better than expected profits and the company is also eyeing acquisitions.
Centre to give 15 Days’ Time to Patanjali for Mega Food Park
Patanjali Ayurved has 15 more days’ time to meet requirements before it is given the final nod for setting up the Rs.6000 crore mega food park in Uttar Pradesh. The deadline to meet the required conditions expired on June 15 but the UP government had asked the Food Processing Ministry to extend the deadline to 30 June. Patanjali was given the requested 15 days to meet the conditions though the issue was placed before the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee. The Food Processing Secretary had said that they did not want to look for reasons to cancel the project but wanted it to go through.
Patanjali Ayurved had proposed to set up the plant at a cost of Rs.6000 crore on 425 acres of land along the Yamuna Expressway. The conditions to be complied with were that it acquire and transfer land to its subsidiary Patanjali Food And Herbal Park. The mega food park would produce goods worth Rs.25, 000 crore annually, running to full capacity. It would also create 10, 000 direct jobs. Patanjali has also invested in food parks in Nagpur and Tezpur.
Coca-Cola Launches Rani Float
Coca-Cola will bring to India its acquired juice brand Rani Float. The juice brand will be in direct competition with PepsiCo’s Tropicana, Dabur’s Real and Parle’s Frooti and others like Paper Boat and Raw Pressery. Coca-Cola had acquired 50 percent stake in the Bahrain based Aujan Industries in 2012, and Rani Float juice brand is part of that acquisition. Aujan is one of the largest independent beverage companies in the Middle East. At the time of the acquisition Coca-Cola had said that the deal would allow it to expand its portfolio in the juice sector.
Juice and juice drinks are growing faster than carbonated drinks because of health conscious consumers and so Coca-Cola has launched Rani Float to meet market trends. Rani Float has real fruits pieces and a higher juice content, real fruit flavour and low sugar content. The juice beverage is being imported for the present and is being seeded in metros but will eventually be scaled up. In recent years Coca-Cola has been pushing its non-aerated, healthier and localised drinks to gain consumers and fight competition. Besides fruits drinks, Coca Cola has also been rolling out frozen desserts and flavoured hydration drinks.
PepsiCo to Acquire Bare Snacks
PepsiCo has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bare Foods Co. which is a U.S.-based maker of baked fruit and vegetable snacks. The acquisition will add to PepsiCo’s snacks portfolio and add to its vision of ‘Performance with Purpose’ as it will provide consumers with more nutrition options. ‘Performance with Purpose’ also has the double aim of reducing added sugars, salt, and saturated fat and Bare Snacks is a perfect fit for this vision. Bare products are made from simple ingredients that are baked, not fried.
Bare Snacks is a leader in apple, banana and coconut snacks especially baked chips. It has recently expanded into vegetable chips and offers the industry’s broadest assortment of baked crunchy fruit and vegetable chips. PepsiCo will take the simple baked fruit and vegetable snacks to even more consumers across the world. PepsiCo will offer the current Bare Snacks product line and will also work on making innovative options and expanded distribution so as to meet consumer demands for authentic and nutritious snacks.
The Crepe Cafe Enters India and Will Open 50 stores by 2020
Australian brand, The Crepe Cafe has entered India in collaboration with World Iconic Brands (WIC). The brand plans to open about 50 stores in the next three years and around 100 stores in the next five years. The Crepe Café is part of the BFC Retail Group, which focuses on fresh, healthy ingredients for made-to-order traditional savory and sweet crepes, waffles, pancakes, omelets and other fat-free delicacies.
With an initial investment of Rs.100 crore WIC will focus on Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. They will develop the brand is these cities first and will initially open 10 stores before taking the stores to other cities including Tier II and Tier III cities. Each store of The Crepe Cafe entails an investment of Rs.45- 50 lakhs, with store sizes ranging between 750 and 900sq.ft. Since there is a café boom in Indian cities WIC intends to have stores mainly in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad before venturing further.
Somey’s Kitchen Introduces Gluten-free Chapattis and Pooris
Somey’s Kitchen has recently launched semi-cooked and gluten-free chapattis and pooris. The semi-cooked chapattis and pooris are made from natural ingredients and are quite tasty. These Indian bread do not contain any preservatives. Priced at Rs.130 and Rs.115 per packet the chapattis and pooris are available at Big Basket, Nature’s Basket, Star Bazaar and Big Bazaar (Gen Nex Stores) in Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru.
Sri Sri Ravishankar’s FMCG Brand Allocates Rs 200-Crore for Promotion
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s FMCG brand Sri Sri Tattva has earmarked about Rs.200 crore for advertising and promotion. Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali already dominates the Ayurveda and herbal products space, so Sri Sri Tattva will spend that amount on mass media advertising, below the line marketing and outdoor campaigns to support the expansion plan of opening 1,000 stores in the country. Sri Sri Tattva was also among the largest advertisers in the FMCG category, during the recently concluded India Premier League (IPL) where they spent Rs.10 crore on television advertising.
The FMCG establishment that will open numerous ‘Sri Sri Tattva’ branded stores for which they will have 3-4 major campaigns on news channels and on general entertainment channels and regional networks. The company aims to increase their reach and awareness of their food products besides others. In food products, Sri Sri Tattva focuses on ghee, the range of rice, special products such as an organic version of coconut oil and organic jaggery.
Manpasand Beverages to Set Up Manufacturing Plant in Odisha
Manpasand Beverages will set up a fruit juice manufacturing facility at Chhatabar Industrial Area, Khurdha in Odisha as part of its expansion plans. The Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik performed groundbreaking ceremony for the plant. This will be Manpasand’s ninth facility in the country and will have a capacity of 50,000 cases per day. The plant will be set up with an investment of Rs.150 crore and will be the company’s first facility in the eastern region.
Manpasand has set up four new plants and the first plant at Vadodara has been commissioned while the Varanasi plant will be functional soon. The third plant at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh is still in the construction stage. The Company has already built a network of dealers in the eastern market and will be able to fulfill the demands of that market. The company has brushed over the exit of Deloitte Haskins & Sells as auditors for Manpasand and feel that the company’s on-going business and expansion plans are going well.