Dabur enters fizzy drinks market with Real VOLO

Abetted by lower expenses, FMCG major Nestle India has posted 49.95 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 395.03 crore for the second quarter ended June 30.

The January-December financial year following company had posted a net profit of Rs 263.43 crore for the April-June quarter of 2017-18.

Total income during the quarter stood at Rs 2,758.63 crore. It was Rs 2,525.96 crore in April-June, 2017-18, Nestle said in a BSE filing.

The company said financial results for the reported quarter are not comparable as sales for the June quarter 2017 were reported gross of Excise Duty and net of Value Added Tax (VAT)/ Sales Tax. Excise duty was reported as a separate expense line item.

"Consequent to the introduction of GST with effect from July 1 2017, VAT/Sales Tax, Excise duty etc have been subsumed into GST and accordingly the same is not recognised as part of sales," the company said.

"The market momentum continued to be favourable and...we have sustained our broad based volume growth across categories. There is an improvement in margins due to favourable cost of commodities and cost efficiency programmes.

"However, we are now witnessing headwinds in commodity prices," Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said.

The company said its total sales and domestic sales increased 8.5 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively in the reported quarter.

"The growth rates are adversely impacted due to lower reported sales by the change in structure of indirect taxes and reduction in realisations to pass on the GST benefits.

FMCG major Dabur India has recorded 18.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 396.20 crore for the March quarter, an apparent rise with Rs 333.10 crore profit reported for the corresponding quarter last year.

Consolidated revenue from operation rose 6.2 per cent YoY in the March quarter to Rs 2,032.90 crore, from Rs 1,914.70 crore in the year-ago period.

Operating profit rose 16.2 per cent YoY to Rs 485.20 crore. PAT margin expanded 209 basis points on a YoY basis to 19.5 per cent.

Growth in the domestic FMCG business stood at 10 per cent, led by 7.7 per cent volume growth. The international business reported 16.8 per cent growth in constant currency terms.

The company’s board has recommended Rs 1.25 per share dividend and a special dividend of Rs 5 per share, the company said in a statement.

India’s FMCG major, ITC has planned to enter into Rs 7,000 crore mango drink market with its B Natural brand in the next few months. Coke’s Maaza is the leader in the mango drink market in India followed by Parle Agro’s Frooti and Slice from Pepsico.

ITC had created B Natural brand primarily for fruit juices other than mango two years ago and the company would now extend it for mango drink.

The mango drink market, which is almost three times of the total fruit juice market in India, is growing at 14%-15% CAGR in the last couple of years. The Rs 2,500crore fruit drinks market, too, is growing a little over 15% CAGR. It is regarded as a separate category in India.

Hemant Malik, the divisional chief executive of foods division of ITC said that it is likely to enter mango drink market in the next four-five months. “We want to innovate in mango drinks space,” he said.

A company source said that B Natural as a brand has already crossed Rs 100crore mark and it is eyeing Rs 200 crore mark by the end of this fiscal.

Recently, Coca-Cola, too, has introduced new variants of Maaza in order to keep its dominant position in the mango juice market in the form of MaazaGold and Refresh. As per the industry source, Maaza has almost 40% market share nationally in the mango drink market followed by 25%-30% of Frooti.

“Maaza is our mango specialist and is India’s most-loved beverage brand with the highest consumer love scores. Maaza maintained its absolute leadership in the segment. We continue to invest in building the best consumer experience that will maintain and increase love for Maaza brand and its shelf offtake,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson said.

Malik pointed out that besides entering a new territory in the form of mango drink, ITC is also eyeing a double-digit market share in the fruit juice segment. In the fruit juice category, according to him, ITC would focus on indigenous pulp-based drink rather than imported fruit concentrate.

According to him, B Natural Juices will shift its entire fruit beverage portfolio to ‘Not from Concentrate’ range. “With this paradigm shift, the brand endeavors to offer its consumers juices that are made from fruit pulp and not from fruit concentrate. This shift towards a ‘Not From Concentrate’ range is in line with ITC Foods’ vision and commitment towards crafting differentiated offerings in this category,” Malik added.

The major players in fruit juice market are: Dabur (Real) and Pepsi. Coke is a relatively new entrant. Dabur has 50% market share in the segment, while Pepsico has around 25%. The fruit juice market is largely concentrate-based with only 10% formed by pulp-based juices.

FMCG major Dabur India has confirmed to have confirmed the acquisition of two South Africa-based companies D&A Cosmetics Proprietary Ltd and Atlanta Body & Health Products Proprietary Ltd, through its subsidiary.

Last year the company had claimed the acquisition of the two personal care products companies in South Africa for a total cash consideration of 50 million rands (about Rs 25 crore).

In a stock exchange filing, Dabur India said its wholly-owned subsidiary Dermoviva Skin Essentials Inc has acquired 100 per cent share capital of the companies. Both the companies have become step down wholly owned subsidiary companies of Dabur India Ltd.

In 2016, Dabur had acquired a South Africa-based Discaria Trading (PTY) Ltd.

In April last year, the company had announced the completion of the acquisition of personal, hair care and creams businesses of South Africa based-CTL group of companies valued at USD 1.5 million (Rs 10 crore).

As per the last year's announcement, while D&A Cosmetics is acquired at a cost of 4,79,40,000 Rands (around Rs 24 crore), Atlanta Body and Health Products' acquisition cost was 20,60,000 Rands (over Rs 1 crore).

