Snapshots of Food Industry News
Everstone Group invests $35 million in OmniActive to accelerate nutra growth
Everstone Group invested $35 million in OmniActive Health Technologies Ltd. The Mumbai based OmniActive is a leading supplier of naturally-sourced ingredients for eye health, weight management and heart health to global nutraceutical companies. In the last 18 months OmniActive has completed 12 human clinical trials in healthy populations across its portfolio of branded ingredients. The company has a strong presence in the United States, and is working to achieve similar success in Europe and Asia. the investment will help accelerate growth in the fast-expanding nutraceutical space.
OmniActive has a research-driven approach, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, well-equipped research and development (R&D) centres across India and Canada. The Everstone investment will help OmniActive diversify and expand its offerings. It will use the proceeds for its inorganic growth strategy and execute the acquisition opportunities it has identified. It will help the company bring a wider product portfolio of responsibly-made ingredients. The global nutraceutical supplement market is expected to touch $168 billion by 2020. In India the growth of nutraceuticals is spreading because of awareness and rise in lifestyle diseases.
Food Processing Ministry implements schemes to promote food processing
In 2016 the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) implemented a number of schemes for the promotion and development of the food processing sector. The government sanctioned 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) for trade including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured or produced in India. Besides this there were fiscal concessions like reduction in excise duty on refrigerated containers from 12.5 percent to 6 percent as also reduction in basic custom duty.
The customs duty of five percent was extended for cold storage and cold room to cold chain, including pre-cooling unit, pack house, sorting and grading lines and ripening chambers. Under the scheme of integrated cold chain and value addition infrastructure 54 integrated cold chain projects were made operational, taking the total number of cold chain projects to 91.
Eight Mega Food Parks became operational including The Indus Mega Food Park, Khargone in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand Mega Food Park, Ranchi and Jangipur Bengal Mega Food Park, Murshidabad in West Bengal were made operational and inaugurated. The mega food park projects in Satara, Ajmer, Rayagada and Agartala will become operational by the end of the current financial year. The foundation stone was laid for the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) Mega Food Park Project in Ludhiana.
The National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) at Kundli, Sonepat, Haryana and the Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu are being developed by the government as centres of excellence. The new Scheme for Agro-Marine produce Processing and Development of Agro-clusters (Sampada) is also being implemented.
Pizza Hut partners with foodpanda to launch Triple Treat Box
The largest online ordering platform, foodpanda has launched Pizza Hut’s Triple Treat Box. Triple Treat Box would come loaded with choicest medium pan pizzas and sides packed festively. Priced at Rs.599 for vegetarians and Rs.699 for a non-vegetarian pack, Pizza Hut’s Triple Treat Box has been made available on foodpanda from December 20, 2016. The special pack can be ordered online across India. foodpanda is delighted to be the exclusive partner of Pizza Hut for Triple Treat on its platform as it will enhance their services and boost customer loyalty.
This partnership is being seen as strengthening foodpanda brand position as the largest food ordering network in the country. In F-Y 15-16 foodpanda witnessed approximately 800 per cent growth in revenues. The company earned revenues of Rs.37.81 crores in FY 15-16 as compared to Rs.4.7 crores in FY 14-15. During demonetisation the company saw 40-50 per cent spike in the order numbers which has also added strength to the company.
FCL unveils webisodes to bring focus on to their Kosh oats
Future Consumer Ltd (FCL), a Future Group company, has unveiled a web series titled ‘Sid Sandy aur Siyaappa’ that will focus on their new product Kosh Oats. Kosh Oats is available in four variants, namely Kosh Instant Oats, Kosh Broken Oats, Kosh Oats Atta and Kosh Wheat+Oats Atta. The webisodes will not only present the Kosh range but will be used to convey the message that Kosh oats are not only healthy but also delicious. The company is marketing Kosh Oats in a way that it will bring about a change in the way oats are sold and consumed in India They are relating to consumer’s ‘Indianness’ and will present a range of products that deliver Indian food.
The webisodes will also enlighten health-conscious consumers about why oats is an important staple grain after rice and wheat. Through the ‘Sid Sandy Aur Siyaappa’ web series the company hopes to connect to every Indian household. The aim is to connect to consumers and create an impact about the benefits of choosing healthy grains. Kosh Oats will be distributed extensively through a number of modern retail stores across the country and through general trade in a dozen key cities at first.
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