Multiple players in the cold extracted juice category creates more demand says Dipti Motiani

More than two decades ago when post-harvest management was still unheard of or executed, FreshtropFruits Ltd was curating the packaging and temperature of its fruits that were sold in European supermarkets. As the makers of Second Nature prepare for an aggressive launch of cold extracted juice, its founder Dipti Motiani speaks exclusively to Indian Retailer. She talks about the challenges in the industry, why more players mean more market and why Metro cities alone are not their target customers. Excerpts:

What was the inspiration for Second Nature? Tell us more about the product.  

For a lot many of us, if it was in our control, we would like to have fresh fruits right from our backyard. But that’s not a possibility and a lot happens by the time a fruit is plucked from the farm and reaches a customer. Freshtrop is probably the only brand that thought about post-harvest management in the 1990’s and we ensured that the taste and nutrition of a fresh fruit was retained until it reached a consumer, even if the consumer was based overseas. We have been supplying fresh fruits to supermarkets around the world from the last 18 years and our rejection is less than two per cent. After 9 years of fruit processing experience, we thought this was the right time to launch our own cold extracted juice as we have the knowledge, expertise and we are better positioned now. The product has no preservatives or added sugar and it’s as close as it can get to the fresh fruit, hence the name Second Nature.  

Although many startups are experimenting in the cold pressed juice segment, do you think there is enough awareness about cold pressed juices in India?

Well, we started our research about two years ago before we did the soft launch in Pune, Mumbai and Nasik. The market has certainly evolved in the last two years as there is more awareness among consumers now, than it was then. While the consumer demand from smaller cities like Nasik is not as much as it is from Mumbai or Pune, the demand is definitely there.

But is it challenge to scale considering there are more players and very few customers?

Interestingly, we have observed that multiple players in this category means that the category will only mature and find more customers. Also, the right kind of communication is happening about this product and consumers are also questioning what they buy and where they buy. There is slow realization among people about natural tasting juices and its benefits, and this will only mean we can grow. In fact, since the last few months of our launch, we have grown 100 per cent m-o-m and going forward we would like to explore more categories.  

So how have you positioned your brand differently in comparison with your competitors?  

We are fundamentally positioned because of our experience in this industry. However, our concern has always been food safety and our approach has been to provide a premium quality product at affordable prices. We have planned a sustainable growth to achieve this.  

What marketing strategies are you adopting to build the brand?

There needs to be more communication about cold extracted juices and we are in the process of building that communication, creating more awareness. While we are presently available in only 3 cities, by the end of the year we will be available in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi. Soon, we will be adding more cities and create more brand presence.  

What are your expansion plans?

We will be focusing on increasing our footprint through five channels- modern trade, all the stores that can provide us 2-4 degree cold chain facility, ecommerce marketplace, restaurants and cafes, schools and corporate firms and finally on our own website through subscription model.

What are your immediate targets?

We want to be present in all major cities and by the start of next year we plan to be present in at least two or three cities more. Also, we would like to explore more categories in cold extracts apart from fruits and vegetables juices and we will work on that. We want to be a Rs 100 crore company in the next five years.