How this food start-up is redefining age-old snack item popcorn?

Timla Foods Pvt. Ltd. is the manufacturer of ready-to-eat popcorn- popularly known as Popicorn. Founded in 2015 by Prashanth Gowriraju, NV Prasad and Arun Sahlam, the Hyderabad-headquartered company making snacks under brand PopiCorn, Timla Foods produces popcorn in six delicious flavours and has sold over 80 million units to-date. In an exclusive conversation with Prashanth Gowriraju, Chief Dad and CEO, Timla Foods talks about emerging opportunities in this segment.

Interview Excerpts..

What is your assessment about the packaged food market in India. According to you, what are the factors propelling growth in India?

CPG in India requires time for validation, we tested consumer acceptance across ages & geographies. We today could succeed in creating this category in 3 years Flat. We sold over 80m Units in 15 Cities & over 10,000+ Outlets. Zero Marketing Spend.

Now in a junction to invest further &Capitalize on this trend. Future is to emerge as a Category Leader even when the competition at Intense. Projecting 2021 to achieve 100cr revenue mark.

Millennials { 44% of India Population } have been driving this change. Given the growth of fast paced lifestyles, Millennials are conscious about what they consume. They check each gram of good and bad. We are doing our bit in a small to enable them lead a Better Life, With Deliciously Better Food.

How strong is your distribution? Do you also work with organized retail chains as part of the distribution strategy?

Our focus today is merely on Modern Trade and Alternate  Channels. Most of the Big boxes are carrying the brand, available across 15 cities in Big Bazaar, Tata Trent, Spar, Ratnadeep, Big Basket, Vendiman, Travel Retail Services, Barista, Relaince, Vishal Mega Mart, LOTS, Spencers, ABRL More, Metro Cash & Carry, Indian Railways, Vendiman, Wellness & More.

Who do you see as your competition?

Our focus is on Purpose of our Business. “To Make Human Lives Better”. We would love to see more startups and large enterprises doing this.

How consumer behavior has evolved in consumption snacking segment?

Millennials are taking healthy snacking mainstream. when it comes to buying better-for-you snacks, consumers have a wide variety of considerations that need to be narrowed and prioritized, including taste, ingredients, quality, cost, availability, and sourcing. Despite these decision-making hurdles, snacking consumption continues to be more popular than ever and the better-for-you snacking category is gaining tremendous momentum. While consumers of every age are enjoying better-for-you packaged snacks multiple times each week, Millennials have led the way in launching better-for-you snacks from a niche to mainstream market. Along with this impressive consumption, the expanded accessibility of better-for-you snacks is proof of the category’s growth.

 At last, kindly highlight your growth plans?

We aim to be a category leader in “Better-For-You” Foods Space. We are projecting 2021 to achieve 100cr revenue mark. Spread over into 25 Cities and over to 65,000 Outlets.

PopiCorn has 4 new exciting savory flavours launching soon and 3 more in the confectionary range adding up soon. Apart from these, the brand is now expanding its range moving out of Popcorn, while retaining its core on “Better-For-You” snacks