How food processing sector can help increase GDP

The Homegrown juice brand Fresca Juices was formally launched in 2010. It is one of the fastest growing packaged fruit juice brands in India. The company was launched with the aim to address the demand-supply gap in the juices and packaged fruit drinks market and was able to become a household name.

Akhil Gupta, Founder & Managing Director of Fresca Juices speaks on the journey of the brand and future plans of the company.

Fresca, the first Indian company to offer multiple flavoured-fizz options to consumers

Fresca launched Fresca Fruzo, a rich range of carbonated fruit drinks in March this year. Available in six refreshing flavours, the new line of products consists of Apple, Mojito, Jeera and Nimbu Masala flavours. A lip-smacking mix of juice and fizz, Fresca Fruzo is already garnering rave reviews from customers. 

On the back of its massive traction, we believe that this new line of products will give tough competition to traditional carbonated drinks in terms of sale numbers over the next few years. 

The Concept is different from other juice players in the industry

In the Indian market, there have been very few options when it comes to carbonated drinks. Even though there is a high demand for fizzy drinks in the market, mere 3-4 flavours have been available to customers. 

Further, while there are multiple juice brands, there are none that cater effectively to fruit-juice aficionados who would truly appreciate innovation in the types and flavours of beverages available.

Fresca is different from other players as it identifies the need for different variants in the Indian market. It offers over 11 flavours across its fruit juice and carbonated fruit drink ranges. 

Fresca is also popular for offering large SKUs in PET ranging from INR 10/- to INR 120/-.  Apart from this, it offers over seven flavours in aseptic packaging - more than any other player in the market. It is also the first brand in India to introduce holographic aseptic packaging with four flavours. Most importantly, Fresca offers these options in exceptionally attractive packaging at a highly economical price point.

Top sellers in Fresca

Currently, our top-sellers include Litchi, NimbuPani, Guava, Mango, and Apple in 160ml, 300ml, 2 litre, aseptic 200ml pack, and holographic packs.
I am a fruit beverage enthusiast myself. Though I like all the flavours that we offer, Litchi is my favourite.

Sourcing Local Ingredients 

Our products are made from fruit pulp, which is taken from locally sourced fruits. This is a major factor in determining the level of freshness and flavour Fresca offers.

Expansion plans

We have 2 lakh outlets operational in all states across North India alone. With a good presence across Food Park, HSIIDC, Rai, and Sonepat (Haryana), we will soon be expanding across western India, beginning with Mumbai and Pune. We also plan to foray into the east, central and south Indian market.

Apart from this, we also plan to increase our presence in tier II cities of the country, where we see high growth potential due to the lack of authentic brands in the fruit beverage space.

Carbonated Fruit Drinks in Indian Market

The options for carbonated fruit drinks in the Indian market have so far been scarce. It was only when Fresca launched Fresca Fruzo that people were introduced to the possibility of more variety in the fruit drink sector.

It is highly likely that they subconsciously craved for more flavours as Fresca's range of carbonated fruit drinks has received a commendable response in the market since its launch. We have sold 3 lakh cases units of Fresca Fruzo since March 2019 with being the most popular flavour in the category. 

Since our launch, we can say with some confidence that the Indian customer is becoming more aware of fizzy fruit drinks in the Indian market.

Target Consumers

Our target demographic includes children (7-14 years old), teenage students (15-19-year-old), young professionals (20-30-year-old), and housewives.

Maintaining health and nutrition value

We ensure high quality of the beverages by putting special emphasis upon packaging, which comprises seven layers, unlike other brands that usually don't go beyond six-layer packaging. As mentioned earlier, we are the first brand in the country to introduce holographic aseptic packaging.

We have an ISO 9002 certification and conform to FSSAI guidelines which underline our commitment to maintaining best-in-class product standards.

Key challenges in the juice sector  

Being in the juice sector, it becomes paramount that you ensure the freshness and quality of your products. Companies that diverge from their vision of providing top quality products are the ones who face challenges. 

Fresca, on the other hand, maintains its standards by simply sticking to a set of FSSAI guidelines and sincerely implementing them. This prevents us from hitting any roadblocks when it comes to the production and consumption of Fresca's products. 

Established more than 50 years ago, Anando manufactures premium flavoured milk products in Mumbai. Anando means “Give Happiness”. Its first store was at Nariman point way before the Oberoi Hotel, now Trident was constructed.

Devang Thakkar, Founder of Anando, says, “We are currently located at Girgaum Chowpatty in Mumbai. We are the third generation in the family business now. We have created a niche for ourselves in the Mumbai market. We have consumers, who come to our stores and tell us that this is the fourth generation of their family consuming our products. They appreciate that the taste of the products has remained unchanged since so many years.”

In an interview with Restaurant India, Founder of Anando, Devang Thakkar speaks how collaborating with HoReCa segment is a win-win situation for both.

How Anando’s concept is different from other Industry players?

We believe that you not only drink our products but also eat with every sip. For example, our special masala milk is rich with dry fruits and with every sip, you will get a lot of crunchy nuts to chew on. Our tropical coconut milk is a cooling combination of milk and kopra; with every sip, you also get a twist of coconut malai to eat. We have many such products. We try to add value to the flavoured milk by adding nuts and actual fruit pieces. We also make sure to not use artificial flavours.

By far, which product is people’s favourite or top-selling? What is your favourite of the Anando Milk products?

We are also known for Chowpattywala Masala Milk. Our Masala Milk is one of the most-loved products. When consumers come to our store and tell us “give us two bottles of Anando” we know they are talking about our Special Masala Milk.

We also try to come up with new flavours every couple of months like Pan Kolkatawala and Nutty Choco Hazelnut, etc. People have also started loving our Sinful Sitafal which has actual sitafal pieces and Tropical Coconut Milk.

My favourite is the Tango with Mango Milk. I remember when I was in school and my dad used to take me to the Chowpatty shop, I used to drink two bottles at a go. Till today, Tango with Mango is my most favourite.

Also read: This Brand's Cold Extracted Drinks Are As Good As Fresh Fruits

Where do you source your ingredients from? Are they local or imported?

We use a lot of products like Almond, Pistachio, Saffron, Hazelnuts, etc, which are imported. We do not import them directly, but we have a team of vendors who have been supporting us for many years.

What were the challenges you’ve faced while sourcing your products? How do you overcome?

We cannot control the prices of raw materials like Almonds, Saffron, etc. as they are market-driven. Last year, we had seen a steep fall in the Indian Rupee vis-à-vis US $. When this happens our raw material prices increase. Our vendors share the market information with us periodically, which helps us plan our procurement.

Also, we use a lot of seasonal products like Sitafal, etc. We give a minimum annual guarantee for seasonal products to our vendors. Hence, working closely with our vendors helps us overcome our sourcing challenges.

Your contribution to the HoReCa segment? Who are your partners or customers?

Our products go well with Hotels and Restaurant segment of the Food and Beverage Industry. We have been supplying to Hotel Mirage, Andheri East in Mumbai since a couple of years. They have included our products on the breakfast buffet for their Hotel guests. We specialize in the flavoured milk category and our products are popular in Mumbai. It saves them the hassle of preparing flavoured milk which is a small part of their entire breakfast layout. At the same time, the Hotel guests are happy as they get quality and branded products in their breakfast buffet.

We have tie-ups with a number of Restaurants in Mumbai like Arya Bhavan – Matunga, Hotel Saroj - Chembur. We do a revenue sharing model with them. All they need to do is to have our visi-cooler in their restaurants.

Today, people have become health conscious and they are looking for non-aerated drink options. Having us at their restaurants gives them an added source of revenue which helps them meet their ever-growing expense overheads and, thereby, increasing profit from their core business operations.

What are your expansion plans with Anando? How do you see the tier I and tier II cities?

Presently, our products are available only in Mumbai. We plan to penetrate Mumbai further and are looking to take our products to cities close to Mumbai like Pune or Ahmedabad. If you see Ahmedabad the food scene there has exploded. They have dedicated food truck parks in the city where people can go with their families for recreation and food. You will find all major food brands in these cities as the demographics of the population is young and people have the purchasing power and appetite to try new things.

Key marketing strategies to reach out to target consumers?

We are continuously using a mix of different strategies to reach out to our consumers. We are trying to extend our reach to different micro areas with Mumbai. We feel that our products like Masala Milk and Thandai are traditional and at the same time compliment festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Holi, etc. We run offers during the festivals. This helps us to be a part of our customers' festive celebrations and happiness. We also use the social media platform to engage our consumers. We also take part in a lot of events like Dandiya, Flea Markets, etc which help us get first-hand feedback from our existing consumers and build relationships with new consumers.

The journey of Nihira began with an unprecedented start as Subha Aggarwal at the age of 47 with her 22-year-old daughter Arshya Aggarwal were baking cookies in the kitchen which transitioned into making luxury mithai; the two started experimenting with sundry options to construct a barfi fusion as an alternative to the traditional mithai. 

To cook within the defined recipes had always been boring for Subha and Arshya. With no prior experience in the food business, but an imaginative vision and the urge to make it happen made Nihira possible. Nihira offers fusion versions of Indian mithai which are an amalgamation of modern flavours with traditional items resulting in exquisite luxury treats.

Arshya Aggarwal (left) and Subha Aggarwal (right)

In a joint interaction, the co-founders of Nihira, Subha Aggarwal and Arshya Aggarwal tell Restaurant India what made the mother-daughter duo enter the sweet segment of the food business. 

What is the ideology behind Nihira and what makes it different from other sweet brands in the market? 

Over the past few decades, grandmothers were associated with old school sweets and the younger generation with new treats such as chocolates, candies and other trending delicacies. Nihira sought to bridge the gap between old and new, creating something fresh and exciting, merging old-school mithais doused in fun fresh flavours while keeping Indian roots intact for all generations to savour together. As we all know, sweets are a consequential part of the Indian culture and hold significant meaning in our society for every occasion, Nihira brings to the market traditional Indian sweets with a contemporary twist, making it different from other sweet brands on the market. 

Liquor Laddoo

What are the innovative elements in Nihira’s products? 

Nihira brings together an amalgamation of modern flavours and traditional sweets creating exquisite luxury treats for everyone to love and savour.

The innovative unconventional mix of delicacies forms the USP of the brand. Some of Nihira’s favourite items are the collector’s edition liquor ladoos such as red wine, whiskey, mojito or champagne ladoos, barfis like cheesecake, bubblegum or oreo barfis and even savoury delights such as peri- peri namkeen paare, BBQ namkeen paare, snickerdoodle meethe paare and many more. 

Bubble Gum Barfi 

What has been your top-selling product by far? What is your personal favourite treat from Nihira?  

The collector’s edition liquor ladoos - a blend of premium spirits with the classic ladoos hit the right chord with customers. The cheesecake barfi has also been a huge crowd pleaser. Both items are one of Nihira’s personal favourites as well. 

Where do you source your ingredients from?  

We at Nihira are very particular about what goes into our sweets, so we don't compromise on the quality of the raw material at all. We procure the best quality ingredients in their purest form, sourcing them from both domestic and international markets.   

Lavender Laddoo

What are your expansion plans with Nihira?  

Nihira is for everyone to love and cherish. We ship all over India and internationally as well, and soon plan to open our doors to customers with physical stores broadening our horizon. 

How do you maintain the health and nutrition value of your products?   

We at Nihira take the health and nutritional value of our products very seriously.

Each time we introduce a new flavour, food testing and quality control measures are carried out with each batch of items that are prepared closely monitoring the same on a daily basis. 

Mojito Laddoo

What are the key challenges of being specifically in the sweet sector?  

By far, the key challenge of being in the sweets sector has been to incorporate the most distinctive flavours in our treats making sure the sweetness level remains subtle as opposed to becoming overpowering, thereby, striking the perfect balance to create the right blend of flavours. Innovation is a challenge; we enjoy creating treats with unique flavours and textures to pamper the palettes for all age groups. 

What are five key marketing strategies to reach out to your target consumers? 

Five key marketing strategies to reach out to target consumers are through newspapers and publications, creating social media strategies, cross-collaboration with brands and hosting/ participating in events.

Based on a recent Taste Tomorrow 2019 Survey, a global study conducted across 40 countries with over 17,000 consumers, people are placing more and more importance on consciously consuming healthy food which confirms that health and well being continues to be an important trend in the bakery, patisserie and chocolate industry. It is a trend that will continue to accumulate traction.

People want their food to contain ingredients which are natural and have an added nutritional value. Multigrain and seeded bread provide just the experience consumers are looking for with regard to taste and texture. Embracing the latest needs of consumers for relevance, authenticity and naturalness, Puratos India’s Puravita and Topfil Range of products offers vitality by bringing the taste, health and well-being only grains, seeds and fruits can offer.

Puratos is a Belgium-based MNC with local subsidiaries in about 68 countries. Puratos Products are manufactured in more than 58 plants spread over 5 continents and sold in over 100 countries. Puratos India was established in 2008 in Mumbai, India. It manufactures and supplies a wide range of quality and innovative ingredients for bakery, patisserie and chocolate businesses. It also offers marketing tools and solutions to identify and suit the needs of customers and encourages excellence through training, demonstrations and exchange of ideas in its Innovation Centers. 

Bread made from the Puravita range of bakery mixes have improved nutritional value, are rich in fibres and minerals, contain limited salt making them a perfect contribution to a healthy balanced diet filled with mouth-watering elements for taste. The Puravita range has three bread mixes – Easy Puravita Multigrain, Easy Puravita Brown Bread and Easy Puravita Whole Wheat.

Easy Puravita Multigrain mix contains an exclusive blend of 11 carefully selected seeds and grains which provide a perfect harmony between taste and nutrition. This versatile bread mix can be used for making pizzas, focaccia bread, snack bread and many more. Easy Puravita Whole Wheat as the name suggests is made from 100 % whole wheat flour making it, a good source of essential nutrients, a healthier product in line with the global market trend of Health and Well-being. Easy Puravita Brown Bread mix is a bread pre-mix made of malt flour and whole wheat, which makes it a source of dietary fibres.

Puratos India’s Topfil range of fruit fillings is another pivotal innovation that contains up to 50% of natural fruit, giving customers the nutrition of fresh and juicy fruits. The range of delicious fruit fillings is ready-to-use and meets the most demanding requirements of professionals by being freeze-thaw stable. Available in Topfil Cherry, Topfil Blueberry and Topfil Pineapple, it is the perfect solution for professionals looking to offer more natural and healthy, yet tasty food to their consumers. 

Health and well-being will continue to be a major factor which will test the scope of innovation in the bakery and patisserie industry. With the Puravita range and Topfil range, Puratos India enables you to respond to customer demands for healthier products combined with a delectable taste.

Also Read: Price Hike Accounts For Low-Profit Margins In The Bread-Making Business, Says Vikas Gupta

It is often seen when life gets busy, fitness always seems to be the first item dropped from the to-do list. Farm2Fam promises to be a quick fix for your daily intake of nutrition. Their micro greens produce is an exceptional amalgamation of traditional Indian agriculture method and the latest technology of insulation and automation.

Insulation Technology

For insulation technology, we control the temperature and the humidity of the environment that they are grown in. It gives them the ideal temperature for growth. Benefits of using insulation technology to grow microgreens - Better yield, Lesser water, more nutritious and tastier micros.

Also Read: Why Daily Diners Must Make Informed Choices

Loaded with nutrition and having up to 40 times more nutrition than the fully grown veggies, Farm2Fam offers 40 exotic flavours which include - Swiss chard, Alfalfa, Nasturtium, Purple Kohlrabi, Sango Radish, Sunflower to name a few. Their spicy flavoured Pink Radish and mildly sweet Kale Micros are a great source of antioxidants that will detoxify and help reducing body fat. The combination of insulated environment, non-GMO seeds and farm practices enable them to grow strong, healthy and flavourful live micro-greens round the year which are delivered right at your doorstep.

Why Farm2Fam is unique?

Keya Salot, Founder of Farm2Fam, says, “Over time, I realized that there is much on-going climatic deterioration and never changing human habits pop up. With the changing environment, micro-greens are the best substitute for healthy food because it’s a perfect blend of taste and nutrition. I started working on sustainable urban agriculture with several industry experts to propagate and set up a system for nurturing healthy living. It is my endeavour to make these micro-greens in every household through Farm2Fam so that people do not suffer from lack of micro-nutrients.”

“None of the industry players grows microgreens in insulation in Mumbai,” says Keya Salot. “We grow around 40 flavours. Since we use the insulation technology in growing the micro greens, there is practically no competition,” she adds.

Why Restaurants Should Use Microgreens

Microgreens can be used in the kitchen as for display and can be used as well for table tops; help in decor!

It’s rich in flavour - peppery, spicy or even sweet taste. It depends on what micro green the chefs are using. The micro greens enable the chefs to add visual appeal as well as taste to the cuisines they serve.

Today it’s not only Indian mothers who are making microgreens a part of their kitchen. There has been a growing demand for these shoots and tendrils from several fine-dining establishments. Catering to this demand, Farm2Fam has collaborated with Four Seasons, ITC, Illuminati, Taj Lands’ End, celebrity Chef Vicky Ratnani, health coach Luke Coutinho, nutritionist Pooja Makhija and many more.

