Can Indore’s leading food companies make it the snack

hub of the country?

economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/can-indores-leading-food-companies-make-
it-the-snack-hub-of-the-country/articleshow/62963016.cms
February 17,
2018

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The city has a centuries-old tradition of food. More than its

historical landmarks, it is known for the Ratlami sev, garadu
chat and poha that incongruously comes with jalebi.
By
Shephali Bhatt
, ET Bureau|
Feb 17, 2018, 11.00 PM IST

BCCL

The organised snack market in India has

been in an M&A phase. In April 2014,
Lighthouse Funds invested Rs 125 crore in
Bikaji Foods, a Bikaner-based snack company that’s rumoured to launch its IPO soon.

The very air is redolent with spices — the piquancy of chillies, the earthiness of
coriander, the feisty notes of mint. This is where Indore’s oldest snackwallah, the 81-
year-old Aakash Namkeen, fries and roasts about 40 tonnes of savoury snacks every day
and fills them into 100,000 packets of varying sizes. Its plant at Kumedi village, about 12
km from the heart of Indore, has a production capacity of 1,250 tonnes a month.

Rajnish Gupta, director, Aakash Namkeen, says their 65 products — a medley of sev,
mixtures, chiwda and chips — capture the taste of Indore. Even so, this is just a whiff of
the namkeen city. Rajnish says around 2.5 lakh tonnes of namkeen is produced every
1/23
day in the unorganised snack market of Indore.

The city has a centuries-old tradition of food. More than its historical landmarks, it is
known for the Ratlami sev, garadu chat and poha that incongruously comes with jalebi.
The city’s Sarafa Bazaar, a market lined with jewellery shops, transforms into a vast shack
of snacks after sunset and remains vibrant until the early hours of morning. “A food lover
anywhere in India knows and appreciates the unique taste of Indori snacks,” says
Rajnish. “So, if my product is available in, say, Big Bazaar for sampling, the customer will
stop to taste and take note of the brand name.”

Aakash Namkeen claims to have a retail presence in over 2 lakh outlets across Madhya
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha and pockets of
Punjab and Haryana. The company, with a revenue of Rs 150 crore and year-on-year
growth rate of 30% , occupies shelf space across 100 outlets of 10 modern retail chains,
and exports one-ninth of its inventory to cities like Melbourne and San Francisco.

Indore’s oldest namkeen giant didn’t start off as Aakash though. When Rajnish’s great-
grandfather Hari Lal Gupta launched the company in 1936, he had named it Prakash
Namkeen after his youngest son. Hari Lal was one of the first businessmen to leverage
the city’s fondness for snacks to establish a one-stop shop for all kinds of namkeen in
Indore.

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Much has changed since then. In 1992, the family business split into two entities.
Rajnish’s father Ramesh Das Gupta renamed their unit Aakash Namkeen while his uncle
Raj Kumar Gupta retained the original name. “Today, Indore has at least 500 factories
and 4,000 retail outlets producing and selling namkeen,” says Anurag Bothra, proprietor,
Om Namkeen.

Chipping In
Aakash, Prakash, Om and 10 other big and small snack companies have revelled in being
the snack satraps of Indore. Yet, only one of them has been able to make it big: Prataap
Snacks. According to the latest report by Nielsen, which puts Haldiram Foods, PepsiCo
and Balaji Wafers as the three biggest snack players by sales in India, Indore’s Prataap
Snacks has burst into the No. 5 slot.

3/23
A relatively newer company founded by Amit Kumat, Apurva Kumat and Arvind Mehta in
2003, Prataap Snacks got Rs 265 crore worth of VC funding from Sequoia India over
multiple investment rounds, with the first tranche coming in 2011. It eventually filed for
an IPO in September 2017. The company, which sells namkeen, chips and extruded
snacks, under the Salman Khan-endorsed brand name Yellow Diamond clocked Rs 1,058
crore in sales in 2017 and had a successful IPO that was subscribed 47.29 times on the
final day.