Shares of Dabur India were trading 2.01 per cent up at Rs 343.35 on BSE.

Zappfresh, the high-quality fresh meat brand run by Gurugram-based DSM Fresh Foods Pvt. Ltd has raised funding of INR 20 crore from Amit Burman, Vice Chairman, Dabur India and SIDBI Venture Capital.

The fresh in-flow of capital will help the company in driving business strategy and expanding supply chain as well as geographical reach.

Since inception in 2015, the company managed to successfully break even in the first eight months after raising modest angel funding from renowned individual investors. Under their mentorship and guidance, the Company scaled rapidly over the next 3 years. The firm has built capabilities to service entire Delhi NCR from its state of the art factory in Gurgaon.

Zappfresh is helping Consumers eat better and is determined to revolutionise the loose/wet meat market by bringing standardisation, transparency and quality across the supply chain - How the meat is sold and bought has changed radically in the last 3 years and will transform in the next decade.  While majority organized players are primarily focused on exports, the domestic market is poised at a healthy 15% annual CAGR.

This funding has laid the foundation to validate this category of business to have immense growth potential and the investing parties including Burman will offer guidance on how to scale up to the next level.

“I see a great potential in the ‘e-market for meat’ and Zappfresh has had an impressive growth story. The business model is innovative and the use of technology in the supply chain management has allowed for the possibility of a sustainable scale up capability. I look forward to be part of this venture and its success," shares Burman.

Adding on the same, Sajit Kumar, Sr. VP, SIDBI Venture Capital says, “Investing in a firm many times translates to investing in an idea with the potential to scale up. This in my mind is the story of Zappfresh. The fresh meat industry is highly fragmented and digitization of the market can also improve the value chain operating system of this industry. Zappfresh’s promise to offer a hassle-free meat buying experience of highest quality is unique and has great potential.”

Talking about the latest round of funding, Deepanshu Manchanda, CEO & Co-Founder, Zappfresh adds, “The company would use the funds to hire people in key departments and increase storage capacity. We are very excited to have Mr. Burman and SIDBI Venture Capital on board believing in our business and supporting our expansion plans. This investment will aid our back-end support along with expansion in newer markets after having laid a strong foundation in Delhi-NCR”

Further adding to this, Shruti Gochhwal, Co-Founder, Zappfresh shares, “Our strength has been the control on quality and speed of delivery. The back-end cold supply chain is aided with strong proprietary technology to control inventory. We are a Consumer driven Company and quality and freshness of the product allows us an 85% repeat rate. We are very pleased with this new financial capability and guidance from industry veterans. This will further improve and expand our offering of farm to fork fresh produce and ensure that every household has access to right quality of meats.”

Zappfresh has laid out its plans to leverage the funds raised for strengthening its technology backbone, expanding its team, bolstering the product and enhancing its community. By augmenting its tech infrastructure, Zappfresh will be able to add more innovative and engaging features to its already popular app and website making the online buying experience of meat much better and customer driven.

Zappfresh has also pioneered the concept of ‘Farm to fork’ via the use of Farm-Tech to optimize their time-to-delivery and costs. They are engaged with a number of farms to ensure absolutely fresh and chemical free products. Their technology helps connect farmers, vendors and retail channels. This is done via real time data and inventory tracking, reducing  time-to- consumer from farm.

By controlling the entire lifecycle of the supply chain, Zappfresh genuinely controls and champions the cause of freshness, health and hygiene. The cold supply chain ensures the right temperature between 0-4 degrees delivered within 24 hours.

FMCG major Dabur India has launched its packaged fruit-based mocktails in a ready-to-drink format under the Réal brand. Company claims it is the first ever redy-to-drink mocktail in India which is specially crafted by professional mixologists and marks another first for Dabur.

Réal Mocktails has two variants Virgin Mary and Virgin Pina Colada. The Réal Mocktails will be available in 1-litre Tetrapaks, priced at Rs 110.

Mayank Kumar, Marketing Head-Foods, Dabur India said “Consumers in India today relish the experience of having Mocktails at restaurants and bars and wish to enjoy the same taste and experience at home with their friends and family. However, they are not sure of the right ingredients, mixes etc to create these mocktails. With Réal Mocktails, we are taking away the hassle of creating these tasty mixes to spice up their house parties, and giving our consumers are ready-to-serve option that’s made with real fruits. This would help make their house parties and social gatherings so much more fun and interesting when it comes to choice of beverages. Dabur is the pioneer in the packaged juice market in India and we have continuously strived to stay relevant to our consumers by launching new variants to cater to their varied needs and occasions. Our understandings of Indian consumers taste palate and preferences have helped us stay ahead of the curve in satisfying their needs. Even with the Réal Mocktails, we are launching the most preferred Mocktail drinks in India.”

Dabur has been expanding its packaged fruit juice range with the launch of new variants like Mausambi juice under the Réal brand, besides introducing Jamun and Amla under the Réal Wellnezz brand to create further excitement in the market and give consumers a wider portfolio to choose from.

Dabur said in a statement “Réal Mocktails do not have any added preservatives and have been prepared by experts with the right ingredients and mix. Company further expanded its presence into newer formats with the launch of Réal VOLO, which marked its entry into the aerated fruit beverage category. The launch of Réal Mocktails is another step forward in expanding the category”.