Also Read: This Brand's Cold Extracted Drinks Are As Good As Fresh Fruits

Expansion Plans

In the coming years, Farm2Fam targets to acquire more than 300 customers every month and be aligned with more than 100 restaurants in Mumbai. They intend to bring forth more exciting flavours such as blueberries, raspberries, wheatgrass and barley grass respectively.

Ramya Ragupathi had acute rhinitis, acute sinusitis while eating out and she was a regular intolerant to certain food ingredients and food products. It was in 2013 that she went to see a doctor after continuous dehydration and stress that led to hair fall. The doctor advised Ramya to leave wheat and dairy consumption and that’s how she noticed the change in her life. Excerpts from the interview:

How it all Began?

When I came back from UK, there weren’t much options in Singapore. I was baking since 15 years and that’s how I started working on wheat free, dairy free chocolate balls and baked a cake for a party and people were like it’s amazing and we have to sell it here. I never in my life imagined that I would be an entrepreneur.

How have you seen the growth?

In last three years we have become a food company to a food manufacturing company. I am enjoying it, learning a lot from it.

Tell us something about Oh! My Goodness.

Oh my Goodness is about serving people gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free products. We use real food and products and we do not use any lab made ingredients.

Who is your target customer?

Demand is coming from people like me who have food allergies and are intolerants to certain ingredients. People have included this in their breakfast, lunch etc. We just don’t sell, we make people aware about food allergies and make them understand about what their body is talking and they need to understand this otherwise we will have entire generation suffering from food allergies.

What trend do you see capturing the world?

People are investing more on their health now. Earlier, they used to invest in white sugar but now they are putting in more money on brown sugars and refined sugar free products. I want to make affordable product that people should enjoy and not invest in low quality products and ingredients.

Tell us about your market presence.

In Singapore, we are on Ecommerce platforms, supermarkets, Grocers and also we have our own website wherein we are selling our products. We have pizza bases, cakes, cookies, breads and people can just enjoy food. So, whatever you eat, you should enjoy is our motto.

Tell us about your expansion plan to India and other countries.

I am looking at Indian market as the market has shifted a lot in the last two years. There is incredible demand for wheat, dairy free products. We are looking at India to sell our packet version partnering with supermarkets like Nature’s basket and the likes as setting up a kitchen at this point in time is little difficult for us.

We are also planning Dubai, Malaysia as we are also Halal certified. The conversation for Malaysia has already begun and we should be there soon. I am also planning open a new plant wherein we can manufacture these products in Singapore.

A post graduate from Symbiosis Center for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune, Lisa Suwal hails from the family of leading meat purveyors in the country – Prasuma. Growing up in a family involved in delicatessen business for over 30 years, she has always been exposed to the nitty-gritty of the business and the art of making good food. A young and seasoned marketer, she is known for her innovative approach towards brands and alluring business perspective.

Gaining the outer world experience and understanding the key challenges faced by the unorganized meat industry, Lisa joined Prasuma in 2017. Her sheer perseverance and cognitive approach helped her in building a formal business structure and streamlining the processes which are the major challenges faced by any family business. Right from the beginning, she spearheaded in all areas of the business –from store to floor to an overall brand level. Determined to not let Prasuma become just another meat brand, she pays special attention to quality and the packaging of the products. All the products are vacuum skin packaged using barrier films imported from New Zealand which is considered to be the best in the world.

Lisa Suwal, Vice President - Marketing and Sales of Prasuma, tells Restaurant India about the strategies she has implemented in staying ahead in the industry segment.

Journey Prior to Prasuma

Prior to my journey with Prasuma, I was working with L’Oreal for six years. I started as a summer intern and joined Mirang where I handled big brands like Maybelline, Garnier, etc. My key responsibility was to manage the sales and marketing of the brand. I had also tried my hand at digital marketing and new product development.

Three Key Learnings in Marketing and Sales in the Food Industry

The three key learnings for me in marketing and sales are:

Providing quality over everything else is the key to success!

If I have to identify one reason for the success and popularity of our brand Prasuma among consumers, it would be quality over anything else. Even though we have never done any ATL marketing activities in history, the brand today is known for pioneering the Fresh & Chilled Deli Segment. While rest of the brands continue to focus on frozen cold cuts, we ensure all our products contain only meat and no fillers (a tactic to reduce costs) and use the best premium antibiotic and hormone-free meats even before this became a safety parameter in India.

Innovation is Critical

In the much-cluttered food space, innovation is the way to stand out! At Prasuma, every quarter, we launch 2-3 new products. We constantly change our products, packaging and recipes to ensure customers should get the best and we remain in sync with the evolving tastes of our customers. The food industry is saturated but identifying new trends and food habits which enable us to continue innovating new products.

Also Read: 92% Repeat Consumers, 15% Month-Over-Month Growth: This Brand’s Secret Is Worth Knowing

Partners and Consumer Relations

The food industry has a very complex structure today. We continue to understand our partners through the processing chain, right from our farms to the retail companies along with the staff which is absolutely critical as they are the ultimate ambassadors of the brand.

Customers and Partners

Prasuma is the number one brand and pioneer in fresh and chilled deli meat segments in India. We started with chilled and deli meats and now are among the top brands across all retail outlets in this segment. Our consumers and partners are Nature’s Basket, Food Hall, Spencer's, Hyper City, Walmart, Big Bazaar, SPAR along with international brands like Pizza Express, IHOP, Jimmy’s Pizzeria, Chili’s, Pizza Hut and over 500 restaurants all across India.

Key Challenges When Starting Out Prasuma as a Brand

Challenge is being in the fresh deli meat segment. The fresh and chilled meat is a different ball game altogether. Here you need to have accurate infrastructure right from sourcing of the material till the time it reaches the store. The supply, processing and sourcing need to be perfect so that the consumers get the best quality product.

To overcome the challenges, Prasuma has state of the art processing unit facility at Manesar in Gurugram, which is completely ISO certified. We are equipped with the latest German technology. In terms of chicken which comes from big sourcing facility and for pork we have our own integration with farmers who were taught to raise the right kind of pork, to get the best quality product. Without good ingredients, one can never get a good quality product. We also have our own distribution hubs in all four major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. We make sure to store the product at the right temperature and supply at the right time.

Also Read: Here’s Why You Should Consider Serving Kadaknath Chicken At Your Restaurant

Promotion Strategy with Prasuma Products

For the promotional activity, we focus more on digital marketing and prefer to do a lot of videos on how to use and consume the products. In India, people are not aware of such kind of products compare to sausages, salami, bacon which are part of an everyday meal. It is best to educate people about the right quality and usage of products, how to store and consume them. We advertise our products online and most promotions are in-store which talks about Hormone and Antibiotic Residue-Free meat through cooking and recipe videos.

Staying Ahead of Competitors

The strategies we implement to stay ahead of our competitors are the innovation of products at every step and provide the best quality with no compromise. We believe in staying in touch with the customers and their taste profile.

Upcoming Products

Our product quality has always remained consistent, and that’s a big reason for our steady growth. We focus on constant innovation of the products. Our main focus is on the institutional range for sausages, bacon, ham respectively which are good quality products and come at an affordable price for the hotels and restaurants. We have got a lot of queries and we are planning to launch a perfect range for the hospitality industry.

Expansion Plans

Have a lot of exciting expansion plans, one of which is growing in the retail market and increase our presence in the hotel industry. There are ready-to-eat products which we are planning to launch, for which we will talk about in due time.

Peak Business Season

The peak business season for us is winters from November to January and slowest is the quarter from April to June.

After completing his education in Bachelor’s of International Business from Australia, Shyamal Panchmatia joined the family business in 2006. Soon, he realised that his family business did not have many opportunities in terms of scalability and, hence, he started his own venture known as LB Flooring Pvt Ltd, which later was renamed to LB Industries Pvt Ltd.

Today, his entire focus is on LB Consumer Goods which is the FMCG business arm of LB Group. In 2016, with the intention to create a brand image and value-added product, the brand Ray emerged with its product – cooking spray – which focused on the health of the consumers.

After Ray Cooking Spray, Ray NoSugar and Ray Honey were launched by LB Consumer Goods; Ray NoSugar is a clean natural sweetener with Zero Calories and Zero Glycemic Index. It is recommended for calorie conscious and diabetics. LB Consumer Goods is the first in India to launch Easy Snap technology for food products.

With one hand-opening mess-free technology, the newest addition to the health and convenience product is Ray NoSugar. 

Shyamal Panchmatia, MD, L.B. Industries Pvt Ltd, tells Restaurant India how using the Ray NoSugar sachets made out of Easy Snap Technology will be fruitful for the HoReCa industry.

What are some of the interesting findings you came across during the R&D of your food products?

Speaking about Ray NoSugar, previously, there was no such product called liquid sugar delivered in a sachet in the food and beverage. Everyone is getting health conscious these days. They avoid sugar or any other sweetener. India is the diabetic capital of the world. Out of 100, 80 people would want beverage without sugar which means most of the time the artificial sweeteners are consumed by diabetics only. As per the certain data we have, every 12^th person in our country is diabetic. This brings me to the most interesting finding. The concern for a diabetic is that blood sugar should be on the level. If you are using a sweetener, other than sugar, yet it constitutes dextrose, sucralose, etc, you are not helping diabetics. This is where we thought that we have an interesting space in the industry. 

Tell us about the easy snap technology? 

It’s a one-hand opening technology; you don’t require a spoon. Basically, it’s a unique technology; the product is air-tight packed. When you open the sachet in the right direction the packaging gets cracked and then you squeeze it to get the product out. If we talk about Ray NoSugar, everybody is supplying simple sugar powder; the liquid is a bigger preference as it is more soluble and has got cleaner formulation.

USP of your products? 

Ray NoSugar doesn’t contain any poly oils, anyone, including pregnant women or children, can have it. Secondly, the formulation of Ray NoSugar is such that it has zero calories and zero Glycemic Index. Even, diabetics can take our product. Thirdly, Ray No Sugar is a natural sweetener. That’s how we stay ahead in the industry segment. Our product doesn’t contain dextrose, sucralose, lactose or aspartame. 

We are, currently, focusing on Ray Honey and Ray NoSugar. Honey is organic, unfiltered. That’s why we had kept it in a transparent pack; we want the consumers to see what raw honey looks like. Imagine, you are having waffles, pancakes, cereals or any beverages or green tea; you just need to pick up the fold and squeeze the sachet to use honey or the liquid sugar. You don’t need to worry about tearing the sachets. 

Along with a very good quality product we are delivering convenience. 

Ray Cooking Spray, is another novel idea. The cooking spray reduces the consumption 10 times from regular usage. When we talk about the restaurant and hotel industry, all the live stations where you usually sprinkle oil, cooking spray is more convenient, mess-free and hygienic.

Earlier, the product was a regular aerosol but now it is 100 per cent pure oil. 

Your contribution to the HoReCa segment?

Until now, our focus was on retail only. We are now looking into the HoReCa segment. We exhibited in Mumbai where we had interesting meetings with the likes of Radisson and Hilton Groups. Everybody was amused to see such technology. 

What more innovative products LB Consumer Goods will be introducing in the next two years?

We are working on a lot more products but it is too early for me to reveal anything. We had launched Ray NoSugar sweets; we call it Ray NoSugar bites. We’ve launched ethnic sweets like gulab jamuns, rasgulla, soan papdi; we are working on more sweets which will give you exactly the same taste as any regular sweet products but they will be sugar-free, completely.

What are your expansion plans with L.B. Consumer Goods? 

Right now, we are focusing on the geographies where we are already present, 13 cities in India – Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Surat, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata and Nagpur. More than expansion, we are focused on stability right now. We want our products to reach throughout the country, at the hotels and restaurants who understand hygiene, convenience and value-added service. 

What is your marketing strategy with Ray NoSugar?

At the moment, we are focusing on digital marketing and in-store branding. Since we are a start-up, obviously we do not have deep pockets to go on television or do any kind of ETL marketing but we do a lot of live demos. We are also present at almost all the airports across the country.

Poshn is a brand of functional juices, wherein we blend fruits and herbs together, to make the consumers either energized or relaxed. Poshn’s CEO and Founder, Rahul Kakkad, is a three times national swimming champion and has a degree in entrepreneurship and engineering. His first venture was a brand of tyres - Ultramile. During his work at Ultramile, he realised he had become lactose intolerant and he could no longer have coffee. At the same time, he realised that people were doing all sorts of unhealthy things to get a good night’s sleep. Rahul, then, started researching on this topic and 18 months later Poshn was born.

In an interview with Restaurant India, CEO and Founder, Rahul Kakkad shares how Poshn’s concept is different from other juice players in the industry segment.

How Poshn is different from other juice players in the industry?

We have used various different fruits and herbs that have natural properties geared towards either energy or relaxation, along with a whole lot of nutrition! For example, we use various refreshing tropical fruits with green tea and ginseng for energy, while we use all sorts of anti-oxidant rich and high melatonin fruits such as cherries and berries and add chamomile to feel relaxed. We use stevia for sweetness in both, thereby, avoiding any artificial sugars.

These delicious juices are also all-natural, have no added sugar and are also extremely low on calories, which is why we call it a functional super juice!

For example, our energy juice Recharge is 60 calories, while homemade lemonade would be around 120 calories. 

Currently, no one is really focusing on energy and relaxation in a healthy all-natural juice format in the market, and that’s what makes us different.

Also Read: This Brand's Cold Extracted Drinks Are As Good As Fresh Fruits

We are giving the market a healthy guilt-free alternative to coffee and other unhealthy energy drinks, and a whole new healthy way to relax and de-stress.

By far, which super juice is people's favourite or top-selling? What is your favourite from Poshn's juices?

Currently, with whatever of the market we have explored so far, our relaxation variant has surely been the crowd favourite since it is the sweeter juice and gives you great sleep too!

I personally use the energy variant a lot more since I am constantly on the run and I just love the natural, refreshing kick it delivers, without any jittery feeling like the other energy drinks in the market.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

We source our ingredients from all different parts of the world. Our fruits originate from Israel, our stevia comes from Germany, and our herbs come from various parts of the world too. The international touch can be noticed once a person has the products. Our taste truly speaks for itself, which is why people are coming back for more.

What are your expansion plans with Poshn? How do you see the tier I and tier II cities?

Rahul Kakkad, CEO and Founder of Poshn

Currently, we are going slow with retail, and taking one market at a time. We are presently available in stores like Nature’s Basket, Foodhall, and most chemists and premium general stores. While online, we are on board with almost all the major e-commerce sites and also have our own e-commerce website where we offer a subscriber model pan India. We plan to enter new markets soon, but our focus initially will be on tier 1 cities only. We also plan to launch new variants which we are currently doing research on.

How much the Indian market is aware of the super juices?

I think, at present, the Indian market is not much aware of the concept of functional juices; especially the concept of fruits + herbs. This marks one of the biggest challenges for us – to educate consumers.

Your contribution towards HoReCa with Poshn.

Since we have just launched in the market in September 2018, we are still very new in the game and have not yet entered the HoReCa markets. We have had talks with a few hotel chains, cafes, caterers and airlines, but have not started any business in these areas yet. We recently signed up with RELAY! for selling at airports in Mumbai, Goa, Delhi and Bengaluru, and we’re pretty excited about that.  

Your key marketing strategies to reach out to the target consumers?

Well, I really wish I knew the right answer to this question. But from what I can say is, that we are focusing all our marketing efforts in the sampling of the products at the right avenues. Currently, most intercollegiate sports tournaments, corporate offices, private sports leagues and marathons are all the places where we are doing most of our sampling, in order to not only get people to try Poshn but also use it for what it is made for. We are trying to associate our brand with anything that stands for health and wellness and keeping our focus to that only.

We also do a lot of events, in-store sampling and influencer campaigns to help spread the word.

How do you maintain the health and nutrition value of your products?

Quality of our products has been the utmost concern for our company. We are only working with the best suppliers for every single ingredient, and not trying to cut any corners there. Since we have to import the fruits as concentrates and the herbs as natural extracts, we have access to all the lab reports beforehand. We also have various quality checks during our production process to make sure there is no variance in the product in either taste or quality.

What are the key challenges of being in the juice segment?

Well, there are various challenges to being in the juice sector. The Indian juice market, in general, is not that huge and is majorly skewed towards the cheaper typical juices and tetra packs. It is anyway a big challenge to get into most stores, it is an even bigger challenge to demand shelf space in the chillers, this makes retail very challenging. But so far, I think we are doing a really good job.

We were recently awarded the Coca Cola Golden Spoon Award for the Most Admired Startup of the Year. And our confidence has grown by leaps and bounds since then.

Narendra K. Pasuparthy, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, calls himself the ‘Chief Farmer’ and CEO of Nandu’s Chicken. A second-generation entrepreneur, Narendra chose to start his career by opting to work outside of his family business for over a decade. His responsibilities with the company are varied and include finance and accounting, marketing, sales and production and customer satisfaction, among others.

In an exclusive interview with Restaurant India, CEO Narendra K. Pasuparthy reveals how using modern technology has helped Nandu’s Chicken in securing the repeat customer base.