4/23
Scaling up has been a bottleneck for the other local heroes though. Some blame it on a
lack of ambition, others reason their products cannot be fully machine-made because
they require some personal touches to get the distinct taste.

Players like Om are happy being a big fish in a small pond.

They munch on anecdotes. Its most popular namkeen is
Income Tax Mixture after a 17-year-old incident in which a few
income-tax professionals asked for a blend of fivesix mixtures
during a visit to the shop. Anurga Bothra’s father Dhanpat sold
leftovers of this mixed mixture to customers and it became an
instant hit. Anurag has recently launched a mixture of 50 varie
ties and called it the GST Mixture owing to its “complicated”
taste. He now has eight standalone retail outlets of Om
Namkeen — five in Indore and three in Kolkata — where he
offers 350 varieties of farsan (salty snacks). He is willing to
invest in product innovation and multiply the already large
offerings but wants to focus on serving the customers of
Indore better as opposed to expanding into other cities.

However, Prataap Snacks’ IPO has put Indore on the map of

national snack giants, opening up the possiblility of mergers
and acquisitions. There were rumours of Haldiram acquiring a
majority stake in Aakash Namkeen. The two parties now
confirm that they have a strategic tie-up, without divulging
details. “The news of Yellow Diamond has created a lot of
interest among VCs and investors trying to understand the
space,” says Mohit Gupta, marketing head, Prakash Namkeen.
The company is in the final stages of negotiations with
potential investors, he tells us.

5/23
INDORI POHA: Poha is a quick breakfast dish made of flat rice flakes. Indoris claim their
poha is made of different spices like fennel and cloves and is even had with jalebi

The organised snack market in India has been in an M&A phase. In April 2014,
Lighthouse Funds invested Rs 125 crore in Bikaji Foods, a Bikaner-based snack company
that’s rumoured to launch its IPO soon. This was shortly after PE fund WestBridge Capital
acquired 25% stake in DFM FoodsNSE 0.40 %, which sells snacks under the brand name
Crax. The only difference between then and now is that the spotlight is on Indore snack
makers.

Kamal Agrawal, executive director of Haldiram Foods, is wary of this sudden buzz in the
category. “The market is saturating at some level. Investors are going to be careful in the
near future,” he says. As per Euromonitor International’s latest figures, the savoury snack
market in India grew at 20.9% CAGR in the last five years, but the growth forecast for the
next five years (2017-22) is pegged at a considerably lower 8.6%.

6/23
Unruffled by these numbers, Rajnish is all set to
leverage the partnership with Haldiram. He is quick
to add: “We have our own recipes, spices, and an
identity — that won’t change.” He shows a sample
pack of a new offering: a penne-shaped extruded
snack in a “continental” flavour. “This is for the
younger generation,” he says. “Bhujia and sev are for
a slightly older generation. The younger generation
likes something new.”

Rajnish says there’s room for everyone to grow in

the snack ecosystem. No single company has a
nationwide presence, he argues. “There are so many
locations, say, in Jammu & Kashmir or the Northeast
where you won’t find the big snack brands. There’s
room for everyone to grow. With the Rs 5 packages
we cater to the lowest income groups and these
have done well for everyone in the category.”

7/23
KHOPRA PETIS: The Indoris love their coconut patties or petis

Prakash Namkeen is trying to ramp up its presence across supermarkets and online
marketplaces for its flagship products like Khatta Meetha Mixture, Laung Ratlami Sev
and Albela Pyaaz.

Haldiram was founded in Bikaner in 1937, a year after Hira Lal Gupta set up his namkeen
unit in Indore. The former became a national behemoth whereas the companies run bt
Hira Lal Gupta’s descendants are still regional leaders. “Those Bikaner guys had fire in
their belly: they moved, expanded and modernised at the right time. They made bhujia a
national and even an international product. We still haven’t been able to do that with the
Indori sev,” says Mohit of Prakash Namkeen.

Yellow Diamond’s Amit Kumat regretfully admits to this reality: “Just this morning, I was
pulled up for not making sev as popular as some of the other snacks in my portfolio. We
still haven’t been able to make it a big category.”

