Snapshots of Food Industry News
PepsiCo launches Quaker Nutri Foods and Tropicana Essentials
In a bid to expand its nutrition portfolio PepsiCo has introduced new products into its flagship brands Quaker Oats and Tropicana. This move is also part of PepsiCo’s commitment to reduce sugar, salt and saturated fats in its products. PepsiCo has launched Quaker Nutri Foods and Tropicana Essentials in the breakfast segment as young people are always in a rush but would like nutritional solutions that will be healthy and quick to make, especially in the morning rush hour. While Tropicana Essentials are already available on e-commerce sites, Nutri Foods are likely to be in retail stores this month.
The Nutri breakfast range consists of options like idli, dosa, upma, khichdi, etc. which match Indian palates and so have local relevance. The new factor in these foods is that they will contain 40 percent oats and real vegetables so they are healthier. Tropicana Essentials will be a blend of fruits and vegetables and will be fortified with important nutrients. PepsiCo will have another four variants of Nutri Foods out by April and two more variants in Tropicana Essentials by 2018. PepsiCo’s endeavours are in the right direction as these nutritional foods will help provide Indians the WHO recommended 5 to 6 helpings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal: A 100 more cold chains on the anvil
Food Processing Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal recently stated that the government is likely to sanction 100 more cold chain projects very soon. These cold chains will be part of the national cold chain grid which is being created to transfer perishables from farms to consumers. Badal said that presently food wastage stands at around 30 to 40 percent and the government would like to bring that down to zero wastage. Globally wastage is more on plate while in India food wastage is mainly during harvesting and transportation.
Speaking at the 32nd edition of the global food and hospitality fair ‘Aahar’ Badal said that these cold chains will help reduce wastage and check price volatility. The government has already sanctioned 81 cold chain projects, the maximum of these (19) are in Maharashtra alone followed by 13 in Uttarakhand. She said that the government has been working hard to give impetus to the food processing sector of which the cold chains are a part. To encourage food processing the government has also declared it a priority sector for lending. They have created a corpus of Rs.2000 crores in NABARD for issuing cheaper loans to those who wish to build food processing units.
‘Kerala Brand’ organic vegetables in market soon
The Kerala government will soon launch ‘Kerala Brand’ organic vegetables in the market. These vegetables will be grown by local farmers and will be pesticide-free. The aim is to grow vegetable in certain clusters in the state and to market them under one brand name by the Agricultural Department. Already the vegetables are being produced in 446 clusters across Kerala. In view of increasing concerns about pesticide in fruits and vegetables the government will set up more laboratories to test chemical residues. These will be advanced laboratories where 50 samples of vegetables and fruits could be tested in one hour. Another move to promote agriculture is the setting up of ‘rice agro-parks’ in Palakkad, Alappuzha and Ernakulum districts soon. These small-scale agro-parks would also be set up in other parts of the state in the second phase.
Nestle and Coca-Cola to dissolve tea joint venture by 2018
Nestle and Coca-Cola have agreed to dissolve their tea joint venture Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW) as of 2018. The move has been initiated by Nestle which would like to develop its own read- to-drink tea especially as the ready-to-drink tea market has evolved. However, Nestle will grant the Coca-Cola Company a license to manufacture and distribute Nestea in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The Nestle Waters division will manage Nestea in all European countries as it does in the USA.
Delhi hosts 900 participants in the 32nd Edition of ‘Aahar’
The 32nd edition of the South Asia’s largest food and hospitality fair, ‘Aahar’ was inaugurated by Harsimrat Kaur Badal at the Pragati Maidan. The fair has 900 participants and covers an area of 60,000sq m and is spread across14 halls. Organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) the fair was inaugurated in the presence of foreign dignitaries and ambassadors from Canada, Peru, and Poland. The Food Processing Minister stated that the government has opened its doors to foreign direct investment (FDI) for those who wish to invest in the food processing sector.
According to ITPO, about 72 foreign companies are participating in the fair. These are from the United States, China, Canada, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Russia and Poland. Badal also invited foreign companies to participate in the World Food India summit, slated to take place between November 3 and 5, 2017. ITPO has also made special provisions at ‘Aahar’ 2017 to promote new and young entrepreneurs. The fair is likely to have around 60,000 trade visitors this year.
Japanese food companies keen to invest in Indian food processing sector
There have been some favourable signals from Japanese food companies of their interest in investing in India’s food processing sector. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister of food processing, also expressed similar sentiments after her meetings with the Japanese food companies. During her three day visit to Japan, she met the country’s agriculture minister and discussed several issues of collaborations in farm and processed food trade. Badal, in her meeting with the companies, discussed technology transfer for developing the food processing sector in India. The Indian business delegation, led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), also met with Japanese firms. The Japanese raised the subject of tax reforms. The Minister informed them that the goods and service tax (GST) reform would be rolled out in just a matter of months.
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