The Journey from Working As An Engineer to Becoming the Chief Farmer and CEO at Nandu’s Chicken

Basically, I am an engineer. Back in the early 90s, I went abroad to pursue my Master’s in Information Science from The University of Texas. After that, I worked in the tech space for about 10 years. From a software programmer to an engineering manager to software sales, I have played various roles at different companies. In 2005, I decided to return to India. I came back with an objective of joining my family business, Nanda Group. My father started the poultry breeding business in 1963. We are one of the oldest and largest poultry breeding companies in southern India. We’ve been in the poultry business for over 55 years now. We have breeding farms across southern India - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

We produce around 4 million chickens a month.

Until 2016, we used to sell away the chicks and fully-grown broilers to the market. We have our own hatcheries. We have more than 3,000 farmer customers across South India. About three and a half million chicks are sold to the farmers which they grow on their own and bring into the market for meat. As a company, we ourselves grow about 500,000 birds – we convert the chicks into broilers in about six weeks. And then we would sell the live birds in the market.

My objective in 2005 was to come back and modernize this business by implementing the idea of socially responsible farming. We are among the first in India to implement the socially responsible poultry farming. We said we won’t pollute the environment using the diesel generators or by throwing away the chicken litters, which emits hazardous methane gas. We started using solar power; we were the first company in India to use solar power at our poultry farms. We started converting each of our farms into a solar-powered - our objective since 2007.

To give an example - one farm uses 650 litres of diesel per month. By using solar power, we are able to reduce the diesel consumption to 40-50 litres per month; it’s 10 times lesser. After seven years, which is the payback period, we don’t have any extra cost at all and we are not polluting the environment. The solar power is a big part of our poultry farms.

Secondly, we also started the biogas process. Where we take the chicken litter and take it into the biogas plants, extract methane from that. We have successfully put that technology in place where we are processing around 4 tons. All our farms are completely modernized. We use a lot of robotics, PLC controllers and automation to take care of the birds for feeding and watering purpose.

In 2016, we started Nandu’s, which is basically a tribute to my father whose name is Nanda Kumar. We wanted to convert the live birds, we are growing through our poultry farms, into fresh meats. That is when we took a stand to produce all our chicken chemical-free. It took about 9-10 months to develop a growing program which didn’t require any use of the antibiotics. I have a team of about 15 people just to grow the poultry that we use for Nandu’s. We hand-selected the farmers, trained them on growing the chickens in a bio-secure (healthy) environment. So that the birds don’t get sick and, thus, this way no medicines or antibiotics are required.

Our focus is also on the cleanliness of the farms and the health of the birds. At every stage from production to processing, we take care of the health of the birds so the end consumers receive an all-healthy, all-fresh, chemical-free produce.

The Concept of Food Miles at Nandu’s Chicken

Now that we are producing the birds without any chemicals, we put the processing plants closer to the city – that’s based on the concept called food miles – which means how far is your meat travelling to get to your home? The more it travels, the more it is polluting the environment. We wanted to pay attention to that as well. If the consumption centre is at Bengaluru, we will put the processing plant near the same city. Our competitors’ products travel 200-300 km a day while Nandu’s chicken travels only around 80 km. We are very conscious of the number of food miles.

"The speciality of Nandu’s is – it comes from one company which is completely integrated, meaning everything is in-house. We, truly, are farm to fork concept. There are no middlemen involved. That’s how we are consumer-focused."

~ Narendra K. Pasuparthy, CEO of Nandu’s Chicken

Future Plans of Nandu’s Chicken

To get such transparency also on to the blockchain. We are working on putting all the information on the blockchain, so that consumers can trace everything and say, this is from where my food comes, and then to take the consumers through our own retail stores.

We have 20 stores in Bengaluru; one is opened recently, and by the end of January 2019, we aim at opening 25 stores. By the end of 2019, we aim at opening 50 outlets of Nandu’s Chicken in Bengaluru. We are also planning to expand our operations in other southern states. The plan is - every six months we want to open our business in one of the states.

Current Annual Sale at Nandu’s Chicken

Currently, we are privately held. What we did last year, in terms of revenue, we will be doubling that in 2019. We are growing around 15% month-on-month. 92% of people are our repeat consumers. All we do is – we just let them taste the products and they stick with us.

Customers and Partners

We don’t have any middlemen between us and our end-consumers. We have our own e-commerce store. Recently, we have partnered with Dunzo, BigBasket, DairyNinja and more. Majority of our business comes from our own website or retail stores.

Promotion Strategy with Nandu’s Chicken

We are the only company in India which is 100% integrated, with retailing included, online and offline. There are four ways to order chicken from Nandu’s – website, call centre, retail store and delivery.

In terms of promotions, we are heavily using social media, to advertise the brand. A lot of our promotion also happens through the radio. Since we are present both online and offline, there are different types of activities we do for the customers. Typically, for offline promotions it is the BTL activity like event partners, fliers, running promotions, contest, cooking shows for women focused on the quick-serve menu. We are also doing value-added products like chicken tikka, malai tikka, chicken popcorn, chicken nuggets. We, recently, launched 23 value-added products.

For online promotions, we are very heavily dependent on Facebook, Instagram, Google Adwords and Google Display Network. We run online SMS campaigns. We have more than 50,000 customers that we serve.

The Best Thing About Working in the Family Business

I’m a second generation entrepreneur. We started Nandu’s from scratch. We have support from the Group Company – Nanda Group. Without our family business, Nandu’s couldn’t have given the value proposition which we are able to give today. Working in the family business for Nandu’s is great.

The traceability, transparency and expertise in growing poultry – all these come from the 55-year-old poultry breeding experience. Nanda Group alone is a 700-people company and Nandu’s, today, is 150 people strong. To make Nandu’s possible, almost 850 people are working towards delivering great quality to the end consumers.

And from a cultural perspective, I can say, since we are a family business, our values and culture is very strong. And this culture is a very strong ingredient to attract great talent. People associated with us are empowered, and everyone is an intrapreneur. We are a very flat organization. We encourage participation, opinion-sharing, delegation. Any successful organization you see today, they have a very strong fundamental culture of the organization. This culture of our family business which I am able to draw for Nandu’s is of great advantage.

The Processed Meat Businesses in India

If we look at the buying habits of people, 15-20 years ago, it was very different than it’s today. Earlier, the concept was if it is alive it is fresh, now the concept of fresh has changed. The young generation, today, wants the meat to come from a healthy source and to be handled very hygienically in a structured manner. 90% of our consumers haven’t visited a live butcher’s shop. People want to align with a brand that can actually promise the quality of their food. They need to know from where the meat is coming from. The whole dynamics are changing.

Vikas Gupta, Director, Sales at Harvest Gold, has been associated with the company since its inception. He is an expert in implementing the first-of-its-kind and innovative strategy to establish the bread market.

“I had joined Harvest Gold 25 years back as an Executive and now I am Director Sale that clearly indicates that as the company has grown, so has the employees of the company who are hard-working and can lead from the front.”

~ Vikas Gupta, Director, Sales at Harvest Gold

In an interview with Restaurant India, Director, Sales at Harvest Gold, Vikas Gupta talks about the challenges and opportunities in the bread-making business in India.

Harvest Gold’s Growth and Expansion Plans

Harvest Gold India has a turnover of Rs 400cr and, now, as we are a part of Grupo Bimbo, the global bakery giants with a turnover of 1600 billion dollars and having their presence in 32 countries. We as Harvest Gold India has a bouquet of bread, flatbread and buns (37 products) and more are on the launch stage.

Also Read: When Quality Drives Consumption

Harvest Gold has very aggressive expansion plans to go into new geographies with various categories apart from regular bread and buns.

Challenges in Bread-making Business in India

Being a perishable product, the bread industry faces various challenges.

- A major challenge faced by organized bread sector at present is the low margin of profits. Hike in prices of major raw material like wheat Flour/sugar/oil has been accounted for the industry low margin of profits.

- Trained manpower.

- Timely distribution from plants to the shops and then from there to the breakfast table of consumers.

Harvest Gold’s Contribution in the HoReCa Industry

As a leading brand, we are available to various HoReCa through the company's direct and various suppliers.

Our major HoReCa customers are railways, hospitals and several five-star hotels.

Bread Market in India

In the last five years due to lifestyle, preferences and increase in disposable income, the bread industry is growing at a constant pace.

Both organized and unorganized players are in the market. The consumers, however, would shift to bread manufactured by companies who have better technology and can produce in most hygienic conditions.

As a passionate 'tea man', Managing Director of Teamonk Global, Ashok Mittal has spent nearly four decades in the fascinating world of teas. Currently, he is heading a company born out of his passion for teas – Teamonk Global.

Teamonk Global is a speciality tea portal, driven by a single-minded vision of offering the finest teas to the consumers across the world. It offers teas from the choicest tea gardens both through e-commerce platforms and selected retail outlets.

Managing Director of Teamonk Global, Ashok Mittal, started his career with Lipton as a management trainee in the tea division, having spent 15 years in perfecting the art of tea tasting, buying, blending, quality control with good understanding of the tea manufacturing process and heading tea-buying units in Siliguri, Guwahati, Kolkata and South India. After 22 years of association with Lipton, Brooke Bond India, Ashok Mittal seconded Unilever Indonesia to head their domestic tea operations. Since 2012, Ashok Mittal is associated with Mohani Tea, the largest tea company in North India, as a consultant VP and has helped the Group in sustainable growth. 

In an interview with Restaurant India, Managing Director of Teamonk Global, Ashok Mittal speaks about the growth of the tea industry in India.

Story Behind TeaMonk Global

Teamonk is a speciality tea venture, focused on high end, premium green, oolong, white and black teas, specially curated by the experts, catering to the tea connoisseurs and tea lovers. These are pure and natural teas with natural ingredients to enhance the taste (green teas) and we do not use any flavour, essence or oil in our products. Our supply chain and customer service is world class and we deliver freshest teas to our discerning consumers.

Also Read: What’s Your Favourite Cup Of Tea

Contribution to the HoReCa Segment

We are in the process of introducing our brand in the institutions, cafes, resorts and big hotels and expect to develop it as a significant channel in near future.

Popular Misconceptions about Brewing, Drinking or Cooking with Tea

Tea was always meant to be brewed to enjoy its natural taste and flavour. Unfortunately, in South-Asian countries, people started using tea more as a dessert or filler in between meals for energy which led to excessive use of milk and sugar in the tea with boiling to thicken the beverage. The tea character has been diluted significantly over the decades. In order to enjoy tea with its natural character, it is important that it is always brewed and very little milk and sugar are added to ensure the tea character is not diluted. 

Tea Industry in India and Its Growth

Pic credit | Teamonk

The tea industry is gradually evolving towards healthier and non-conventional teas as the younger generation is far more health conscious and realizes the harmful effects of excessive milk and sugar consumption in the beverage. Green and other speciality teas are growing significantly and will continue to grow with the increase in health awareness.

Click to Read: How This Tea Cafe Is Brewing The Success Story

Health and Wellness an Integral Part of Food and Beverage Industry

Health and wellness is an integral part of the F&B (food and beverage) industry. People are making a conscious choice of going for brown eggs, fibre bread, non-carbonated beverages, organic foods, green vegetables, etc.

Therefore, it is quite natural that any food or drink, perceived to be healthier will find favour with the younger generation. It is a natural healthy drink compared to any other beverage and, therefore, we do see tea, particularly green ones becoming far more popular in future.

Foods That Pair Best with a Cup of Tea

Any food which is lighter, not oily or deep-fried will be a good pair with tea. However, any food consumption should always be with green tea rather than milk and sugar or black tea as that will cause acidity and also affects digestion, especially, due to the boiling method used at most Indian households. 

The Scope of Indian Tea brands Abroad

India offers the maximum variety of the beverage compared to any other tea-growing country - Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiris, Himachal and North Bengal region (Dooars) with each region offering different taste experience, character, seasonal variation, etc. There is a huge opportunity for Indian tea brands to be established in overseas markets but this requires sustained support from the Indian Government and the industry. 

Expansion Plans with Teamonk Global

Teamonk has an ambitious growth plan to reach over 150-crore gross revenue in the next four years, sticking to our core values of pure and natural, healthy and exotic tasting teas to delight tea lovers.

Fruzzante is the world’s first and only producer of alco-bev made from chikoo (Sapodilla) extracts. Conceptualized in 2010, the brand is the brainchild of Priyanka Save and her husband Nagesh Pai; the entrepreneur couple has a background in Mechanical Engineering. Under their leadership, the brand has produced more than 25,000 bottles since the wine’s launch on the New Year’s Eve of 2017. The brewery is part of their family’s Hill Zill Resort in Bordi, 25 km from Dahanu, and was instrumentally aided by Dominic Rivard, an award-winning winemaker and cider specialist, from Nova Scotia, Canada. 

Fruzzante was awarded a silver medal at “Drink Outside the Grape” challenge 2017 held in the USA where they were pitted against 145 wines and ciders of the world.

In an interview with Restaurant India, Partner and Founder at Hill Zill Wines and Fruzzante, Priyanka Save speaks about the world’s first brand to make cider style alcoholic beverage from chikoo.

Fruzzante is the world’s first to make cider style alcoholic beverage from Chikoo. How did you come up with the idea? Why chikoo? 

The genesis of the idea untwines the hands of time to my childhood days. I was raised in the chikoo orchards of Dahanu-Gholvad, hence the significant affection for and intimate bond with farm-grown fruits. Things took a turn for the worse when a seed borer disease severely affected the chikoo market in 2004. Farmers’ hands were tied, and they resorted to cutting off the plantations. That struck a chord amongst the entire region, which was the moment that our quest for recognition was coupled with the ardent desire of revival. Hence, our initial idea was to process chikoo in a package-able form. On arriving at the conclusion that it is in the nature of the fruit to ferment, we proceeded to brew a cider-style alco-beverage. 

What makes the Fruzzante products different from that of other alcohol beverage players?
There’s a stark difference between Fruzzante and other players because we are the world’s first and only producer of a cider-style alco-beverage made from chikoo/sapota. We are in turn the only company producing fruit-based and non-grape bottled products in the wine category that is, currently, commercially available. We are both vegan and gluten-free which makes it a healthy choice as well. 

In addition, Fruzzante products are also unique in the sense that they are all home-grown with our brewery set up in the family’s Hill Zill resort in Bordi, 25 km from Dahanu. Apart from intending to glamorize the cider and fruit industry, we earnestly work to put out local farmers on the map.  

By far, which beverage is people's favourite?

Even though we have other variants in the gluten-free range like Pineapple, Mango, and Spice Garden (Cinnamon, Ginger and Honey), our flagship cider-style alco-beverage made from chikoo is still the most favoured of the lot.  

Your business model to reach out to more customers?
In order to reach out to more customers, we envision working with several other fruits while maintaining quality standards. We have currently four varieties of Fruzzante and we are planning to add newer fruits under this brand. We also have a sparkling white wine from Starfruit blended with grapes under the brand name JIWA and a premium honey dessert wine or mead under the brand name ARKA.

In addition, people are looking for authenticity in the products they use because they are being bombarded with adulterated ones. We, therefore, strive to represent honest producers who understand the need of the market and bridge the gap through authentic, unadulterated, and tested products. As a home-grown brand, we bring the traits of understanding, compatibility, and reliability to the table. 

How do you price the products?
The wine MRP is Rs 255 for 330ml. The cost is also considering the 100% excise duty applicable on the product, unlike grape wines that are duty-free in Maharashtra. Also, 20% VAT is applicable, unlike grape wines that enjoy a 16% rebate. We have approached state governments several times to treat all fruit wines as equal and be given the same benefits as grape wineries enjoy. However, we await an answer on the same. 

Also Read: Healthy Alcohol, Premium Rose - The 2019 Alco-Bev Trends To Watch Out For In India

Where do you source your ingredients from?

As mentioned, our wines are brewed only with local produce obtained from the farmers only. Our labels indicate the location of the fruit procured. For instance, chikoo is procured from Dahanu-Gholvad while pineapple from Dodamarg-Sindhudurg all located in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The farmers are active participants in the entire process and we recognize their efforts by mentioning them on our product labels. 

Your expansion plans?
Apart from tying up with a few distributors to make a good distribution network in Maharashtra, we further envision working with several other fruits in the future while striving to maintain quality standards. We are looking to add strawberry from Mahabaleshwar and oranges from Nagpur soon. 

Key challenges you faced initially with Fruzzante?

We, initially, found chikoo to be a laborious fruit to attract in the market; there were problems of high pH levels, uneven ripening and low shelf-life. Chikoo is immensely dissimilar to fruits like grapes which ripen naturally and harvest easily. It rather requires controlled environments, and hence we resorted to ripening in chambers that control the natural ripening process as opposed to non-organic means. The benefit was uniform ripening and better quality of juice, thereby, resulting in a quality product.

We invariably faced several challenges in terms of processing the fruit where our experience spanning over a decade in Mechanical Engineering came to the fore. We also implemented sustainable means for cost savings which include north facing stilt levels (least sun exposure) for winery location to ensure less cooling load resulting in power savings. The further implementation of ozonators helped maintain hygienic and sterile conditions in the facility to keep the products free from unwanted bacteria and viruses.