Haldiram’s Agrawal is rather bullish on Indore’s future prospects. “Not all bhujia makers
from Bikaner have made it big nationwide. It’s all about individual aspirations. Some of
Indore’s snack companies have grown to have a great influence on the category. The
scenario is changing. You ask if Indore can be the next Bikaner of India. I say it already is
one.”

8/23
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Discounting, convenience key drivers for online food-tech:

Report

While 83% respondents said food is delivered within one

hour, 16% said it generally gets delayed.
By
Ratna Bhushan
, ET Bureau|
Jul 22, 2019, 05.34 PM IST

BCCL

A significant 34% respondents said they

found some items missing when they food
through mobile apps

NEW DELHI: Convenience and discounting

are key drivers fuelling online food
ordering, though food quality, packaging
and billing remain key concerns, a new
report by social communities platform
LocalCircles said.

According to the report, while consumers

surveyed said they are satisfied with the
service provided by food apps and sites, food quality and packaging remains a concern
to be addressed. “We will submit the findings of this survey to all associated government
stakeholders to drive improvement and regulatory changes,” LocalCircles said in a
statement.

The report said 70% consumers surveyed reported deteriorated quality of food on
account of packaging and transportation, while 81% ordered food online for
convenience. While 83% respondents said food is delivered within one hour, 16% said it
generally gets delayed.

“Cases have been reported where some outlets registered on these apps have turned
out to be make-shift, out-of-home operations, with little focus on hygiene and quality,”
the report adds.

9/23
Billing was another concern. According to the report, while 68% respondents found
billing to be accurate, 22% said it was inaccurate, while 10% said they did not pay
attention to the bill.

A significant 34% respondents said they found some items missing when they food
through mobile apps. On the subject of delivery staff, 56% said the behaviour and service
was average, while 39% said they were well-behaved and service-oriented. 5% said the
delivery boys were rude and inflexible.

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New CEO of Bisleri International tasked to take business

to next level

Ramesh Chauhan founder of Bisleri International told ET as

chairman, his role will be to guide and mentor George and
be part of the company's larger vision for growth.
ET Bureau|

Jul 21, 2019, 12.57 PM IST

Agencies

Bisleri recently restructured the business

into four verticals across the country —
sales & marketing, technical, accounts and
HR. The business was earlier divided as zones.

10/23
Having taken charge as CEO of bottled water major, Bisleri International, former Emami
COO Angelo George has been mandated to take the business to the next level of growth.

Ramesh Chauhan founder of Bisleri International told ET as chairman, his role will be to
guide and mentor George and be part of the company's larger vision for growth.

George was COO for just three months at Emami and prior to that was CEO of Anchor for
over two years. He served the longest for 10 years at Dabur India in the sales division
having started his career at HUL.

Chauhan had told ET he sought a candidate with industry knowledge but with a lot of gut
feel and humility.

Chauhan, 78, has steered Bisleri for over forty years. His daugher Jayanthi is involved to
some.extent in branding and advertising but will not hold charge like her father as of
today said officials.

The bottled water business is growing at over 20% annually and the Bisleri brand has a
lions share in the organised market.

Bisleri recently restructured the business into four verticals across the country — sales &
marketing, technical, accounts and HR. The business was earlier divided as zones.

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26,000 food samples found adulterated/ misbranded in

2018-19

Fines of over Rs 32 crores have been collected, said

Rameswar Teli, minister of state, Food Processing Industries
while responding to a written question on food adulteration
and enforcement of standards in Rajya Sabha.
11/23
By
Madhvi Sally
, ET Bureau|
Jul 19, 2019, 05.11 PM IST

Agencies

New Delhi: Twenty six thousand food

samples were found adulterated or
misbranded in 2018-19 in India, the
government told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Fines of over Rs 32 crores have been collected, said Rameswar Teli, minister of state,
Food Processing Industries while responding to a written question on food adulteration
and enforcement of standards in Rajya Sabha.

