Snapshots of Food Industry News
Amul Launches Camel Milk in Gujarat
The Amul brand owned by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd will launch camel milk in certain markets in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Kutch. The milk has been branded as Amul Camel Milk. The milk is being initially sourced from the Kutch region of Gujarat and will be available in 500ml PET bottles and is priced at Rs.50. The milk has a shelf life of three days and will need to be refrigerated.
Camel milk is reportedly easy to digest and has numerous health benefits especially for the fact that that it is high in insulin-like protein which is beneficial for diabetic persons. It will also be of benefit to people who have dairy allergies as the milk contains no allergens. Amul has already been marketing camel milk chocolate since the past year.
Prabhat Dairy to Sell Dairy Business to Lactalis Through Slump Sale
Prabhat Dairy, the Maharashtra based dairy, will sell their processing business to the French dairy group Lactalis for Rs.1700 crore. Lactalis has signed a definitive agreement to buy Prabhat’s dairy business through its local arm Trimula Milk Products as also its step-down subsidiary Sunfresh Agro Industries through a share purchase agreement.
The association with Lactalis is expected to give impetus to growth and take Prabhat dairy towards becoming number one dairy in India. On the other hand, the acquisition will help Lactalis reduce its dependence on revenue from within Europe only. Lactalis is a family run brand is the second largest food company in France and second to Danone. Acquisitions have enabled the company to reach annular venues of Euros 17 billion. Post-acquisition of its dairy processing business Prabhat is likely to focus on its cattle feed business and its expansion plans into animal nutrition and animal genetics.
Jitin Munjal, Launches Natural Food Start-up, Jus’ Amazin
Jitin Munjal, former Global Director for Sales and Marketing at DuPont has launched his natural nutrition food and beverage venture, Jus’ Amazin Foods and Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Jus’ Amazin’s current product range includes 100 percent natural, gluten free, soy free, dairy free and plant-based foods such as nut and seed butter/ spreads like almond butter, organic peanut butter, seed butter, and cashew butter. The products are currently available both online and at leading e-commerce websites and also in retail stores in Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Goa.
He has co-founded the venture with his wife, Shilpa Mogilishetty. Jus’ Amazin started when the couple was trying to develop delicious and nutritiously rich natural food products for their son, who is allergic to dairy and soy products. Leading brands such as Foodhall, Spar, BigBasket, Namdhari’s, Modern Bazaar, Loyal World, Amazon, HealthifyMe, FirstCry, HealthKart, Qtrove, The Gourmet Box, among others have partnered with Jus’ Amazin. The products are available in 75 retail stores and 20 e-commerce sites across India. Since consumers are demanding foods that are natural, nutritious and chemical free so the global natural foods and drinks industry is burgeoning into a US$ 100 billion market.
Assam Prohibits Sale of Bailey Packaged Drinking Water
The government of Assam has prohibited the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of Bailey brand packaged drinking water with effect from January 18 citing a violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The packaged drinking water has been banned from production for a period of 30 days as the samples tested by the Food and Drug Administration found that there was a violation of microbiological parameters and also samples were found to have high fluoride content. The packaged drinking water in question is being manufactured by Udayak Agro Products Pvt. Ltd in Kahilakuchi, Satgaon in Guwahati, while the testing was done at various labs including reference lab in Kolkata. The 30-day ban period on manufacturing has been given to the company for rectification to prescribed parameters.
India’s Real Chocolate Market Growing
According to a TechSci Research report, India’s real chocolate market is estimated to grow at CAGR of 19% until 2023 as there is an increase in the usage of dark chocolate as an ingredient. Real chocolate is chocolates which use cocoa butter as an ingredient rather than vegetable fat. There is also a rise in the demand from the bakery and confectionery industry and the HoReCa sector. Another factor that is driving the growth is the rising trend of premiumization of chocolates and value-added chocolate products. The demand for real chocolates has seen an increase from FMCG companies, such as Parle, Britannia, Unibic, etc., which are incorporating real chocolate into their premium baked products such as cookies, cakes, biscuit sandwiches, etc.
The increase in demand for real chocolate is the reason that the local production of cocoa and the domestic production of cocoa products has seen healthy growth in India. The production of cocoa in India has grown at a CAGR of approximately nine percent, with a production of 18,920 tonnes during 2016-17. Also, the prices of cocoa in India have witnessed a decline, prompting domestic as well as international manufacturers to locally source cocoa.Morde Foods Private Limited, DP Cocoa Products LLP, Barry Callebaut India Private Limited, Aalst Chocolate Pte Ltd, Jindal Cocoa LLP, and Puratos Food Ingredients India Pvt Ltd are some of the leading players in the Indian real chocolate market. On the basis of type, the Indian real chocolate market can be broadly categorized into milk, white and dark chocolate. Of all, dark chocolate accounts for the largest share in the market due to changing consumer preferences.
Good Dot Launches Vegan Version of KFC’s Zinger
Mock meat producer Good Dot has launched the Good Gurber, a vegan version of KFC’s Zinger burger at three locations in Udaipur. The Udaipur based company is calling it “the most handsome burger of India. After Udaipur, the next city they will be rolling out in is Bengaluru and thereafter the meatless burger will be rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai and later in Kolkata. This rollout would be complete within a time period of four to five months. Good Dot currently sells its vegan offerings at food trucks and kiosks across India and is planning to reach out to 30 new locations including campuses, IT parks, and shopping centers. The brand currently sells between 10,000-15,000 vegan ready meals daily. Good Dot has the mission to bring high-quality, affordable vegetarian meat to all of India.