There were also challenges in packaging the highly perishable fruit, which was eventually solved with the help of a fully automatic bottling filling machine. This enabled appropriate and efficient rinsing, filling, and capping of the bottles. Therefore, the bottling along with our air-conditioned storage facility helps maintain comfortable temperatures for product storage.

With all the challenges we have faced, we haven’t relinquished or compromised on our stance of placing quality before anything else; a vital element in any process. 

The key challenges you foresee and how do you plan to cope?

The key challenge is to compete against the grape wine industry that enjoys 100% excise duty exemption as well as VAT rebate. Due to tax implication, our cost is higher as compared to a grape wine of a similar nature. The USP of our product that it’s made from actual fruits without the use of colours or flavours attracts the consumers. We are in talks with the government for extending the same tax holiday that the grape wine industry enjoys. 

Your take on helping the native Warli Tribe?
Fruzzante is a brand that is socially aware as it is innovative. We never fail to understand the vital role played by the native Warli Tribe. Apart from promoting native growers by mentioning them on each product, the proceeds from the sale of the special “Starfruit Jiwa” flavour of the drink are contributed for the well being of the native Warli tribe. They deserve immense credit for their perseverance and efforts in reviving the chikoo market.

How do you see the concepts like Fruzzante for the Indian market - in terms of customers and consumers both?
Authenticity, reliability, and quality are the core aspects consumers are either consciously or subconsciously seeking in today’s market. Hence, more home-grown concepts built on these three pillars are likely to impress them and, thereby, garner recognition. The modern market is much more inclusive of audiences than it was perhaps a decade ago, with more emphasis on individual experience rather than aggregates. Hence, it would bode well for new players to derive something meaningful and take the consumer through an engaging journey.

Second Nature was launched with the intention of delivering natural taste and nutrition directly from farm to consumers' doorstep. It is the first-ever brand of 'cold extracted' fresh fruits and veggie juices in India. Fruits are best had at the farm when they are fully ripe for picking. Second Nature endeavours to bring these natural tastes and nutrients to the consumers in the form of cold extracted juices, second only to the fresh fruits themselves in terms of nutrient retention and flavour.

"The uniqueness of Second Nature is ingrained in its ideologies and the overall process of production. The brand works directly with growers, training them in the best farming practices that are accepted globally, ensuring that the produce they grow meets the highest food safety standards in the world."

Dipti Motiani, Founder & Chief Product Officer of Second Nature

“We have empanelled renowned agronomists and experts to educate growers to ensure that fruits are grown and harvested when they are just right. We place a lot of emphasis on our products being second only to Nature, i.e. the best alternative to plucking fruits right off their branches and consuming them at the farm. Freshtrop has always focused on supplying the highest quality fresh fruits to demanding customers and the production and commercialization of cold-extracted juices and vegetable blends is a natural progression for the brand in their quest to promote the consumption of healthy produce,” says Dipti Motiani, Founder & Chief Product Officer of Second Nature.

Freshtrop Fruits Ltd. is a leading exporter of pomegranates and grapes that has forayed into cold-extracted juices segment under the Second Nature brand.

Dipti Motiani sees the rising need in the juice sector in India.

In an exclusive interview with Restaurant India, Founder and Chief Product Officer Dipti Motiani talks about Second Nature, the first-ever brand of cold-extracted juices in India, and the beverage sector in the country. 

How Second Nature's concept is different from other juice players in the industry?

A critical part of our process is that we actually go back to the farm to source our fruits and vegetables. In addition, we believe we handle our raw materials much better, and we are involved across the chain right from the growing process to the harvesting, post-harvest management, and processing the fruits. Our experience in dealing directly with farmers for the last 25 years holds us in good stead in this regard. As compared to the others, we have no additives at all (no-added sugar, no preservatives, no heat).

While all the players in the juice industry are cold-pressed juices, the concept of Cold Extraction by itself is a unique method of juicing fruits and vegetables. Juice and pulp are gently extracted and a vacuum environment is created to prevent oxidation and prevention of loss of natural flavours. This is in stark contrast to cold-pressed juices, which are extracted using pressure and straining in open to atmosphere conditions, causing fibre loss and oxidation.

Must Read: How To Start A Juice Business

By far, what all juices are people's favourite?

We have multiple variants that are very fast moving – since a large part of our range is seasonal fruits, they move very strongly in their respective seasons. However, we have seen our Black Grape, Pomegranate and Orange blend, as well as our Pineapple-Mint, blend very well everywhere. Our vegetable blend of spinach, celery, ginger and orange has also done quite well, as has our Almond Cocoa Date dairy-free nut milk smoothie. I think a large part of it is down to the fact that taste is a critical parameter for us while designing these recipes – we go through about 20-25 options before launching any new variants.

What is your favourite from the Second Nature's juices?

I personally don’t have any favourite. I find that my preferences depend on scenarios and occasion.

Where do you source your ingredients from? Are they local or imported?

At Second Nature, we believe in one simple philosophy – the juice is only as good as the fruit that goes into it. Most of our fruits and vegetables are sourced directly from farms in India. For nuts or certain fruits which are not cultivated in India, we source these from producers globally who are certified with the highest food safety standards, just like us. This means we ensure that the fruit and vegetables in our juices are sourced from the best and highest quality sources possible, whether they are local or from outside the country.

We work directly with about 1000 farmers across Maharashtra. Freshtrop has been instrumental in bringing best practices in farming to India, responsible for the first Global GAP certification drive in India, as far back as 2001. 

What are your expansion plans with Second Nature?

We are currently available in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Thane. Going forward, we plan to expand our products and geographies to reach a wider audience looking for healthy and delicious consumables. We plan to establish a pan-India presence while also exploring markets outside the country. Further down the line, we envision producing a range of associated food products, built around the fruit/vegetable area, beyond beverages. With our state-of-the-art facility, second-to-tree philosophy and willingness to create and maintain relationships with growers and customers, Second Nature is all set to strengthen its position as the leading manufacturer and supplier of unparalleled all-natural nutritious products for the increasingly health-conscious Indians. 

How much the Indian market is aware of the cold-extracted juices?

There is rising consciousness among the consumers in India about the importance of a good lifestyle and the critical role that a healthy diet plays in it. As per market research commissioned by us, there are concerns among consumers about leading an unhealthy lifestyle, the nutritional value of the diet they are consuming and their exercise being insufficient. Also, there are worries about the products being consumed, whether they have too many artificial ingredients and what is the contribution of the ingredients towards their daily nutritional requirements.

There has been a noticeable increase in the understanding of nutritional vocabulary and customers are no longer just blindly accepting everything that is said to them.

Considering such results, it would be safe to say that the healthy and organic foods market in India, traditionally, a small market restricted to uber-urban areas, has started to see an awakening. We are seeing consumers across the spectrum demanding a better, more nourishing and completely natural product. They are willing to ask tough questions to the manufacturers and are actively looking for better alternatives.

How do you maintain the health and nutrition value of your products?

We ensure that the health and nutrition are maintained in our products by the following processes:

1) Post-harvest management is the key to retaining the taste and nutrition of fresh fruits. Second Nature’s team ensures that the fruit is harvested at the right time and is then shipped to the facility within hours of harvesting. At the facility, the fruits are immediately put into a temperature-controlled environment to ensure freshness and no nutrition loss. These are the fruits that will go into making each bottle of Second Nature.

2) Cold extraction is a method of juicing fruits and vegetables. Juice and pulp are gently extracted, and a vacuum environment is created to prevent oxidation and prevention of loss of natural flavours.

3) We use the latest technology, HPP (High-Pressure Processing) which is an environment-friendly process that respects the ingredients and ensures retention of the nutrition and original flavour of the fruits, vegetables and nuts.

4) Our top-of-the-line facility in Nasik, which is routinely audited by independent auditors to ensure superior hygiene and quality. We comply with global hygiene and food safety standards such as FSSC 22000. We are constantly working with our delivery partners to deliver fresh juices and nut milk right to the doorstep of customers.

Maintaining the cold chain is very important for retention of taste and nutrition, thus, all products are shipped by Second Nature team to maintain the requisite temperature and hygiene conditions all through the supply chain. 

What are the key challenges of being in the juice sector?

Every business has its challenges. For juices, we in India lack an established cold chain infrastructure and the understanding, both at the consumer and retailer levels, of how much it impacts the quality of fresh produce. This lack of infrastructure undoes a lot of the good work put in at the farm level – today, grapes from Nasik are sent to both Mumbai and London. In Mumbai, they hit the shelves within 24-48 hours, while the process takes 4-6 weeks for London. However, the grapes in London are fresher after those six weeks as compared to the ones in Mumbai sold after a day or two. It is a critical part of the entire food and beverage puzzle that needs to be resolved in our country.

Being India’s largest importer of fresh fruits, IG International supplies high-quality produce in India. The global import and export giant has been investing in infrastructure to establish its position as a leader in the imported fresh fruit industry. It handles volumes to the tune of 2000-4000 feet refrigerated containers from over 22 countries across the globe. In India, the brand has facilities in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Theog and Amravati. IG International also manages the distribution of the goods through its 28 wholesale outlets spread across India and has become a leading marketer and distributor of nutritious, high-quality fresh fruits in the country.

The fruit importing brand has an association of over ten years with Stemilt Growers, the Washington-based leading organic fruit growing, packing and shipping company. Keeping in mind that apple consumption picks up in winter, IG International recently announced to import seven varieties of apples from Stemilt Growers.

IG International aims to import 20,000 MT of apples in the new season.

In an interview with Restaurant India, the president of Stemilt Growers, West Mathison speaks about the brand’s association with IG International and India as the market for imported apples.

Association with IG International

West Mathison, President of Stemilt Growers

We are associated with IG International for ten years now, and it gives us immense pleasure to have contributed to their growth journey.  IG is our largest export customer and we see the further potential to serve IG as they grow their distribution across the country.

Imported Apples Market in India

Stemilt Growers is renowned for its commitment to growing high-quality fruits organically. The Indian market has always been a very attractive market in terms of business as we only offer superior-quality, fresh and great-tasting fruits which find ready acceptance with discerning Indian consumers. With the start of this new season, we look forward to serving more Indian customers with the choicest and freshest fruit varieties.

Consumption Trends among Indian Consumers

Globally, the apple industry has seen new varieties and flavours.  As a result, the global supply has increased to serve the growing demand around the world.  Stemilt is very interested in India because it is an apple-eating country.  The local production of Indian apples has built demand for apples and, therefore, the quick acceptance of imported apples.  We also see an opportunity to bring these new apple varieties to the discerning Indian consumers.

Data on apple consumption in India as shared by Stemilt Growers

We aim to send 20,000 MT of apples in the new season. There will be seven different varieties of this fruit being imported in India–Red Delicious, Royal Gala, Granny Smith, Pinata, Pink lady, Honey crisp, the organic variety with the first two will be the primary varieties. Organic apples will cater to the health conscious Indians.

With the increase in the effective cold chain, the Indian market can serve more exotic fruits to more cities. As a result, the demand for exotic fruits is exploding in India.  Quality drives consumption and IG’s broad distribution network is creating demand around the country.

Product Pricing

We see a strategic advantage in the diversity of India’s economy.  There is a demand for higher-priced organic fruit and new flavour varieties.  Still, the majority of the Indian market is value driven for sweet crunchy apples.  We see growth opportunity for both the higher end and value-driven categories.

Co-founded by Ankita Maniktala Kukreja and Sahil Kukreja in 2016, The Butternut Co. is the first company to introduce almond butter to the retail shelf in India.

Since its inception, The Butternut Co. has created a variety of nut butter that has become a grocery staple for many. The food brand, recently, introduced three new delectable products in its range of nut butter and mixes – the Flaxseed Almond Butter, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Honey Peanut Butter. The Butternut Co. products vary from vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free to unsweetened and keto-friendly.

In an interview with Restaurant India, Co-founder of The Butternut Co., Ankita Kukreja speaks about the brand’s concept behind 100% nut butter.

The Butternut Co. as a clean label company

We use few and known ingredients - and no artificial colours or flavours. The Butternut Co. products are made without any preservatives, hydrogenated oils or added refined sugar. The food brand aims to keep its products as close to their natural state and prefer to use minimal ingredients during processing. We follow a clean label philosophy which means we do not add any artificial colours, flavours or unnecessary additives to its products.

Key challenges

Nuts are under-rated ingredients. They are superfoods which add protein, heart-healthy fats, vitamins and minerals to the diet. Everyone needs a spoonful as part of their day. As a young company, it was hard to convince retailers to believe in our product; nut butter itself was not very popular at the time. Another challenge was to get people to understand that there is no actual ‘butter’ in nut butter.

The concept behind 100% nut butter

Once we found the cleanest nut butter i.e. one-ingredient only - we took a shot at finding the healthiest consumers who would want it. And the 100% nut butter was born. The 100% nut butter is made using only one ingredient - almonds, peanuts or cashews.

The demand for almond butter is more at?

Currently, it is more of a household/grocery product. 

You have a range of nut butter. How do you see the retail market in India with your products?

The retail market in India is one of the fastest growing in the world. There is tremendous scope for new products to enter the market. We can see a marked difference from the time we started until today in terms of consumer acceptability towards new products.  Right now we’re focusing on our core competency - nuts and clean and healthy food. We aim at doing a lot within this space. 

How healthy is almond butter?

Almond butter is loaded with health benefits. Here are a few of them:

- It contains heart-healthy fats.

- It is a great source of protein, especially for those who are vegetarian as it contains plant-based protein.

- It is a good source of essential vitamins and minerals. 

- Natural almond butter does not contain added sugar or any other unnecessary ingredient and is, therefore, a very healthy and nutritious snack.

- Just a spoonful can keep you full for hours, therefore, reducing cravings.

- Almond butter is a good source of fibre since nuts are abundant in fibre.

Eight ways to use almond butter

Almond butter or nut butter, in general, is one of the most versatile foods. Here’s how you can use them: 

1. Add to a bowl of oatmeal 

2. Add in a smoothie 

3. Eat as a snack with fruits e.g. apple or banana 

4. Use to make a healthy and flavourful salad dressing 

5. Cook with it - there are hundreds of gravies and sauces that can be made with nut butter

6. Bake with it - nut butter cakes and cookies are delicious 

7. Eat as a pre or post workout snack - it provides protein, healthy fat and tastes delicious

8. This one’s my favourite: eat a spoon by itself from the jar. Can satisfy a sweet craving or makes a good snack 

The Range of Butternut Co. Products

Apart from custom blended flavoured nut butter, our product line includes 100% and organic nut butter as well. We understand that individual dietary needs are varied. So, we eliminated the refined sugars and oils completely. What you get is pure unadulterated goodness! Our product line also includes vegan, gluten-free and unsweetened products. The peanut butter comes in three different variants: Creamy (Rs. 160), Crunchy (Rs. 160) and one with pure Organic Honey (Rs. 190). We also have the Chocolate Peanut Butter, a perfect alternative to sugary choco spreads. The Chocolate Peanut Butter is dairy-free and refined sugar-free; a 200 gm jar is available at Rs. 160. Kids love this nut butter especially. As it is a healthy chocolate spread and would make a perfect gift for mothers, too.

Tell us about Ray Honey and what is its uniqueness?

Ray honey is not a commercial honey. It is an organic, raw, unfiltered and wild forest honey. So I don’t need to explain the other terms but when I say it’s not a commercial honey I mean it’s unprocessed, it comes straight from the bee boxes which is not filtered nor processed, its raw honey. Secondly, as I said wild forests so these wild forests have a rich diversity of flora that allows the bees to collect pollens from various types of flowers and use them to make honey. The natural honey produced by this process is far superior and healthier as compared to the honey that is produced in most commercial farms. Another thing which distinguishes Ray honey is that only the best of uncontaminated honeycombs are hand-picked to obtain the honey, without using any unnecessary chemical processes. This also lends Ray honey better quality, compared to other brands of honey in the market.

How are you using Easy Snap technology. What’s its USP?

This is also one of the uniqueness of Ray honey that it is an easy snap technology. This makes the honey available in single sachets which are used with one-hand-sachet-opening technique. This innovative method of packaging honey in slim individual sachets is unmatched by any other brand in the Indian market. All one had to do is bend/fold the sachet in half and squeeze to let the honey out. These sachets are for one time use. Due to their ease of portability and leak-proof designs, these Ray honey sachets are perfect to be carried while travelling so Ray honey is more about convenience.

How is the packaging done?

We’ve a very specialized equipment which we bought from Europe and the entire packing process happens in that. The honey and the packing material goes in the equipment and it does the job.

What was the whole idea behind one-hand sachet?

The whole idea behind one-hand sachet is more of convenience as organic and raw honey is quite expensive and also if there’s a bottle of honey you have to take it in a considerable quantity whereas in the case of Ray honey you don’t have to worry about the quantity as it’s a one hand sachet which makes it convenient and mess free.

What is the price range?

Ray honey will be available in the market soon in two variants- one box of 10 sachets and one box of 30 sachets, which in itself would be a box of three 10-sachets boxes. A Box of 10 sachets- Rs. 150 /- , A Box of 30 sachets- Rs. 430/-

What is the market availability of the product? How about HORECA and retail tie-ups?