He informed that in 2018-19, 94,288 samples of processed food were analysed. Out of
this 26,077 thousand samples were found adulterated or misbranded. He further added
that a total of 32.8 crore rupees were raised as penalties last year, he said. The maximum
number of samples found adulterated or misbranded were in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Informing the house of the enforcement mechanism, the minister added that
commissioners of Food Safety of states were regularly conducting inspections,
surveillance and enforcement drives in food processing units to ensure compliance with
laid down standards. In cases where samples were found to be non-conforming to the
provisions of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, and Rules and regulations made
there under, penal action has been initiated against the defaulting food business
operators (FBOs) as per the provisions of FSS Act, 2006, and rules and regulations made
there under, he said.
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FDI in food processing sector down 31% at $ 628.24

million in 2018-19

The sector attracted FDI worth $ 727.22 million in 2016-17,

said Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal .
By
Madhvi Sally
, ET Bureau|
Jul 17, 2019, 04.04 PM IST

12/23
PTI

Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur

Badal said 30 companies have started
working on projects with investments of
around $11 bn.

NEW DELHI: The foreign direct investment

(FDI) in the food processing sector fell by
31 per cent in 2018-19 to $ 628.24 million,
the government told the Lok Sabha on
Tuesday. FDI inflow into the sector stood
at $904.90 million during 2017-18 financial
year.

The sector attracted FDI worth $ 727.22 million in 2016-17, said Food processing minister
Harsimrat Kaur Badal in a written reply to a question in the lower house of Parliament.

Singh also said that as per annual survey of industries (ASI), the invested capital in the
registered Food Processing sector, by 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 are in the order of
Rs 3,68,433.71 crore; Rs 3,86,339.38 crore and Rs 4,17,690.89 crore. Further, as per the
latest available data under the ASI, the total number of persons engaged in registered
food processing units by 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 were 17.73 lakhs, 17.65 lakhs
and 18.54 lakhs respectively.

FDI up to 100%, under the automatic route, is allowed in food processing industries.
Further, 100% FDI under government route for retail trading, including through e-
commerce, is permitted in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in
India. India opened food retail for foreign investment in 2016. A year later, Amazon
sought to invest $500 million, but the government wanted it to separate warehouses,
logistics and inventories for the food-only venture from those of its online marketplace
in India.

Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in March this year had said that over 30
companies have started working on their projects with investments of around $11 billion
out of $14 billion they had proposed. She listed out investments into wholesale retailing
Metro Cash & Carry and Thailand’s Siam Makro as part of the $11 billion mega
investments into India.

The minister had said that FDI in food processing has nearly doubled from $500 million
to $905 million during her tenure. Coca-Cola, Britannia, Cargill, Tilda Hain are investing in
the country, she had informed adding that the major sectors that have attracted FDI
were food retail, dairy, grains, fruits and vegetables, animal feeds and oil .

The food processing sector is annually seeing a growth of more than 11%. Despite a huge
domestic market of 1.3 billion customers with the youngest population globally and an
abundant agricultural base, the processing levels in India remain low at 7.7% behind
13/23
several economies such as China, Malaysia and US, according to the ministry data.
India’s share in global exports of processed food is only 2%. Besides, India also has a high
share of harvest and post-harvest losses from major agricultural produces on account of
poor storage, transportation and logistics to the extent of Rs 92,651 crores,according to
government data.

Also Read
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Ficci for increasing FDI cap in insurance to 74%

Top India FDI sources on tax haven list

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No proposal under consideration to increase FDI in multi-brand retail: Piyush Goyal

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Coca-Cola India & South West Asia announces changes to

its leadership team

Changes are in keeping with developing business needs and

investment in talent development.
By
Brinda Sarkar
, ET Bureau|
Jul 16, 2019, 12.49 PM IST

AFP

The Coca-Cola India system provides

direct employment to 25,000 people and
indirect employment to more than
150,000 people.

