Dupont Nutrition & Health sets up an Innovation Application Center in Gurgaon
Dupont Nutrition &Health is part of the Science-based products and services firm DuPont. They have opened their first center in Gurgaon to serve the food industry. DuPont Nutrition provides sustainable and bio-based ingredients and also develops safer, healthier and more nutritious food through its advance molecular diagnostic solutions. They will be working with Indian companies who are developing new food products for local consumption in India.
The Company will ensure that the solutions it provides to not detract from the local flavours as that is what makes these foods popular. They also plan to focus on developing protective cultures for dahi and yogurt, soy protein products, ice-cream and more nutritious, Indian snacks and biscuits. The company feels that the “science of food may be universal but the local flavours need to be maintained”.
PepsiCo to Launch Indian Traditional Drinks
Consumer habits fuel the market and that is why PepsiCo has decided to cater to Indian tastes in soft drinks. Masala soda or ‘Banta’ is traditionally sold in hand-pushed carts or stalls but PepsiCo’s version will be rolling out in parts of the country this season as 7UP Nimbooz Masala Soda. PepsiCo has other soft drinks on the anvil as the Indian consumers are shifting their tastes away from carbonated drinks. This is the only traditional drink that has been test-marketed and other Indian drinks will be test marketed by PepsiCo this summer.
Competition in this segment has stirred up after the successful launch of Hector Beverages aam panna, jal jeer, East Indian drink sattu and tulsi tea, ginger tea etc. which are all selling under Paper Boat brand since 2013. Dabur too entered the functional drink market with its version of aam panna in 2014. This category of beverages is likely to grow as energy-drinks or flavoured water. PepsiCo’s move to expand into traditional Indian drinks is being seen as a foray to boost its non-carbonated portfolio as part of its global strategy.
Kedaara Capital Confident of Parkson’s Position in Packaging Industry
With its maiden investment of Rs 200 crore in the packaging industry, Private Equity firm Kedaara Capital, has shown confidence in Parksons Packaging Ltd. Parkinson manufactures folding cartons and paper packaging. Besides other sectors it provides packaging solutions for food industry bigwigs like McDonald’s, Kellogg’s and Cadbury.
According to the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) by 2016 Indian packaging industry will be worth $43.7 and compared to the 5% growth in the global growth Indian packaging is growing at 12% per annum. Parksons is an unlisted company and has three manufacturing facilities in northern and western India and has also built a design capabilities centre. Kedaara Capital feels that Parksons is well positioned and is likely to benefit from the upsurge in packaged food consumption.
Lite Bite Foods in Expansion Mode
Multi-restaurant chain Lite Bite Foods is all set to expand into the food and beverage retail space and is likely to increase its focus on quick service restaurants (QSR). Besides burgers and pizza they are planning to think about Indian street foods and in a bakery chain as they find it has a lot of potential. They already have an Indian street food chain called Street Foods by Punjab Grill which operates mainly in Mumbai and NCR.
Lite Bite Foods already has the franchise for Subway but they are planning to expand their franchise portfolio with pasta chain Pino’s and Barcelona-based FrescCo which offers Mediterranean cuisine. What the company finds exciting is that they plant to take their brands like Punjab Grill into international markets. It already has a presence in Singapore and will now add outlets in Bangkok, Washington DC, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.
Ethnic Lifestyle Retailer Fabindia to Venture into Online Food Supply
Consumers are growing more and more concerned about contaminants in food and that is why Fabindia is preparing to sell organic fruit and vegetables online. They are working on setting up a supply chain that would deliver fresh produce directly from farmers to households. Fabindia has also acquired 40% stake in Organic India a company that makes organic food and supplements.
By cutting off the middlemen Fabindia hopes to supply fresh organic fruits and vegetables at prices that are comparatively lower than that of prices in Sabzi Mandis. Fabindia has commissioned a research which has discovered the fact that prices go up a 100% more once middlemen are involved. Already ‘I Say Organic’ and ‘Organic Garden’ sell organic fruits and vegetables online while some companies like Ecotokri and Natural Mantra sell finished products like honey and health foods like quinoa seeds.
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