Ray honey is available in supermarkets, hypermarkets and online portals such as Amazon, Flipkart and Big Basket, etc. We haven’t really got into HORECA right now because we are still developing our institutional team but as soon as we develop our team we will be soon getting into HORECA and we’re already there in retail stores so honey will be launched in the coming week. We’ve started the listing procedures in most of the modern trade retail outlets like Godrej Nature’s Basket, Big Bazaar, etc.

As you mentioned that it is 100% organic honey with no preservatives. From where did you collect the honey?

It is collected from bees that roam free in the tropical jungles that border Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. 

Where do you do the processing of the honey? Do you have a manufacturing plant?

We’ve tie ups with organic farmers who have their bee boxes and  the moment they get enough collection of honey it comes straight to our plant from the forest for the packing because we’re not processing anything. So we can call it as a packaging plant.

Who do you see as the right target for your kind of a product?

Anybody who is health conscious, quality conscious and who prefers convenience.

What trend do you see in 2019 when it comes to healthy and natural eating options?

I think we’re all already adapting to healthy lifestyle because as you know our breads are no more white bread they are either whole wheat or multi –grain and same with the biscuits which are either digestive or multigrain. We all are already changing and people have become more health conscious. We cannot change our lifestyles or society pressures but we can always change our habits by adapting healthy ones.

What’s your expansion plan?

Right now we’re ready with our production and the packaging so the idea is to first place the products in our network of thirteen cities at present which includes Metro tier 1 and tier 2 and then we definitely plan to get into rest of India.

Tell us about the International representation of the brand?

The California Walnut Commission was established in 1987 under California law. The Commission is mainly involved in health research and export market development activities. There are more than 4,800 growers and close to 100 handlers in the state of California. The Commission conducts extensive health and nutrition research.  Ms. Devna Khanna – Director, i2i Consulting is the India Trade Representative for the California Walnut Commission.

What are the strategies used to promoting Brands?

CWC aims at increasing the number of players for California Walnuts in the Indian market ultimately which will lead to reaching the target audience.  Strategies include participation in Trade Shows, organizing Trade Seminars to bring together the stakeholders on a common platform to discuss the way forward to develop the market, organizing Culinary/Menu promotions where in California Walnuts would be used as the main ingredient, Promotions in Culinary Institutes among budding chefs and making them aware of California Walnuts and how they can incorporate them in their recipe creations.  CWC increases awareness on the health and nutritional benefits of Walnuts. As research shows it is the only Nut that contains significant amount of plant-based ALA Omega-3 fatty acids, critical to various body processes, we would like to increase awareness among Indian population to remain fit and healthy. California walnuts are not only ‘Heart-healthy’, the versatility of walnuts also add flavor and texture to all kinds of recipes, from salads to desserts, baked goods to entrees, and sides to smoothies, apart from making gluten-free crusts and coatings.

What are the trading prospects in India?

The population of the country is becoming more health conscious and is opting for a healthy life-style. The demand for choice of healthy and nutritious products is on the rise and therefore, there is considerable increase in walnuts in one’s daily diet. The Indian consumer is well travelled and there is an inclination towards better and premium quality products. The Indian market poses great opportunities for California Walnuts.

How Trade Servicing increases the demand in the market?

Trade Servicing assists in introducing and connecting the buyers and the exporters to enhance the market for the product. Moreover, one-on-one interactions and meetings are of great importance to discuss various ways in which the market can be developed.  Walnuts are now beginning to be consumed year-round owing to better understanding of their health benefits and easy availability.

Due to extra-ordinary health benefits walnuts are getting popular especially among health conscious young Indians as a part of their regular diet. Growing economy, changing lifestyles, rise in disposable incomes and preference for quality and nutritious products have increased demand.

What is the health benefit of adding walnuts to the foods especially in the soups and sauces?

Walnuts are an ideal choice for a nut-thickened sauce because their polyunsaturated fats contributes to a smooth and creamy mouth feel, and the finely ground nut flour has superior thickening power. 

Walnuts not only contribute a great flavor and texture, but they also add nutritional value to the sauce as well. In addition to the antioxidants and essential ALA/omega-3 fatty acid, an ounce of heart healthy walnuts provides a convenient source of protein and fiber. Names such as “red pepper walnut puree”, “tomato-walnut pesto,” are increasingly becoming popular.

We see that new age chefs are going back to the roots by using these super foods in their cooking. Why so?

California walnuts offer a unique flavor and texture, making them wonderfully versatile for both savory and sweet foodservice applications. As a result, chefs and menu makers around the world are finding increasingly new and exciting ways to incorporate walnuts. Try adding nutty crunch to a salad, a delicious coating to poultry and fish, or creating a creamy and wholesome thickener for sauces when ground into meal.

What is your plan expanding the brand right into the market?

California Walnuts are quite popular and have already secured a place on the shelves of organized retail formats reaching the end consumer. By enhancing and accelerating the trade we can ensure larger volumes of California Walnuts entering the Indian market. In addition, brand development and expansion is also a priority. We plan to feature and participate in upcoming trade shows in different cities across the country to generate more awareness amongst the trade. We would like to further increase awareness on health and nutritional benefits of consumption of Walnut as a health snack option among the Indian masses. As research shows it is the only Nut that contains significant amount of plant-based ALA Omega-3 fatty acids, critical to various body processes, as an “heart-healthy” nut, we encourage everyone to make them part of their daily diet.

Cooking oil is a vital and basic ingredient in any food preparation. Whether it is a serving of mixed greens or main course, oil is used for cooking and to enhance the flavor of the food. However, picking the correct cooking oil (quality and quantity) can spare you from cholesterol blockages, and other health concerns. There are various oils that are used for cooking, i.e., rice bran oil, coconut oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, groundnut oil, soyabean oil, to name a few. All these oils have their own characteristics and are useful in their own respective ways.

While using cooking oils, health is the foremost concern that comes to people’s mind. How beneficial is this oil? Will it have harmful effects on one’s body? These are common questions that arise in the mind. The fact is that all oils have some or the other beneficial property hence oils are put to use in our daily life and the importance to keep changing our oils on monthly basis. Refined Sunflower oil works wonders when it comes to health. Sunflower oil is extracted naturally from the seeds of sunflowers. There are several health benefits of Refined Sunflower oil which can be attributed to its polyunsaturated fatty acids also called as essential fatty acids.

One should remember that there are basically three main categories of dietary fats: Saturated (SFA), Monounsaturated (MUFA), and Polyunsaturated (PUFA) based on their chemical classification of the fatty acids. The main health benefit of Refined Sunflower oil is Cholesterol Management. Refined Sunflower Oil has a high content of Linoleic Acid which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid followed by Oleic Acid. The saturated fatty acids in sunflower oil, majorly palmitic and stearic acids, do not amount to more than 15 % of the fatty acid content.

Linoleic acid, which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, is one of the essential fatty acid which is vital for good health. They cannot be synthesized by the body and need to be taken from an external source. PUFA rich oils also tend to lower LDL (Bad cholesterol) and Total/HDL Cholesterol ratio. There is convincing evidence that replacing SFA with PUFA decreases the risk of Coronary Heart Diseases (CHD). Sunflower oil is low in saturated fats and saturated fats if consumed in higher levels tend to increase LDL (Bad cholesterol).

Hence, refined sunflower oil is the preferred oil for general cooking as it has a high smoke point and brings out the natural flavor of the food. It can also be used as a salad oil and can find application in salad dressings, mayonnaise, ready to eat / cook foods, and sandwich spreads. It is also being used in many nutritional-cum-dietary supplements because of its high linoleic content.

Choosing Refined Sunflower oil amongst other oils to add to your life will be a wise decision. The maximum benefit can be obtained by changing the oils we use in our diet at frequent intervals. Switch to a healthy oil and lead a healthy life!

Delivering trusted international quality glassware, LUCARIS has become one of the Asia’s first premium crystal glassware brand. Proudly standing among all the major European brands, at LUCARIS, they believe in their experts for making crystal glass and keeping the best value crystal creations for food service professionals. Excerpts from the interview:

Tell us about the journey of ‘LUCARIS’ in the world of F&B.

LUCARIS, being the official glassware partner mainly in Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia has been supporting Asia’s wine and food as well as hotel industry for 8 years.  It is always our priority to take part in the hospitality growth & development in Asia. LUCARIS has therefore become the preferred choice of high-end and luxury hotel brands such as Marriott, Hilton, Kempinski, InterContinental, Accor, Hyatt, and Shangri-La across Asia to name a few.

Share your thought on the global and national wine trend which is constantly changing every now and then.

I have seen the rapid growth of wine consumption across Asia and I am surprised to know that Asia actually drives the highest growth of wine consumption in the world.  Personally I would support the changing lifestyle of modern Asians to become the moderate wine consumers as drinking a glass of wine everyday would be good for health. It actually relaxes the mind and brings smile to the face.

How LUCARIS is trying to infuse Asian traditions into western modernity?

We can’t deny that drinking wine is from the western culture.  Asian culture is totally different from western culture. For instance, we like to share food. When it comes to wine and food pairing, we will need to learn how to select the best wine which can go along with the best food. One of the key activation for LUCARIS is to educate how to select the right wine with the right wine glass with your shared dishes. We have done so many tasting sessions and master classes with the Masters of Wine and sommeliers that can help us introduce this specific knowledge.

 How has the journey of the brand LUCARIS been till now while marking its presence across the world?

It’s been a great success I believe. In Thailand, LUCARIS has become the No.1 crystal glass brand for our target wine consumers and No.2 awareness brand for luxury hotel clients.  In China and India, after the first year of market activation, LUCARIS is in fourth rank of the crystal brand awareness and we aim to reach in the top three ranks by 2018.

LUCARIS is a collaborative achievement between Ocean Glass, Toyo-Sasaki and Martin Ballendat. How did the partnership happen?

In 2009, Ocean Glass decided to invest in the new factory for crystal glasses and we joined hands with Toyo-Sasaki Glass, the largest glassware manufacturer in Japan to exchange the know-how of the glass making.  For the glass design, we collaborated with Martin Ballendat, the award-winning designer from Germany who had many experiences designing the luxury wine glasses. Together, we have made the world class quality product which has been trusted from the leading brands in the industry worldwide.

How is the company growing? What new can we witness from your end in coming years?

We have grown by over 350% since 2012 with a significant double digit year on year growth. In 2017, our growth in India was around 40% over 2016. We focus more on Asia yet we have been selling up to 70 lakh (7 million) pcs a year worldwide.

How do you overcome the growing competition?

The key driver of our business success is the differentiation. How we make the brand story more interesting?  And, how we innovate unique concept and products?  

Tell us something about yourself and your brand.

Originally from Shillong, I lived in Kolkata. Even our headquarter is situated in Kolkata itself. I hail from a business family, and am the fifth generation looking after this company. We expect to carry forward this legacy so that people can remember Chamong as a brand serving the people for decades.

Kindly reflect on your journey. How did it all start?

In the 1860s when my ancestors migrated to Assam they were into general trade business. Around 1915 my grandfather joined the business. He started off with a business where he used to provide cranes to the tea gardens.  At that time, the tea gardens were under holding companies also called agency houses owned by the British. Every agency had around 30-40 gardens under their name varying from 400 to 1500 acres. So, my grandfather used to visit them and soon was fascinated with this segment of industry. Our 102 year old plantation was established in around1916 in Assam, and continued over there till 1986. An opportunity came our way in the same year allowing us to buy a tea plantation in Darjeeling.

How did you come up with the name Chamong?

In 1986 we purchased two tea gardens out of which one was Chamong. Chamong being our first acquisition in Darjeeling, we chose the name for our brand.  Today, we are popularly known as Chamong group.

Enlighten us about your brand.

We have 13 tea gardens in Darjeeling, and 5 in Assam. We produce around 3.7 million kilos of tea every year. It was in 1995, the chairman of the company, my younger brother, took the decision to go organic. We visited the European, American and Japanese markets and saw that the people are coming out of the chemicals used in the food products. So, keeping the trend in mind, we decided to go 100% organic. Thus, we are completely into organic tea since 1995.

What are your recent challenges?

Nowadays, our major challenge is in acquiring the best quality of fertilizers and pesticides in the right amount.

What is the uniqueness of Chamong?

Our uniqueness is that we are 100% organic. We contribute in taking business forward along with serving people with healthy materials like tea. This group has its own production of tea, right up to the level of making tea bags.

Any expansion plans?

We cannot expand as far as the production is concerned. But yes, we have our own way of expanding the brand Chamong. We have gone for value addition by packaging and other things.

Can we see Chamong as an F&B brand in the upcoming years?

We are planning to do that but the planning is not that convincing right now. I think it will take time.

How the idea of starting a venture of your own came into your mind?

The company is in existence since past fourteen years. The brand is three years old as we were largely into export. Now considering the health aspect of peanuts, we are the creators and largest exporter of value-added peanuts from India since couple of years now. The main focus is to provide world-class product to Indian consumers. Even before starting something like this, we used to work with farmers. When Fredrick came to India, he came to my office where we shared mutual goals towards contributing for the farmers. We collaborated and this how the idea came into my mind.

How does your brand contribute for the farmers?

After the collaboration with Fredrick, we decided to have a Fredrick brand which will be making a profitable business sense with inclusiveness. Farmers will get direct benefit from the brand success. This is how we are contributing to the farmers in our own way.

What made you do something for the farmers while running a brand of your own?

After being into the same business for fourteen years now, you reach a stage where you want to do something for the society. Helping the farmers for me was my own way of returning things to the society. That was the whole idea about how can I give back to the society and I came up with this conclusion. People who really work hard should get their money. That was the thinking behind doing something for them.

Why name your brand Nutty World?

We as a company aspire to be the largest nut based company in India in the next decade. That is the reason we wanted connections with the nuts so that the whole team stays focused. That’s how Nutty World came.

Tell us something about your distribution network.

Currently, our brand is very famous in Russia. We have started with the North India distribution and are looking forward towards making it a success. We are having 22 super stockiest and nearly 80 distributors in North India. After Russia, India is the second country where we are very famous. South India will be having around 100 distributors in the upcoming time. Our aim is to have 2000 distributors in the next five years.

Who are your target group?

Urban consumers who want a quality product out of nut are our target group.

What is your expansion activity right now?

Currently, we have got one small factory in Vijayawada. We are currently planning to come up with three more factories in the future. 

Talk to us about Bayar’s Coffee starting from the early 70s.

My father started this business way back in 1970’s at a very small outlet. The prime motive was to serve local people with good quality coffee in south Bangalore. Slowly and steadily things got in favor of him and the brand began to witness many new customers. Over the years we have introduced lot of technologies for the production of coffees. In fact we have a strict process for selection and monitoring of the quality of coffee we have. We are the only coffee roasting company which is BRC certified. All this has helped us to maintain the quality and to carry forward the legacy which my father has left for us.

How are you taking the legacy forward?

With time we are just trying to increase the loyalty, trust and confidence of our customers continuously. With time we have expanded ourselves into retail outlets available in the city and also trying to mark our presence in the online market like Amazon, big basket etc. We also have some exclusive blends for the entire coffee chains which we are catering to across India. We joined the business in early 1900s, until then it was just a small enterprise. After joining the company we expanded and increased in terms of production and branding. Earlier, the business was personality driven but we changed that trend by making it a more product driven company. Relationship is the key element in our company. But we never compromise with the consistency and our quality product.

How are you building quality products?

We have set up a lab in our company that takes care about the quality of the products in terms of the purchase sample. We also work with the farmers who provide us with the coffee beans and giv them feedbacks regarding the right process to do things to maintain the quality.  It's a mutual effort helping us to get the best product. We also have a strict process of selecting and purchasing the beans. Once it reaches our company godown, our work of roasting and monitoring starts. We are also experimenting with the products like our recently launched ready-to-use liquid coffee. This product is much superior in quality as compared to the instant coffee. This experiment has been accepted by the people and we are eager to provide them with more such quality products.

What is the market presence and distribution of your company?

We have market presence in the retail segment throughout Karnataka and some parts of Tamil Nadu. Whereas, in the specialty segment we have pan India market presence. We are also tying up with cafe chains.

Why not establish your own café despite having such a great presence across the country?

We have thought about this several times. But we finally concluded that we want to do what we are best in which is manufacturing the best quality of coffee for our customers. I’m supporting the cafes around the country but not thinking to own one for the time being. 

Are you also supplying your products to the hotels and restaurants?

Yes we have been doing that for a long time as it struck as a nice idea to us. We are also providing our products to some of the self service outlets,caterers, hospitals and offices which has a very large consumption.

What is the monthly sale of your coffee?   

We do about thousand tons of coffees per annum inclusive of the front segment of the coffee category.

What are the different varieties of products you supply?

We have a huge variety in terms of product range. There are about 28 different varieties catered and we also make different blends for different segments as per their requirements. Pure Arabica blends and South Indian Chikari blends are some of the varieties that we provide. So, basically we have different blends for different markets.

How about the International presence?

We are serving to people having an Indian restaurant abroad. Also, our product is exported to few colleges who want to have our product served.

How do you price your products?

Things are very competitive in terms of pricing. The pricing totally depends on the market.

What are the expansion plans?