BENGALURU: Beverage company Coca-Cola India & South West Asia has announced
changes to its leadership team, said a statement issued today. The new structure is
designed to enable the India & South West Asia business to be a growth engine for The
Coca-Cola Company by capitalising on emerging opportunities while continuing to build
on talent development.

14/23
"We believe there are significant opportunities that lie ahead of us to grow our portfolio
and meaningfully penetrate the market. It is our constant endeavour to strengthen the
leadership team for a strong sustainable future growth and address developing business
needs. It also reinforces our commitment towards investing in talent development,” said
T Krishnakumar, president, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia.

Sarvita Sethi has taken over as vice-president– M&A and new ventures from her earlier
role of vice-president of finance, India & South West Asia. In this new role, Sethi will
provide leadership to business incubation through alternate revenue streams in new
ventures. She will also continue to lead the M&A priorities for the business in India &
South West Asia.

Harsh Bhutani has been appointed to the position of vice-president – finance (CFO),
Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, effective 1st August 2019. He currently heads the
finance and business services verticals for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages as executive
director and chief financial officer for over three years.

The Coca-Cola India system provides direct employment to 25,000 people and indirect
employment to more than 150,000 people.

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NCLAT urges Hudco to drop opposition to McDonald’s-

Vikram Bakshi deal

Sources said the final settlement amount would be

contingent on Hudco closing all claims against Bakshi.
By
Karunjit Singh
, ET Bureau|
Jul 11, 2019, 07.09 AM IST

15/23
BCCL

Vikram Bakshi

NEW DELHI: The settlement of a six-year

long dispute between McDonald’s India and Vikram Bakshi may soon be reached after an
appellate tribunal advised state-owned infrastructure finance firm Hudco to accept a
debt settlement offer from Bakshi and drop its opposition to the deal.

Bakshi has sold his stake in Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL), a joint venture between
him and McDonald's India for the burger chain’s operations in north and east India, as
part of their dispute settlement.

Hudco, which is proceeding against Bakshi over personal guarantees on loans to his
hospitality business Ascot Hotels, intervened, pointing to an order by the Debt Recovery
Tribunal (DRT) preventing Bakshi from selling any shares in CPRL.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has, however, indicated that a Rs
10 crore deposit by Bakshi towards claims by Hudco may be enough to satisfy DRT to lift
its stay on selling his stake in CPRL. DRT had directed Bakshi to pay Rs 195 crore to
Hudco in the matter.

“The interim order may have become infructuous if they (DRT) say don’t sell these shares
and they (Bakshi) pay the amount of sale proceeds of the shares for the purpose of
adjusting it with the decretal amount,” a two-member bench of NCLAT led by Justice SJ
Mukhopadhaya said on Wednesday.

Instead, the bench advised the counsel for Hudco to accept the settlement offer by
Bakshi and, if needed, proceed for the remaining amount through DRT.

The appellate tribunal will next hear the case on August 1.

Earlier, Bakshi’s counsel Amit Sibal had submitted before the bench that his client had
deposited Rs 10 crore — the entire proceeds from the sale of his shares in CPRL — to
DRT and that the amount had already been withdrawn by Hudco. Sibal also said Bakshi
was set to propose a onetime settlement to Hudco of Rs 137 crore against the initial
disbursement of Rs 62.38 crore to Ascot Hotels.

People close to the development told ET that the proposed settlement includes around
Rs 61 crore of interest that has already been paid to Hudco during the loan tenure. This
would bring the value of the proposed settlement to around Rs 76 crore against Rs 195
crore that the DRT has directed Bakshi to pay to Hudco.

Sources said the final settlement amount would be contingent on Hudco closing all
claims against Bakshi. NCLAT has directed Sibal to submit details of the amount Bakshi
and his wife Madhurima Bakshi received pursuant to the settlement with McDonalds’

16/23
India, the total amount he has been directed to pay Hudco by DRT, the amount he has
already paid Hudco, and the settlement amount he proposes to pay Hudco.

“On the basis of such affidavit this appellate tribunal will decide whether it will allow the
agreement between Vikram Bakshi and McDonald's India,” said the bench.

