Snapshots of Food Industry News
Patanjali launches mega Food Park at Nagpur industrial hub
Patanjali Ayurveda has launched a mega food park in the 230 acre Industrial Hub in Nagpur. Yoga guru Ramdev, who promotes Patanjali says that they wish to encourage indigenous and natural products. They plan to make juices from the famous Nagpur oranges and package them as a brand for the first time. The park was inaugurated in the presence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, and a huge gathering of farmers. The mega food park would employ 10,000 people and engage with 50,000 farmers.
Gadkari said that the mega food park would serve as a boon for the farmers in the Vidarbha region. Patanjali would help to train 2000 farmers a year to grow crops like orange, aloe vera, tomato, and herbs and would be given a purchase guarantee. A team of scientists and experts would also provide help. The company would also purchase raw materials worth Rs.100crore from farmers and tribals in the region. Tribals, who make a living collecting forest produce, like medicinal plants and herbs, will benefit tremendously. This is Patanjali’s first venture outside Uttarakhand.
RoohAfza shifts gears to enter the ready-to-drink market
Hamdard Laboratories, the makers of the brand RoohAfza have extended it to incorporate a sub-brand RoohAfza Fusion. RoohAfza Fusion will be their new ready to drink beverage and will be a fusion of fruit juice and traditional RoohAfza to be served in 200ml tetra-packs. These beverages are likely to be in direct competition with Dabur’s Real and PepsiCo’s Tropicana brand and will offer flavors like lemon, orange, mango, and litchi. Hamdard has decided to make the shift seeing that natural and herbal products, which are perceived as healthy and so are becoming popular with the masses, especially the youth.
PepsiCo reshapes portfolio to focus on health and wellness category
Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi visited a local restaurant in India along PepsiCo’s nutrition ambassador, Michelin star chef, Vikas Khanna. The visit was planned to discuss how PepsiCo could make familiar traditional foods healthy. This strategy is part of the company’s goal to expand its offerings so it can include whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Nooyi spoke about how PepsiCo is on a mission to dial up its nutrition portfolio. Chef Vikas Khanna has been instrumental in developing new recipes in India that are convenient, affordable, delicious and healthy.
The company now aims to identify how they can adapt the traditional recipes to contain nutrition so health and the taste of familiar Indian food can be combined. PepsiCo has developed products that have nutritious ingredients like oats and beetroot in South Indian dishes. The new flavors could be hitting the market soon with an infusion of Quaker Oats and grains.
YumBox is India’s first organic fast food delivery outlet
Eating organic foods means having a healthier lifestyle and that is the exact sentiment that YumBox has adopted. YumBox is a Gurgaon based organic fast food delivery outlet that provides you a healthier choice of delicacies. The company says that YumBox creates special products that are 100 percent natural and have organic ingredients. People want convenience without forgoing health and YumBox has stepped into that space to provide healthy premium quality food products at affordable prices. They provide burgers, pizzas, green salads, wraps, sandwiches, rice bowls, noodles bowls, parathas, pasta, and smoothies but which cannot be termed “junk food” even if they are worded like traditional fast foods.
YumBox was founded by Capt Deepak Dahiya, Neeraj Bisht, Vipin Gupta, Sameer Garibdasani, and Ritesh Sharma and Chef Suksham Mehra is also part of the team and responsible for designing the menu. Sameer Garibdasani oversees kitchen operations and keeps a strict control on preparation, packaging, and delivery. Ritesh Sharma procures the all-important ingredients so they are of the highest quality by getting them from certified organic vendors. One unique feature of YumBox is that the orders from customers are delivered within 45 minutes to its serviceable areas without any minimum order commitment. They also have their own bakery that provides organic bread and buns. Presently YumBox delivers organic fast food to Gurgaon and South Delhi but hopes to expand to other cities in India.
Food processing sector to treble in coming years
Food Processing Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, says that the Rs.1.5 lakh crore food processing industry is likely to treble in the coming years. Higher economic growth and government initiatives like 100% FDI in the marketing of food products are some of the drivers, Retailers, processors, and manufacturers will also facilitate the growth in the sector. Badal opines that the Indian food market is ready for innovative food products, processes, and investments. The Ministry is, therefore, facilitating ease of doing business and creating policies that are investor friendly. The Industry is also looking at ethical sourcing when developing its supply chain and integrating the backward linkages into the supply chain.
The food processing ministry proposes to organize the World Food Summit in 2017 which will serve as a single consolidated platform for investors, technology solution providers, processors, manufacturers and national and international stakeholders. Food processing has been identified as one of the 10 key sectors under Make in India initiative as it is an attractive capital and technology investment opportunity for domestic and foreign investors alike. Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India suggested that FDI policy in the marketing of food products may include certain non-food items as that has been the demand of international retailers.
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