We approximately have 20-22 outlets in Karnataka. We are also planning to take it to other parts of the country where we can provide them with our products. We are also getting into tie-ups with premium malls and shopping complexes where we can sell our products. This is our plan for extending our business. We are also looking for good brands which are located internationally so that we can expand to other countries too. 

Over the years people have become much more conscious about what they eat and the calorie content in their diet. No matter if they are eating at a restaurant or travelling with a mini meal kit they want to know the calorie count in their food intake. To cut short, they are looking for low calorie options and diets. Going by this global trend stevia came into existence which is turning out to be a trending product when it comes to low calorie sweetener.  PureCircle which started as a biotech company by a Russian to envisaged situation where the big companies are going to come back for calorie reduction or sugar reduction and needed a natural sweetener. The group went to different regulatory authorities from 2000 to 2008 showing them all the scientific studies and data that said stevia is safe. US FDA was the first to approve stevia as a sweetener and since then all the major countries approved it. Now, stevia is available in 65 countries and more than 5 billion consumers are already consuming it globally. After four years of struggle the product is now approved by the food regulatory body in India to market and enter the Indian market. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Tell us something about Pure Circle and what do you do?

PureCircle is one of the leading producers of high purity innovation driven stevia ingredients. Since 2011, the company has provided enough stevia to eliminate 1.3 trillion calories from global diets. We take out the sweet part of stevia leaves and purify and extract out of it and identify that there are 40 such molecules in each of the leaves which is a natural sweetener.  PureCircle is a leading company that is completely into the mining and refining of stevia leaves and bringing it as commercially viable sweetener and in some cases also as a natural flavor.

Why stevia? Sugar is also a natural component.

There is no doubt that sugar is also a natural sweetener but it has high calorie count that is the major issue. But sweetener like stevia has a low calorie and that’s the difference we are trying to bring to the society. We are on the move to educate people about the benefits of the product.

How are you trying to place stevia in the market?

We are not a niche player and are not looking to make stevia as a product that will settle for certain class of consumers. Our company’s vision is to mainstream stevia as next mass natural sweetener, see it in kitchens replacing sugar and sugar products. And, I think it is a great ingredient and we need to create awareness about the product.  We are starting with baby steps first and will introduce the ingredient in the market. Globally, in countries like Europe, the US and in some parts of Asia customers have already taken 30-40% off existing products using stevia and the awareness is building.

Will you be setting up a facility here in India?

Our hope is to generate the demand to justify the leaf base and extraction plan. We are already churning the trial in Gurgaon. And, in the next few years we will actually have large firms here and maybe able to supply either for an extraction plant here or in China.Right now the white stevia powder is being exported from Malaysia to India and is used by the food manufacturers.

Do you think that you need to work on the branding?

We are strong enough on the brand side. It’s a 100 year old company with strong heritage and presence. We want to provide the goodness of this miraculous plant to the whole country as India as a country faces a lot of public health challenges, environmental challenges and this is one of those things which really help the farmer in terms of income and it gets adopted as a mainstream sweetener giving a higher income to the farmer.

Where can we see stevia being grown in India?

Hundreds of acres of stevia are being grown in India at places like Karnataka, Sikkim and Gujarat to name a few. Stevia is called by many names including Madhupatra, Mithi Tulsi, Madhupatti, Seeni Tulsi in different parts of the country. And, we are here to create that awareness.

How much finished product is extracted from a given amount of raw leaves?

Typically if you have 20 thousand metric tons of leaves you can end up making 2000 metric tons of final products. So our global capacity of extracting finished product is about to get doubled with our new plant coming in for looking close from 4000 metric tons of finished products.

Are you planning to shift to B2C Company?

No, we are a very clearly B2B company and we work behind these companies and brands to help them manufacture products. So it is the companies that we support. And, globally we are suppliers to some of the big names in the market. 

Ved is an eternal optimist and nothing seems to bring him down. He faced numerous hurdles during his stewardship but he just kept going. Ved has a keen strategic mind and is always in search for innovative ways for building business. He has been with the organization for over 14 years and has grown the company over four times.

Creating a Safe Experience

Our whole motive is to find solutions which are compostable in nature and that gets into food service sector. We want to serve a product with certain ethos because it creates a different experience altogether. All our products are made up of sugarcane base. We mould them into shape keeping in mind that if any person throws it away then it should not harm the nature and go back to the earth itself. People today are getting much conscious about not only what they eat but how they eat and that is where we come in. We create joy by being friendly with the environment.

Manufacturing Recyclable Products

When customers see a product which is not made up of any harmful stuff instead it looks more natural then the experience enhances automatically. Our way of producing the product is peculiar as a matter of fact. There is no aroma migration, one can use the same product for microwaving, baking cakes and even freezing. We do a lot of R&D around the product in order to provide the right experience for the person eating food.

Eating Safe

Lots of food in India is served on Styrofoam and plastic. We don’t realize that these products have carcinogens’ which are basically cancer causing chemicals as people eating in those are inheriting chemicals in themselves. The other side is the cleanliness issue whereas our product is completely untouched by hand even throughout the production cycle and on the top of everything, it is made up of natural ingredients. That’s how we use the idea of eating safe.

Innovation is the Key

Our whole psyche comes from the idea that we have to keep producing more and more healthy products. Also, our product is an innovation in itself as it is completely out of the box. We actually studied eating trends across the country and designed our products accordingly. We did a good homework on what a consumer really wants and made the products modular. We have our own 3D printers where we can form out whatever customer wants from us. We are friendly for the people who are actually looking for the solutions. 

These days one can see that lots of indigenous home grown brands mushrooming in India everyday which means the dependency of foreign brands is diminishing in the country. Wai Wai City which is an evolution of emotions travelled all the way from Nepal to India to explore the culinary roots. Varun Chaudhary, Executive Director of CG Corp Global, who innovated the much loved noodle brand into a noodle bar talks about the legacy being carried forward.

Taking Wai Wai into a QSR Model

Wai Wai has reached certain significance and relevance in India. The brand is no.2 in the country and no.1 in North East. It’s different because it is not white noodles and it is brown noodles so you can eat it raw as well and because of that we felt that QSR was the next big step forward in terms of brand visibility, brand extension and also for taking the whole Wai Wai taste into multiple ways of eating. And, that could have happened only through QSR. And, that;s how we opened our first outlet in Hauz Khas village expanding to more than 10 today.

Connecting Emotions

Children and people who so over have gone to boarding schools have carried Wai Wai all the way from Nepal or bought it from Nepal and grown up with brand. Now, the Wai Wai story is all about having the same Wai Wai you ate in school into 35-40 ways. So, that’s the experience we are giving. Majority of our franchisees are all next Gen and for them it’s a start-up. We have people who are between the age of 25-35 years and who have that fire in the belly and want to grow with the brand.

Getting the Right Partners

We have very stringent SOPs and audit and processes in terms of screening the right franchisees because let’s not forget that Wai Wai is the mother brand. So, we don’t want to do anything which tarnish or do the lightest harm to the main brand. We worked six months in the store at the Hauz Khas village to get the concept right. Gaurav Marya and Franchise India helped a lot in developing the franchise plans. Even after the development we personally met every single DA’s across the region and we double screened them. So, that’s the level of scrutiny we went through. We looked at people who were already in this business but what we found that majority of them are not in the business but they want to and they have grown eating Wai Wai as noodle. So, there was a brand association. Also, understanding of the product and skill to execute it was important.

Driving on Growth

It took us six months to come up with the whole concept. But the interesting this is; if Subway is for sandwich, Wai Wai is for noodles. We have different base of noodles that customers can pick, 7-8 different sauces and condiments. So, one can customise their own meal or can have the set meal which is done by us. So, it’s a very interesting concept. In India we are looking at 100-120 outlets in next one and half year. We are looking at 20 countries. My next outlets outside India are going to be in Nepal and Belgium.

Growing Trends

People are venturing in newer taste, cuisine and formats. A brand backed noodle bar and a focused noodle bar is a concept which is one of its kind in the world. For us we want to grow and innovate in the noodle as a whole. 

When it comes to an experience at restaurant, it includes everything from plate to palate. It sometimes becomes a big deal to serve best of the both worlds to the customer. Also at the same time, restaurateurs need to meet customer’s aspiration to have most fresh, healthiest and organic food which is served usually in their grandma’s kitchen which is only possible with supply chains.

Gratifying Supply Chain

If there is a chain of restaurants then it is necessary to build a good supply chain and maintain it. Restaurateurs and supply chains have to be together; get their hands dirty to get what is required. In restaurant industry, supply chains play a crucial role because the ingredients are sensitive to temperature and the time which they take to travel. Also they have limited shelf life which could be anything between one day and one year. “Restaurateurs need to take care that the ingredients are stored at the right temperature for limited time because every single ingredient is fragile. Things should not be taken granted, make sure every ingredient reaches the restaurant at right temperature and should be stored at right temperature further and used as quick as possible so that there is a rotation,” avers Alok Anand, Executive Chef, JW Marriott.

Manage the Balance in Menu

Restaurants should curate 70 per cent of the local ingredients which are sustainable that helps in getting fresh products regularly. They are also adaptable to the same temperature. Restaurants today focus on what is fancy instead if they curate ingredients locally, they’ll get them fresher and which won’t increase their production cost.

Standardisation

The foremost thing is recipe to standardise the restaurant. It has to be frozen, documented and people have to be trained on that recipe. “Ingredients need to be consistent throughout. One should use same grade and quality at all of their restaurant chains otherwise the dish will end up tasting different which in turn will affect the cost. For the consistent standardised operation, the yield, taste and cost of the dish should be consistent,” says Sumanth Das, Executive Chef, Macao Hospitality. By depending up on some of the convenient products, the standardisation could be achieved.

Blending the Spices

The fundamentals of food are aroma and freshness. “Supply chains should follow a strict quality check while assisting the raw products and put the best material to process further for the supply. They need to follow a robust system for supplying and distributing and keep the product in such a way that it should remain fresh at least for next one year. Also the products should be delivered to the restaurant with in the three months of manufacturing so that the freshness and aroma remain alive”, says Sourav Guha Bakshi, DS Group, V.P – Sales East. Do not try to customize the natural ingredients, let the natural aroma and freshness come so that the customer could feel it while the dish is being served on his table. Efficient supply chain could take restaurant to the heights.

HyperCITY Retail (India), one of the largest hypermarket chains in the country unveiled the ‘Hyper Food Island’ an exclusive section that hosts an assortment of niche international and national brands.

Announced at HyperCITY’s flagship store –Malad, the Food Island, brings together some of the finest brands under one roof across categories.

Aligning with the thought of offering ‘Something Fresh Everyday’ - the ‘Hyper Food Island’ aims to provide a range of carefully handpicked products to suit the needs of the contemporary customers, through HyperCITY’s large, modern and exciting format store.

“It has been our constant endeavour to enhance customer experience in our stores and we are pleased to introduce the ‘Hyper Food Island’ a niche assortment of brands. The island is specially curated to embark on the tantalizing culinary journey of our customers,” shares Ramesh Menon, Chief Executive Officer, HyperCITY Retail (India) Ltd.

Brands like Doyen, Smoor, Tea Culture of the World, Cool Story, Wingreen’s Farm, RRO- International Cheese, Emporio, Muralidhar Shrikhand, Punjab & Sind and Brownie Cottage are a part of the Hyper Food Island.

Through the activity, HyperCITY aims to encourage young innovators and women entrepreneurs to grow and focus on the strength of their businesses, while also allowing them to reach out to a larger set of audience.

“We are strong supporters of entrepreneurship, especially women as they are our most powerful customers. At HyperCITY, we have created platforms such as Hyper Budding Chef and Hyper Food Island to encourage food entrepreneurs and boost-up their business skills,” adds Menon.

Modern Foods has recently re-launched its brand with adding eight new variants along with new packaging and advertising. It has introduced Multigrain Supersedemade from various seeds, whole wheat, Atta Shakti, and Hi-Fibre Brown along with a Milk Plus bread. The range is primarily targeted at young consumers, millennial and Indian women. Initially the range has been launched in Mumbai, Thane and Raigarh region. Thus, further briefing about future brand strategies of venturing into new categories and expanding the presence in north and west market by tying up with third party manufacturers.

What is new that you are offering with this re-launching?

We have re-launched Modern brand with eight new variants along with new packaging and advertising. We have introduced healthy breads including Multigrain Supersede, made from various seeds, whole wheat, Atta Shakti, and Hi-Fibre Brown along with a Milk Plus bread aimed at school-going children who need nutrition. With this range we are targeting younger consumers, millennial and the new Indian women.

What is the consumer study that you have done before diversifying your product portfolio?

We have extensively reached to the consumer in their homes and understood what does she wants from our basic breads. Whatever she told us we made a portfolio on the basis of that. We have taken care of her needs of new recipes addressing the occasions of use, addressing the need that she has to offer a tasty and healthy and nutritious meal to her family every day, so all that is covered in this portfolio.

Which are the markets you are primarily tapping with this new range of bread?

We have already launched this range of bread Mumbai, Thane and Raigarh and other places. This area contributes 15 percent of our market share.

What is the total retail reach of your product?

Countrywide we have close to Rs 1 lakh MBO outlets. And there is no target fixed to expand to. Every city has got a target and there are different initiatives at different point of time. It’s a journey that happens every day every week.

What is your future strategy?

Cakes and busts is a new category we are looking at, so by the end of this year we should be entering in this category. We are planning to introduce its new line of ready-to-eat Indian breads (paranthas and rotis) along with indulgent baked goods in the country. Currently we are piloting this category in South India. Also, we are setting up a new vertical within the organization for baked goods—cakes, portion cakes, muffins, cream-filled goods etc. By the end of this year, we will have a very exciting portfolio.

Going forward, we are looking to expand our distribution by 50 percent (within Mumbai) and our revenues by 25 percent. Further, we are planning to expand our presence in north and west market by tying up with third party manufacturers. Also, we are completely open for new acquisitions of local bakeries with turnover of nearly Rs 100 cr and having strong manufacturing capabilities. Presently we have six manufacturing plants with four in south, one in Mumbai and one in Kolkata. We have set up a new innovation centre in Chennai last year and this new range is been done there.

What is your current revenue?

Last fiscal we have closed at Rs 270 cr. The organic bread business will grow towards Rs 450 cr. Further Rs 300cr revenue will come out of the whole new vertical and the new acquisitions of locally strong bakeries will be the building blocks for the Rs 1000 cr revenue to be achieved by 2021. We expect a third of Rs 1000cr revenues to come from non-bread business.

According to you how big is the bread market in India?

According to Euromonitor report the market for bread in India is between Rs 6,500-Rs7,000 crore out of the total baked goods market which is worth Rs 27,000 crore. Total urban penetration of bread in India is at 34 percent.

What is the anti-counterfeiting technology that you have launched to check brands authenticity?

Cargill believes in nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way and follows global standards around food safety. Cargill strongly condemns counterfeiting and is making all possible efforts to eradicate the problem from its roots. Hence, it has introduced new-age anti-counterfeiting technology in its products. One of its popular regional brand - Gemini Cooking Oil is a market leader with 26% share in Maharashtra. To begin with, the initiative against counterfeiting has been launched on this brand. This anti-counterfeiting technology has a unique feature with a two-way process to check the authenticity of the Tin SKU. This process includes a 3D Hologram of Cargill which signifies the authenticity of the product. On looking at this hologram using the phone’s torch light, one can see ‘1865’ written – the year of foundation of Cargill’s operations. Besides, the customer can download an app called ‘Mojo Tags’ to scan batch code of the product and receive the reassurance of the genuineness of the product. This is the first time an edible oil brand in the country is making use of technology to fight the problem of counterfeiting.

What are the steps you have taken against counterfeits through legal action against Genuine oil?

Cargill prides itself on its quality and state of the art refining process and stands against any attempt to sabotage consumers’ health. The first counterfeit brand “Genuine” was identified recently after the release of new technology on Anti-Counterfeiting in February. This “Genuine” brand’s logo and pack label is deceptively similar to Gemini. With the help of the Court Officials and local Police Authorities along with a high court order Cargill Foods India conducted a raid on MM Oil Enterprise on April 6, 2017 in its premises at Dahiser Mori, Maharashtra. The raid resulted in seizure of Finished goods (contained in the impugned packaging) aggregating to 9580 Ltrs. (about 9.5 Tons) were seized. Apart from it 14.34kg of packing material was also seized.

To combat the proxy products how are you educating consumers and wholesalers in the market?

The news of the raid against Genuine Oil has already reached to Trade. To combat fake and counterfeit products, we have conducted workshops and training sessions for Consumers. Retailers, Wholesales/ Sales force starting February 2017 to reinforce knowledge on the authentic packaging of the product. We plan to run this programme for next 7-8 months to educate maximum customers.

Annually how much loss of revenue Cargill Foods is bearing due to proxy oil products sold in the market?

A study by KPMG-FICCI suggests that about 80% of the consumers are victims of deceptive counterfeiting. Most of the fake products and counterfeiting happens in smaller cities and rural markets. Estimated loss to Cargill Foods India due to counterfeits is approx. 15-20% of the overall GEMINI Sunflower business.