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NCLAT directs Vikram Bakshi to file affidavit on amount

received from McDonald's for his shares

"On the basis of the affidavit, we may decide, whether to

allow the agreement and others with MIPL," said NCLAT.
PTI|

Jul 10, 2019, 07.05 PM IST

BCCL

Bakshi has received a sum of around Rs 10

crore from the sale of his personal shares
in CPRL and it has already been deposited
before DRT.

NEW DELHI: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal ( NCLAT) on Wednesday
asked Vikram Bakshi, estranged Indian partner of McDonald's, to file an affidavit within a
week detailing the amount he has received from the sale of his shares in CPRL as part of
his settlement with the US-based fast food chain.

A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya while

hearing an intervention appeal by HUDCO on the settlement reached between Bakshi
and McDonald's, also asked Bakshi's wife, Madhurima Bakshi, to disclose if she too has
17/23
received any amount through the settlement.

The appellate tribunal has also asked Bakshi to furnish information about the "total
decreed amount" sought to be recovered from him by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT)
along with the total amount paid by him in favour of state-run HUDCO, which is claiming
over Rs 190 crore dues.

"On the basis of the affidavit, we may decide, whether to allow the agreement and others
with MIPL," said NCLAT.

Bakshi and McDonald's India Pvt. Ltd (MIPL) had approached the NCLAT to withdraw
cases filed against each other for management control of Connaught Plaza Restaurants
Pvt Ltd (CPRL), which operates McDonald's chain in North and East India, saying they had
reached an out-of-court settlement.

However, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) had opposed their
settlement saying Bakshi and his related entities owed dues of Rs 194.98 crore, which
Debt Recovery Tribunal had also ordered Bakshi to pay.

During the proceedings of NCLAT, senior advocate Amit Sibal appearing for Bakshi
informed the appellate tribunal that Bakshi was willing a one-time settlement of around
Rs 137 crore.

According to him, Bakshi has received a sum of around Rs 10 crore from the sale of his
personal shares in CPRL and it has already been deposited before DRT.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing state-run HUDCO disputed the
claim and suggested NCLAT to direct Bakshi to disclose full financial details of their
settlement.

However, NCLAT rejected Solicitor General's request to disclose "total consideration" of

the settlement.

"There is privacy also... why should total amount be disclosed..", said Justice
Mukhopadhyay.

The NCLAT also suggested HUDCO to accept the offer of Rs 137 crore for now and
recover the remaining amount through the DRT proceedings.

Earlier, on May 15 NCLAT had admitted the intervention plea filed by state-owned
HUDCO claiming dues of Rs 195 crore from Vikram Bakshi.

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India is considered an exporter of talent: Perfetti Van

Melle

We have a lot of Indian employees in extremely senior

positions across the world and are really valued by the
organisation.
ET Bureau|

Jul 09, 2019, 08.02 AM IST

Agencies

Confectionery major Perfetti Van Melle

India is looking to reposition itself, both in
terms of business and talent. In an
interview, its global chief human resource officer, Thomas Stassen, said the company
considers India an exporter of talent across functions. “India is also increasingly
becoming a hub for certain specialised domains like packaging, value engineering, data
analytics for procurement, etc.,” Stassen said. Excerpts:

What are the business targets for India?

We aim to grow at a double-digit rate in the coming years. We would like to grow faster
than the category, so that we also gain market share and strengthen our leadership
position.

What has triggered the business transformation?

The environment is changing at multiple levels: consumer needs are changing,
competitive landscape is changing, macro environment is becoming more challenging. In
this context, it is important for us to reinvent ourselves to stay relevant, and this was the
trigger. The objective is to lead to sustainable, profitable growth.

How is the company looking at talent transformation?

To embark on our next growth curve, we initiated our transformation journey, ‘Sparkle’,
at the end of 2017. Sparkle aims to rekindle growth ahead of the market and drive a
19/23
step-jump in profitability for us. The HR team partnered with business to enable this
journey and for sustainable outcomes. The actions were planned in three steps: creating
a shared need and vision, mobilising commitment, and making change last to enable
better employee engagement and improved business results.