Danone to Re-enter Dairy Business
One year back, the French multinational Danone had exited the dairy business in India. Now the company is leading an investment of Rs.182 crore in the local yogurt maker Epigamia. Danone’s investment is independent of the company’s business in India. This move will enable Danone to retain a presence in the dairy market. Since this is a minority venture investment, Epigamia will continue its operations independently. However, Danone would collaborate with Epigamia in areas like brand management, distribution expansion, manufacturing, quality, and food safety.
Though Danone exited the dairy business, its presence continued in the nutrition brands like Protinex and Farex which it had acquired from Wockhardt. The new investment is being seen as a promising opportunity by Danone as Epigamia is a modern consumer brand which is popular with millennials and is positioned as a high potential market. With this investment, Danone would be gaining a foothold in the value-added end of the yogurt market and is also complimentary to their products in the international market. Epigamia is retailed through Reliance Fresh, Nature’s Basket, Big Basket, Big Bazaar and Amazon and they expect sales of around Rs.100 crores this fiscal.
Barcelos to Introduce New Brand, Rassasy By Barcelos
South African restaurants chain Barcelos is planning to introduce a new brand Rassasy By Barcelos, which will serve American and European cuisines. They will also expand Barcelos in QSR format and restrict the outlets to food courts. They will open about 3 to 4 outlets of Rassasy by Barcelos while a few of the Barcelos spaces will be converted into the new brand outlets. Barcelos have allocated Rs 20-25 crore for opening, marketing and promoting the brand. They are targeting Tier 1 and Metro cities for the new brand. The first outlet of Rassasy By Barcelos will be opening in JW Marriott, Sahar, Mumbai. The average size of the outlet will be around 2,000- 3,000 sq.ft. The business model followed by Barcelos in India is the franchise model. In 2018, the brand opened 4 new outlets – one each in Chennai and Lucknow and two in Mumbai.
Government to the Link States for Food Transportation under Operation Greens
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Badal has stated that the government is planning to link states in the country for ensuring easy transportation of food under the Operation Greens programme. Badal also stated that the transportation of perishables was a priority as chances of wastage were high. Linking States would ease the burden on farmers from the production surplus states as the foods would be taken to the high demand states and farmers would be able to get decent remunerative prices of the produce.
The Union government is already working to ensure states with excess production are able to transport to other states where there is high demand. Tie-ups with organizations like NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) are also being worked out. The government of India has approved the Central sector scheme Operation Greens, which is aimed at integrated development of value chain for the commodities – Tomato, Onion, and Potato or TOP. The MoFPI (Ministry of Food Processing Industries) has also put out operational guidelines recently in this regard. A budget of Rs 500 crore has been approved for the same for fiscal 2018-19 and 2019-20.
LOTS Wholesale Solutions Opens Third Store in India
LOTS Wholesale Solutions has unveiled its third wholesale distribution center in India at Ithum, Sector 62, Noida.LOTS is a part of the US$ 50 billion Charoen Pokphand Group and a wholly owned subsidiary of Siam Makro Public Company Limited from Thailand.
LOTS has opened three stores within a span of seven months as in 2018, the company inaugurated their stores at Netaji Subhash Place and Akshardham and now Noida. The store in Noida is the first step towards the company’s commitment to investing Rs 250 crore in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The expansion plan will witness the opening of more stores in the state in the coming years. The new store in Noida is spread over an area of 50,000 sq.ft. and will cater to over 40,000 business customers with a diverse clientele including kiranas, hotels, restaurants, and caterers (HoReCa), corporates, MSMEs and institutions such as government agencies, educational institutes and hospitals from the catchment area.
In addition to the opening of the third store, LOTS Wholesale Solutions also launched its own brands Basic Plus and PlusMo with an aim to provide best quality products at economical prices. The first product category introduced under these brands is bakery items. The company aims to establish an environment of mutual growth for farmers, traders and their business in the state. They will work directly with farmers to establish a strong supply chain and the demand for their products.
Future Supply Chain to Create Food Distribution Network
Future Supply Chain Solutions will invest Rs 1,000 crore to create India Food Grid, a network of 38 integrated food distribution centers, that will provide pan-India reach. The project is meant to redefine India’s complex food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain. The company has stated that the India Food Grid is an ambitious project undertaken by them that will connect the entire country through a single, multi-layer network. Any supplier, small or big, will be able to join this grid anywhere for further distribution across India. India Food Grid will ensure timely and efficient food, grocery and FMCG distribution.
Future Supply Chain Solutions has identified 38 locations across the country, which will be developed into large food and FMCG distribution centers with a potential investment of Rs 1,000 crore. Consumer products will get distributed from integrated food distribution centers to retail stores in a radius of up to 225 km. The company recently inaugurated its distribution center in Shambhu Kalan in Chandigarh, Punjab. The distribution center is set up on 2 lakh square feet of built-up area and will cater to the distribution of consumer products for up to 300 stores in the region.
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