How big is the proxy market of edible oil in India?

The edible oil market size is 21 million tones, out of which 6 million tones is organized while the rest 15 million tones is unorganized. Counterfeiting in India is rising at an alarming rate, especially in the FMCG sector.A report by FICCI-KPMG suggests that out of the total counterfeit market, 65% is from this sector. Edible oil industry is one of the most unorganized sector in terms of distribution in India, hence, it holds a larger risk of duplicity. Therefore, ensuring that the right product reaches the consumer becomes utmost important. Purchasing a fake product brings loss to the business as well as may be a potential health hazard for the consumer. Counterfeiting is something Cargill Foods India takes very seriously as a fake product implies losing consumers’ trust. Educating the consumers and our wholesalers is a must to beat this menace. With Gemini Cooking Oil, we start our first step towards addressing this major issue of counterfeit goods.

What is the total size of organized edible oil industry in India?

The size of the organized edible oil market in India is roughly 6 million tones.

What are the global food safety standards that you follow?

Cargill Foods India believes everybody deserves safe food every time they sit down to eat, whether with their family for a home-cooked meal or on the go from one place to the next. Food safety is at the core of everything we do at Cargill, and it’s fundamental to our success. We define food safety as protecting people at every step of the supply chain. We take a comprehensive, science and risk-based approach to food safety in our policies, operations and supply chains. Every day, we strive to continuously improve. And, we know we can learn from and share with others which is why we are part of the Global Food Safety Initiative, helping spread best practices all across the globe.All our plants in India are state-of-the-art, combining latest refining technology with trained technical teams. All our processing plants comply with world-class international quality assurance and food safety standards including HACCP and FSSC 22000.

What is your current market presence and market share of Gemini cooking oil in Maharashtra and in the country?

Gemini Cooking Oil is available at all modern trade stores and kirana stores across the country. Market research agencies put Gemini as a clear market leader in some specific pockets in the country, with a 26 % in Maharashtra & 67% in Pune.

What are your future expansion and acquisition plans in the cooking oil space in India?

Cargill Foods India has created a level of connection with the consumers for all brands in their respective regions. This customer trust and loyalty in Cargill Foods India has enabled our brands to emerge as the unbeatable market leaders in their respective regions. We are expecting to grow faster than the market. We may acquire more companies to add to our growing size. We are gearing up to launch more wellness products. Thus, we are constantly aiming at a consistent improvement of Cargill Foods India which has already acquired the status of being one of the most preferred FMCG brands in the country with an enviable product portfolio.

What will be the investment?

On Anti-counterfeiting Technology we have spent about one crore rupees and Cargill also plans to invest more on health and wellness segment.

What is your current CAGR, annual revenue and future target?

We have a healthy CAGR of 15%. Market estimates suggest our cumulative revenue (including commodities trading) for Cargill India be in the range of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore annually in India. Within this, most of our growth has come from its growing consumer and retail business in the recent years. The consumer and branded retail business (Cargill Foods India) contributes about 50 per cent to the overall India business. That practically puts our retail business in India in the range of Rs 4000-5000 crore (Industry Sources).

Future targets to make our all brands as no.1 position in the market. Would be working towards creating more acquisitions to enhance the portfolio of healthy products with a clear focus on development of health and wellness category. We diligently follow our supreme growth mantra, 2X in 2 years and 4X in five years.

Tell us something about EGK Fresh Fried Onions. What was the whole idea coming up with this concept?

The concept for EGK Fresh Fried Onions was born out of our kitchen at home. Being from a Bengali family, our weekly sinful indulgence has been mutton biryani on Sundays. Sundays mornings were a tearful affair in this house! Seeing the amount of effort going into chopping, peeling and frying onions one such Sunday morning, not to mention the tears shed, it suddenly struck us that we could be getting our fried onions from the markets directly. A quick Google search revealed that no such product existed in the market. We look at EGK Fresh Fried Onions as a product that is similar to Tomato Puree. If we can eliminate the effort and maintain the quality and taste of the final product at a competitive price no one would be frying their own onions anymore. On further research we found that the amount of onions grown in India, and especially Maharashtra, was phenomenal, but what we found even more astounding was how much of that produce was wasted every year. Also as the farmers were not able to sell their produce, there were a significant number of farmer suicides happening. We thought that with our Fresh Fried Onions we had a chance to work on and try and solve this three pronged issue.

Tell us about your operations in the market (no. of distributors, retail presence, and city)?

Currently, we are present in two cities - Mumbai and Hyderabad. In Hyderabad, we have a B2B presence where we sell almost 8-12 MT of Fresh Fried Onions every month. In Mumbai, along with a strong B2B presence we have a small retail presence mostly in South Mumbai and at all Godrej Natures Baskets across the city. We operate through our distributors of which we have 4 currently.

How do you see the demand of this product in the country?

Over the past 12-18 months we have seen a great rate of adoption for fresh fried onions. Where earlier, most caterers and restaurants were reluctant to shift from frying their own onions, once they have used our product they have realized that not only does it save time and effort, but also money and labour, the last of which has helped them make their kitchen operations more efficient.

Food processing is one of the biggest contributors in Indian economy. How do you see the state of food processing in India?

India produces an abundance of different crops and a lot of the crops are being wasted due to improper storage and logistical support. Over the next few years we will probably see a greater emphasis on food processing, storage and efficient production. Building out the infrastructure to make sure that we are geared for the future in one of the most important tasks ahead of us, but with mass penetration of the internet we are able to see, adopt and more importantly innovate new age solutions to these age old problems.

Tell us about your presence in ready to eat and ready to cook food segment?

EGK Fresh Fried Onions are used predominantly in two ways- to reduce the cooking time in all kitchens especially where Indian Food is made. Eighty five percent of all onions in India are fried. Because the onions are not in gravy form you are able to control the texture of your finished curry / gravy.

Eaten directly as a snack / added as a garnish. Because of the crunchy texture and tasty nature of EGK Fresh Fried Onions we have people who prefer to eat it directly or use it as a condiment with any Indian food.

We have seen that it is one of the top most growing sectors in India today. How are you marketing your brand right to the customers?

Currently, we are marketing ourselves majorly through Offline means. Since, we are targeting mostly the HORECA segment we do a lot of trade shows, national and International. In a couple of months we will be making a push for pan India retail presence through modern retail and e-commerce, at which point we will try and employ some new age marketing techniques.

You have also tied up with local farmers to get the fresh produce. What was the idea?

Since, there is so much yield wastage due to volatile markets we found that tying up directly with farmers would help us stabilize our prices as well as offer the farmers fair prices for their produce on a yearly basis. It ensures that the farmers are given a fair price for their efforts and the peace of mind of not having to worry if their produce will sell.

Who are some of your top clients? Are you looking at HORECA as segment?

Currently, we are targeting the HORECA segment. As the volumes are so large we find that we can add most value in these large commercial kitchens where time is extremely important.

What trend do you see growing in the industry?

We see a market trend that lays a heavy emphasis on reduction in yield wastage as well as adopting new age food processing and storage techniques. As there is an abundance of produce here in India, it seems that the first issues that we need to tackle are those of proper storage and processing so that wastage is reduced.

What is your expansion plan?

Our current expansion plan is to get a strong Pan - India presence for which we are looking to partner with distributors, whether they are in the HORECA (B2B) category or now even retail and modern retail. We hope to have a strong e-commerce within six months leveraging the growing presence of Amazon and Flipkart in India along with the continued exponential internet penetration that is going through this country.

What’s happening at Nilgai Foods?

There has been a lot happening of lately at Nilgai Foods. We are at the onset of launching our new variant of coconut water with an entirely new packaging at a highly affordable price. The packaging will be a re-sealable bottle at Rs. 20 for 200 ML. We have already sold more than 1.6 million packs of Cocofly within a single season. To tell you more about the happenings Cocofly has being rapidly adopted by 30+ new distributers and 4000 shops across Delhi-NCR. At over 3 million litres of installed capacity, Nilgai Foods has established the largest supply chain of packaged coconut water in the country.In the recent past, Nilgai Foods Pvt. Ltd. management team noticed a dramatic interest from the international markets such as Africa, Middle East and Western Europe (UK & Russia). Surprised on the upside, the team plans to focus on building the export market in the above mentioned countries. Having received a fabulous response, we have now set up a wholly owned subsidiary in UK and will build the export market based from there, for both, Pico and Cocofly. Orders have already started to flow in from several international markets.

What made you launch Pico? What is the whole idea and from where did it came from?

PICO started off as a gourmet food brand with product offerings in several categories. The idea was to create a domestically manufactured portfolio that is at par with internationally sourced gourmet products. However over time we noticed that that our customers particularly liked our spicy products within that portfolio more than anything else. We also realised that hot sauces is 18 billion dollar market globally and yet, India, the land of spices, does not have an internationally recognised spicy products brand in general and hot sauce brand in particular. So, PICO now is a spicy products brand focused on chutneys and hot sauces that represent Indian flavours. The product quality, packaging and presentation are very much of international standards, but the flavours are local and the pricing is highly affordable.

How much are you investing in the Pico brand?

Not much right now as we remain focused on the coconut water opportunity. However, PICO continues to be popular on e-commerce platforms where we continue to make the product available and amongst exporters in India and importers abroad who procure in bulk shipments from us for their distribution networks in other countries.

Tell us about your retail presence and distribution network?

Our focus remains Delhi-NCR, which is our main distribution market right now where we have built for COCOFLY a distribution reach of about 4000 odd stores across formats like general trade shops, modern trade, hotels, bars, restaurants, hospitals, cinemas etc. Other tan this we continuously get trade enquiries for distribution in other states, which we evaluate and whenever we find suitably experienced partners who are willing to build the business their local market we proceed.

We also sell online, through our own store cocofly.co as well as popular third party platforms like amazon and Big Basket.

It is believed that the products like yours highly depend on supply chain management. How have you built the backend?

That is absolutely correct. In packaging coconut water, the grade and quality of coconuts, the season of harvest, the region of the country where it gets sourced from and price at which we procure the water are all very important factors, both for product quality as well as unit level profitability. Then the packaging and processing side of it is also incredibly important and the processing parameters used at the manufacturing plant for filtration, decontamination, heat application, shelf life enhancement etc directly impact product quality and flavor. It has now been three years that we have been working on these issues and have built deep expertise in each of these areas.

What are the different kinds of varieties available? How have you decided the price range?Pico sauces and chutneys are priced at Rs. 49/-. And include popular flavours of Indian chutneys like Imli chutney and BambaiyyaHari chutney, Green Chilli sauce, Sweet Chillisauce, Makhanisauce and the extremely hot BhutJolokia sauce.

COCOFLY has two variants, the first being “COCOFLY Natura” priced at Rs. 35/- in tetra pak which is a natural coconut water with no added sugar and no preservatives. The second is our new formulation in bottles priced at Rs. 20/- with no added sugar and a shelf life of 12 months.

Tell us about your Cocofly brand.

Cocofly is 100% pure coconut packaged coconut water designed to reach thirsty customers away from Coastal areas without being prohibitively expensive. Cocofly is a low calorie, cholesterol free drink, bursting with natural goodness. The water that we use is extracted from young coconuts of superior quality and is repackaged in a more convenient Tetrapak carton with as little change as possible.

As you claim it to be natural and 100% nariyalpaani. How are you keeping it fresh?

We use Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processing method to enhance the shelf life of the product, in a manner similar to how the shelf life of milk is enhanced. In the case of “COCOFLY Natura” the six layer terapak carton also helps in maintaining freshness by keeping out light and air.

How are you marketing the brand?

We have recently signed up as the health beverage partner for Stepathlon kids that is backed by Virat Kohli to create a culture of sports and fitness amongst kids in India. We are working on partnerships that communicate our purpose and values to our consumers. Online and social media communications help us target specific user communities for the purposes of customer acquisition.

What is the plan expanding the brand to other regions?

Right now, we remain focused on Delhi-NCR to actively increase our distribution presence. Other than that, when suitably experienced partners approach us with the desire to build markets in other territories then we definitely engage and proceed if the fit is right.

How are you overcoming those competitions?

Our product quality and taste remains our biggest advantage. On top of that we layer our strengths in R&D to continuously innovate and remain a few steps ahead of the competition whether it is through diversification of our supply chain or coming up with much more affordable variants that have the potential to be a game changer for the industry. 

Give us a brief about Kapco Banquets & Catering?

Kapco Banquets and Catering was started 14 years ago and is consistently creating top notch hospitality experience across the F&B and hospitality services business. We run more than eight banquet venues set in prime locations all over Mumbai. We plan and execute memorable events to commemorate special occasion both on personal and professional level through each of the exotically conceptualised services - ranging from indoor and open lawn banquets to outdoor catering services. We are looking to expand in two-three cities next year and looking at about 15 units by 2020 Pavitra an exclusive vegetarian catering by Blue Sea has been introduced to the market.

Tell us more about it?

Our menus at Pavitra are crafted specially for vegetarian food lovers. It will delight you with the culturally diverse palette of India and ethnic flavourings from across the globe. These are made under strict conditions ensuring the purity of your food in a pure vegetarian kitchen, run by our team of Maharaaj’s and vegetarian chefs. We cater at the venue of your choice, whether an intimate gathering at home or a huge wedding across India or abroad.

What is the scope for Institutional & Banquet Catering?

We handle institutional catering as an altogether separate vertical that looks after corporate cafeteria and constitutes around 10 percent of our business. We are gradually expanding in this sector as well. In banqueting, we are more focused on wedding and corporate which constitutes around 90 percent of our business.

What are the opportunities do you see in the catering business?

Catering plays a vital role in generating large business volumes that comes in everyday. There is a lot of untapped business ideas and opportunities in the catering industry yet. These days, catering is evolved so much that it’s not only that anybody can afford a caterer, but it also has to do with the fact that there are now several types of catering services to the extent that catering has now become an industry.

So how you are driving innovation in business?

We customise as per our guest needs and innovate keeping up with pace of the world trends. From where do you source supplies for parties and weddings? We get all the raw materials and supplies locally sourced. We are not focusing on a centralised kitchen; in fact every unit has a different kitchen.

How many orders you do at Kapco?

In a year, we do around 3,000- 4,000 parties catering to around three lakh people.

What scale you see for the catering industry?

Over the last three years we have seen an upward trend in new players coming in and older ones trying to innovate. We see the business up scaling considering the fact that the disposable income of India’s population is rising and spends heavily on food catering, be it weddings, parties or family gatherings. 

After tasting the humongous success of its edible oil brand Healthy and Tasty in West Bengal and Karnataka, Emami has launched the brand nationally. The brand, which contains soyabean, sunflower, rice brand, palm and mustard oils with healthy ingredients, is manufactured and marketed by Emami Agrotech Ltd. With this launch the company is aspiring to capture the larger market share by targeting around 4-5 lakh retailers directly and clocking the turnover of Rs 5000 in three to five years. 

What made you launch Healthy & Tasty oil nationally?

Launched 4-5 years back Healthy & Tasty is our premium brand available across West Bengal and Karnataka. Presently it is the Rs 400 cr turnover brand with the market share of 18 percent in West Bengal, so after tasting the success we thought it is the right time to take it nationally. We believe that in the next 3-5 years Healthy & Tasty will be the Rs 5000 cr brand. Also to support the brand we devoted Rs 200cr of investment for advertising and marketing.

What is your production capacity and what is the investment?

Emami Agrotech is the edible oil and bio diesel company. We do around 5000 tones of bio diesel everyday in two units at Haldia and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. We are also setting up production units in the western part of the country in Kanda and Jaipur in Rajasthan. The Jaipur unit will be operational in the three to four months and Kanda may take 15 months.

In the Jaipur unit, which will be having crushing capacity of 500 tones of mustard, we will invest Rs 80- Rs 100 cr. We import crude oil store it and refine it. We do all types of oils including soyabean, sunflower, ricebrand, palm and mustard. We have four brands, Healthy & Tasty, Best Choice, Rasoi and Bake Magic. Soyabean crude is imported from Argentina, Sunflower from Ukraine, Palm from Indonesia and Malaysia. The Mustard and Ricebrand oil are local oils.

How many retailers are you supplying to directly and indirectly?

Emami distribution network is covering more than 40 lakh outlets indirectly and around 6 lakh outlets directly. Nationally we will be having more than 3000 distributors supplying to more 4-5 lakh outlets directly soon. In this second phase of expansion we will be available in Maharashtra, Delhi NCR, UP, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha and Bihar. In the third phase of expansion we will be available in Chhattisgarh, North-East and Uttarakhand.

How do you beat the competition in the market?

We believe that with more competition more market opens up. With penetration of more brands people will become more mature towards packaged oil and more advertisement will be done to prevent adulteration. We launched rice brand oil a year and half back in West Bengal and today we have got a market of around 60 percent. Fortunately it is the largest selling category in the oil segment with around 20 percent growth annually.

What is your ecommerce presence?

We are on Amazon and some other websites but not in a big way. We should now evolve new routes. It will take us another year or two to launch our eCommerce portal. We are paying attention towards digitization overall. Automation is our key and we are willing to invest into that. We are focusing on digital marketing and social media marketing. The consumer’s way of buying is changing hence we cannot stick to traditional way of reaching the consumer.