What is your view on talent in India?

We have a lot of Indian employees in extremely senior positions across the world and
are really valued by the organisation. India is considered an exporter of talent on an
ongoing basis across all the functions. Also, increasingly India is becoming a hub for
certain specialised domains like packaging, value engineering, data analytics for
procurement, etc.

What is your talent strategy for India?

We continue to up the bar on talent in line with the skillset and leadership competencies
required as a result of our business transformation. One of the key tenets of our people
philosophy is our commitment to grow from within. More than 60% of the roles that got
created in 2018-19 were manned from within the organisation. Our huge focus is
building talent for future roles and providing them with inputs that will enable them to
take up more complex roles. We aim for an average of more than four man days of
training per employee/ per year. We believe in providing varied experiences to our
employees in the form of international short-term assignments, cross-functional projects
and also certain specialised global learning interventions for our high potentials.

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Govt looking into overpricing of bottled water, packaged

food

"There are provisions in the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 to

prevent charging above MRP," Paswan said.
PTI|
20/23
Jul 02, 2019, 01.52 PM IST

Agencies

The minister was responding to a question

on whether the government is aware
about bottled water and packaged foods
and drinks being sold at higher prices than MRP.

The government is seriously looking into complaints of bottled water and packaged
foods and drinks being sold at prices higher than the maximum retail price, Consumer
Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday.

"Some complaints of bottled water and packaged foods and drinks being sold at prices
higher than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) have been received.

"There are provisions in the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 to prevent charging above MRP,"
Paswan told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

He also said the government is seriously looking into the issue.

Enforcement of the provisions is done by the Legal Metrology Department of the state
governments which impose penalties in case of violations, he added.

The minister was responding to a question on whether the government is aware about
bottled water and packaged foods and drinks being sold at higher prices than MRP at
public places like railway stations, airports, hotels and multiplexes.
Read more on
Ram Vilas Paswan
bottled water
maximum retail price
Packaged food
lok sabha

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21/23
Madhu Jayanti International strengthens its packet tea
business

Madhu Jayanti's Rs 55-crore packet tea business is limited to

Maharashtra and Karnataka.
By
Anuradha Himatsingka
, ET Bureau|
Jul 01, 2019, 07.24 PM IST

Getty Images

Representative Image

KOLKATA: Madhu Jayanti International

Private Ltd (MJIL) on Monday said acquisition of Eveready Industries’ packet tea business
will make them a pan-India player from its current presence in only two states.

While MJIL’s Rs 55-crore packet tea business is limited to Maharashtra and Karnataka,
Eveready’s three tea brands are sold in 14 states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, among others.

The sale, which is expected to be signed by July 4, will transfer Eveready’s licensing rights
to MJIL and give it access to a wide base of 2,800 distributors, primarily focussed in the
upcountry markets.

“We expect to retain the entire distribution network of Eveready’s packet tea business,
which will help us immediately reach 14 states at a go”, said Sumit Shah, executive
director at MJIL.

Shah hopes to route its current brands Sphoorti, Saraswati, Lalpan Gold and Tea Queen
using Eveready's network, which, in turn, will boost sales of these brands too. Presently,
MJIL has 131 distributors.

With the acquisition, MJIL’s tea production in India will also increase from 2.4 million kg to
6.2 million kg and its income from branded tea sales will rise 53 % to Rs 198 crore this
fiscal year itself.

MJIL’s brands operate in the higher end of the mass segment, priced between Rs 84-140
per 250 gm while Eveready’s brands – Tez, Jaago and Premium - operate in a price
bracket of Rs 50-85 for similar grammage. “The acquisition thus also helps us complete
our pricing portfolio as well and we can have products across various price points which
will help us compete better,” Shah said.

In FY2018-19, MJI's export business stood at Rs 261 crore, and total revenue, at Rs 390
22/23
crore, Shah said. "Five years hence, total revenue from our India operations should be
around Rs 300 crore from the packet tea business alone," he added.

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