What is your current turnover and the investment plans?

Emami is Rs 50,000 crore valued group with the turnover of around Rs 12,000 crore and approximately 20-25,000 people working for us. Emami Agrotech did around Rs 6000 crore turnover last fiscal. Our total investment in the edible oil segment, which requires a lot of working capital, is Rs 800 crore. We are further investing on assets of Rs 700-800 crore in our Kandla, Jaipur, Haldia and possibly in JNPT units. In the oil industry the profit margins are not too high we all play in the range of 2-3-4 percent.

How big is the edible oil industry in India?

Used in all households’ edible oil is 100 percent penetrated category in India with the market size of Rs 1, 60,000 cr. To some extent the malnutrition in India is also related to the lesser consumption of oil in India. 

Washington produces about 42% of the apples grown in United States. Washington Apples are famous worldwide. Many varieties of Apples are grown here for nearly all 12 months. According to a 2014 USDA survey, Washington State is top producer in the U.S. for certified organic apples. It first started in India in year 2000-2001. After the low sales to India last year, Washington Apple’s has started with a fresh market campaign this year, which started with its collaboration with ‘grehlaxmi, a favourite with the Indian household women, where in Washington Apples will publish their apple based recipes. 

Where does your focus remain in HORECA or in retail market?

Focus is on ‘fresh apple’ and so we only aim at promoting it between retail consumers. We don’t care if someone is shopping at modern retail outlet or the street, we want them to see and buy Washington Apples. People are looking for ways to incorporate healthy foods into their diets. Studies show apples help people with diabetes, heart problems and even with some kinds of cancers. Washington Apples are high quality, thus offering you the best of this fruit’s benefits. Also, if you use high quality ingredients, your food is going to taste better. That’s our idea behind this collaboration, to give more tools to people to include Washington Apples in their diets.

Tell us something about your distribution network. Who are some of your major clients?

The apples are sold to over 100 importers and they handle the distribution forward. Main markets in India include Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. The wholesome markets using modern trade options either take our apples directly to the consumer markets or to retail outlets like Big Bazaar etc remain our major clients.

How would you say your sales rose and fell in the past years?

Initially we sent only 10,000 cartons and the sales kept increasing over the years. But in year 2015-16 our production went down where as India’s picked up. The total import volume for 2016 was lower when compared to 2015. This year however, we should see the same levels of 2015 or maybe even higher. We will promote and do activities to make Indian customers aware of the benefits of Washington Apples. No matter what the supplies, we have to maintain our presence. We cannot control Mother Nature but can manage our promotions.

How do you think your Apples are of a superior quality?

We have an ideal climate for growing apples. Factors such as nutrients rich volcanic soil, lot of rivers providing natural irrigation, arid climate and also a lot of advanced technological practices that our growers have invested in, over the past 100 years make our apples the healthy, crispy and juicy. We have technology on packing line that judges if it’s a good quality apple before the apple goes in the box. We also make sure, what goes in the box is what gets received.

How is your target market changing?

We have been doing activities for over 15 years in India. We just convey the message that apples are good for health. Now what we are doing is going out into, tier 2 and 3 cities as well. That is really where the opportunity lies. People here, have more incomes, and have demands that we can cater to. Tier 1 is already quite familiar with our brand. We are also starting with the road show in 89 cities in India. The whole idea is to go out to schools and residential areas, and make events out of it. The aim is to educate apple lovers about the succulent varieties available in India along with a number of delights.

What is your expansion plan?

We have strategically planned our expansions. We have identified five strategic markets and India is one of them. Mexico is top, then china, followed by India, Indonesia and Vietnam. All markets have tremendous growth opportunities.

Over the years Indians have been relatively using excess cooking oil in food without realising its side effects. The marginal excess quantity of oil is leading to severe health effects over the years. While researching on healthy oil concepts Shyamal Panchmatia, MD, LB Industries has come up with innovative cooking spray which reduces the consumption of cooking oil to 90 percent and all this without changing the taste of the food.

What inspired you to start Ray Cooking Spray?

LB Industriesis mainly into trading of edible oil. We wanted to get out of this business due to poor margins and high risks involved in the business which eventually led to the birth of Ray Cooking Spray in November 2016.Being a health conscious person myself, food with excess oil has always been a put off. I came across spray oil as product while researching about healthy oil concepts. It is being used in west since a few years; however all the spray oils being used in west are for either greasing or dressing applications. They sell as non stick sprays and this is where we wanted to get a product into market with similar dispensing mechanism for cooking.

How the spray helps to reduce the consumption of cooking oil?

With spray dispense mechanism where oil is sprayed on a pan from few inches away, spreads the whole pan with necessary oil restricting to adequate amounts required for cooking. With this dispense mechanism, the food which was usually required to cook with at least 2-3 Tbsp of cooking oil, is now cooked with less than 10 times oil.

The spray will take care of extra calories or fat only by changing the cooking habits to Ray Cooking Spray instead of regular cooking oil. The simple dispense mechanism helps covers the pan necessary for cooking reducing oil consumption to 90 percentand all this without changing the taste of the food.

How is the response?

The reaction is extremely positive. Initially the consumer were not able to accept that this is possible, but after usage for some time, the consumer experienced a sea-change in amount of oil consumed and then it starts picking up.

What are challenges you have faced?

Though, it is certainly not very easy to change culture or habit especially when this has been followed since ages. This is the challenge we have decided to take up where we are trying to educate consumers to shift to Ray Cooking Spray for cooking their food by spraying oil instead of pouring oil. It is still at initial stages, however once the consumers see the food being cooked with Ray Cooking Spray within 2-3 ML of oil without changing the taste of food and it brings the fat down in same food by at least 80 percent they get attracted and accept the product.

How are you campaigning for the product?

We do have a number of alive cooking demos happening at various locations and platforms and have a number of recipes, videos on our channel at YouTube. Daily movement of our product from leading gourmet stores of the country gives us confidence that the initial response is positive. The numbers might not have reached up to our expectation but the initial response keeps us motivated and asking for higher focus and dedication.

What are the different types of spray you offer? Which is top selling spray?

Ray cooking spray is available in 3 variants of oil and Ghee. The oil variants include groundnut, sunflower and olive. Olive Oil Spray and Ghee Spray have been in good demand. For the only reason being it is helping in complete Cooking of food with only a few sprays of Olive or Ghee.

What are your future plans of product expansion?

We have been working on improvising the existing product further and will be soon coming out with similar concept. Products and categories which are going to provide convenience to consumers and is need of today.

What is your current retail presence?

We are currently present across 10 cities in India with 315 Stores including modern trade, general trade format, supermarkets and convenience stores.

What are the future expansion plans and in which cities?

Our aim is to achieve 3000 stores by 2018 March across India. We are also evaluating certain overseas markets for retail presence of Ray Cooking Spray.

1) Cafe Yell

Defence Colony’s brand new offering Café Yell is a new age boutique cafe  founded by Vipul and Divya Gupta. The duo, whose names are synonymous with the premium clothing label 'Yell' and the Rajasthani specialty restaurant 'Kathputli', have started this brand new venture in the form of an italian style cafe that focuses quite simply on excellent coffee, great food and hospitable serviceare introducing something new for the exhausting heat that accompanies with the summer weather in Delhi! 

There will be some changes to the show window to make their interiors in compliance with the weather. Right now the cafe uses have woollen balls which will be changed into something vibrant and summer related. It will introduce more summer coolers and ice-infused drinks. Their first addition to it would be the water-melon mojito.

2) Big Yellow Door

The door to awesome foodiness! A classy cafe with warm and welcoming ambiance along with brilliant food. A place where weight watching becomes a mouth watering delight. A super-hit between the college lads and a value for money place. Here is what your favourite cafe near your college is introducing in its summer menu!

The cafe is all set to introduce in some summer vibes with their refreshing mocktails, served in a way you might not have seen before and some more pastas, with a very summerish feel. It will have a fresh and zingy flavour; you might as well have it sitting on a beach with a Cosmo in your hands. Now name one person who is not curious after hearing this!

3) Gastronomica

Gastronomica by Sumit Goyal is an attempt to take hospitality back to its roots; honest and evocative food. The focus is a refined culinary experience, not defined by the borders of a particular cuisine as it elucidates the art of delicious food with a holistic experience that is unbounded by any limitations of the palate – adventurous cooking wrapped in pure indulgence and they are having a blast of summer friendly food for us this year.

The restaurant will make changes to its balcony seating area by covering it so that people still get a feel of sitting outside without the actual warmth of the sun. They will be making it air conditioned but don’t worry, you can still enjoy the view it gives. Other than that, abiding by its words to cater on hospitality, it will hand over cool-rose-scented towels to all those who come in. This is a sure way to beat the heat. For the foodies who have been so patient as to read all above, the restaurant will use a lot of ingredients that are summer friendly in their drinks and food recipes. A few of their new launches will include melon-refreshers, lassi, salads and cold soups served especially at day time. Don’t just go drooling over it yet! The dinner menu will go summerish as well and will include chicken and fish dishes to keep it light on the stomach avoiding red meat dishes.

4) Piali- The Curry Bistro

Designed with the most contemporary architecture, wooden furnishings, an artificial fireplace and incandescent lighting, Piali’s guests- both young and old- will remember it as a cosy dining place for family gatherings and a vibrant youthful place for pleasant evenings to be spent after college. Piali is a curry bistro and is rightly named so. One can choose from over 50 varieties of curries from across the world under one roof. So let’s get going with what they have to offer us this summer!

The restaurant will dim its lighting making all of us feel cosier than ever! After all the heat and the blinding rays of sun, this is exactly what we needed! They will also offer Kara Wipes to every person entering the restaurant, clean up your face and sit back and relax for their menu is sure to give your taste buds a chilly ride. Fresh and cool salads using fruits like papaya and watermelon are being introduced to beat the heat in this already hot summer weather. Mocktails like Thandai, fresh fruit juices of pomegranate, water melon and orange are also being introduced to take your senses through a pleasant ride. The gravies will be all coconut based and the brand new addition to their desserts pallet would be rice cheese. If this isn’t the coolest menu then what will be!

5) The Masala Trail

A hygienic place to get all the street food your heart desires. The Masala Trail-serves an array of street specialties from different corners of India. From Old Delhi’s bedmi aloo subzi and Agra ke paraanthe to Banaarsi tamatar ki chaat, Gujrati panki, Kerala style appam and stew and thupka from North-East, the choice is vast. Osama Jalali, tells all about his ideas to make your summers breezy.

It is hard to imagine that even the street food can turn summer friendly, isn’t it! But do not get discouraged, The Masala Trails comes to your rescue. By introducing foods that are light on stomach the place does us much good . The owner believes that the dishes should not just be cool for your tongue but light on your stomach and cool for your body as well. They should work in a way so as to not raise your body temperature and therefore, the cafe introduces recipes based on ingredients such as ‘daal’. The dishes and the taste will remain same but will have a cooling effect on your body. New launches will include Sattu-ka-Sharbat, lassi and aam-panna which, going by their legacy, are famous street foods that are specially made for summers.

Great ingredients make good food and humans eat food, not the nutrients or the calories involved. Due to increase in the consumers demand for curry nothing less than a curry bistro can suffice their needs.

Piali- the Curry Bistro has already marked its presence in Connaught Place by serving foodies for almost a year. Seeing the great response that the restaurant has received it is launching ‘CurryLivery’ the delivery express to suffice the need of ever demanding customers.

“Who wouldn’t love a pinch of expertise touch in their food? We believe with years come experience and bring the same in a dish served to you has been our priority.” says Siddharth Aggarwal, the co-owner of Piali. While Ashish Gupta believes in reducing the urges to savour on curry by serving them with authentic Curry dishes with no compromise on freshness.

Serving dishes ranging from desi like Sabudane ka vada to continentals such as Thai Spring rolls and Roast Chicken and Caramalised Onion Spring Rolls. The variety is as wide as Burmese Khao Suey and Amritsari Cholley. Not only does it range between continental and desi, it has varieties of desi such as Assamese Black Sesame Chicken Curry from the northeast to Lahori Murgh Cholley in the northwest. The Curry Livery menu of Piali has been hand-picked to serve your taste buds with unique and delicious food.

For customers, who believe ordering food and getting it in packed boxes which force you to dwindle between vessels at your home, the restaurant has made it easy with their packaging. 

In last one year FSSAI is keeping busy in ensuring that the food safety is taken care of and people are getting wholesome food delivered at their doorstep. After bringing in street food vendors and online food players under food safety ambit, food safety body has drafted guidelines on operations of direct selling FBO’s.

“In order to ensure food safety, it is necessary to address all ways in which food is supplied to consumer, including sale of food by direct selling companies,” said the guidelines published on FSSAI website.

Although it is clear that any food supplied through direct selling should meet the requirements as food sold in shops, it is necessary to ensure that direct selling FBO should have mechanism to help the general public to address the issue to consume safe and wholesome food supplied by all FBOs.

The guidelines is issued to all kinds of business applicable to direct selling including the manufacturer, importer, distributor, storage, marketer, retailer and supplier of any food products.

Getting the licenses done

All direct selling FBOs need to take relevant FSSAI licenses, to be updated on a quarterly basis, along with details and identities of their agents and salesman by Central Licensing Authority. Though, the guidelines have given relaxation of not showing the network of agents on any food product manufactured/imported by the food business operators.

Also, all FBOs need to maintain proper records either manual or electronic of their business dealings. “Every direct selling entity shall maintain a register of direct sellers wherein relevant details of each enrolled direct seller shall be updated and maintained,” added the guidelines.

Handling the Consumer Complaints

Direct selling FBOs will be responsible for maintaining effective grievances redressal mechanism. They are responsible for the complaint arising of product by them or their agents. The guidelines also mentioned that all the problems arising shall be handled by the FBOs within seven days which shall consist of at least three officers of the FBOs.

From mid 2015, FSSAI is continuously been in news after bringing Nestle’s Maggi under soup and focusing on food safety by bringing in food business operators and street food vendors in an open discussion and framing policies. The food safety body has issued many guide lines in order to provide wholesome food to the end consumer. 

Continuing with its stint of introducing exotic foreign fruits in India, IG International, in association with Belgium based fruit company BelOrta, recently introduced Belgian Conference Pears in India. The fruit is highly nutritional in its values while being perfect choice to fill up the appetite for all ages of the consumer and especially for diabetic consumers. 

What made you introduce Belgian Conference Pears in the fruit snacking space?

Observing that Indian packaged food industry is so big the Belgian Conference Pears team came up with the idea that why we are not in the fruit snaking space in the package food side. Fruits uniquely packed in punnet or in clamshell and delivered in smaller quantity like in kilogram attracts consumers so that that they don’t have to spend so much on the price but on the exoticness of the fruit at much cheaper value.

What are the nutritional values of the fruit?

Belgian Conference Pears is a very low calorie fruit, a medium size Belgian Pears will have 55-60 calories and most of it is natural sugar which doesn’t impact the overall sugar level significantly in the body. However, the fruit is more ripened it has more sugar in it. It has a mechanism of changing sucrose side and that is why it is crunchy and sugar profile is lesser. It has a lot of fiber as well which is very good for stomach. So even for a diabetic person this fruit can be a good natural choice which will also fill up his appetite. It is suitable for all ages.

Initially what is the quantity of fruit that you are importing?

The fruit is of 5 percent of the total import volume. Initially we are importing 500 tones of Belgian Conference Pears for the first year and then significantly we want to improve the total import.

With Sonu Sood as a brand ambassador how you are conveying the message of healthy lifestyle?

Today the way lifestyle of the consumers is going they are having more and more junk food. And as we are promoting healthy lifestyle and Belgian Conference Pears is something more healthy we decided to have fitness legend Sonu Sood on board and discuss about healthy lifestyle living. With the endorsement he is going to acknowledge the consumers about the fruit and how more fruits can be consumed every day.

What will be the retail presence of the fruit?

Currently, we are looking at 8000 leading retail outlets across India. It will be present across all the retailers including HyperCity, Foodhall, Reliance Fresh, BigBasket among others. We have also tied up with a lot of convenience mom and pop stores.

We have not directly tied up with hotels or restaurant but we have caterers and distributors. We have 30 distribution centers across the country.

Are you also planning to bring another fruits in tie-up with BelOrta?

Yes certainly, Avocado could be the next one and that is round the corner. If you look at Belgian as a country their largest produced product is Conference Pears.

Presently how many fruits are you importing and which is the largest?

Apple is the largest fruit that we are importing from various countries. The import depends upon season to season and the availability of the Indian apple because we only import it when Indian apples are finished. And the import depends on which country on that particular year has the large produce available.

What is your strategy of tapping the seasonal fruits?

India has a great potential in fruits. With the scientific growth of overall agro science there are so many varieties of fruits available today. Not every country can grow every variety in every fruit. Now the world is coming to a stage where every country has a unique variety which they are growing. Likewise there are few fruits available outside the country which are unique with their features and characteristics and that is our focus. We are working on bringing more such exotic fruits and make it available to the Indian consumers at the affordable price point. We are not looking at niche market but the masses.

What is your current turnover?

Currently we have a turnover of Rs 450 cr annually.