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Maggi to Foster Affordable Nutrition |
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Nestle India, the creator of Maggi brand, has come up with two new products, which are expected to attract many families across the country, covering a wide range of income levels and age groups. The products are named Maggi Mssala-ae-Magic and Maggi Rasile Chow.
Maggi Masala -ae-Magic is a fortified taste enhancer that can be used across different cuisines in India. It is not a simple spice, but is unique in that it efficiently enhances the taste inherent in the food ingredients already present. This easy to use, unique and affordable product has been developed with technology from Nestle R&D in Singapore and is specially fortified with iron, iodine and Vitamin A, which are deficient in the average Indian diet.
The spice or masala can simply be added at the last stage of preparation and it does not interfere in anyway with the traditional way of cooking. Maggi Masala- ae- Magic is available in single use sachets at only Rs.2. Its affordable price could also contribute to its increasing popularity. Succinctly, Maggi Masala-ae-Magic will not only facilitate to make routine everyday meals tastier, but will also provide the micronutrients that are so essential for good health.
Maggi Rasile Chow is a gravy noodle fortified with iron, and will be available for just Rs.4. These have been developed especially to suit the taste preferences of the rural consumer, with the added benefit of iron fortification. They provide the convenience of Maggi Noodles, and can be cooked in only two minutes.
According to Shivani Hegde, General Manager (Foods), Nestle India, “There is greater understanding and widespread concern today about micronutrient malnutrition in India. Finding convenient and affordable approaches to address this was a challenge and we worked on various product concepts with our Nestlé R&D. We now have two new products that consumers will love.”
While explaining the profile of the new products she said, “Maggi Rasile Chow has been developed especially for the rural/semi urban markets, to provide a low cost, tasty light meal that is fortified with iron. Maggi Masala-ae-Magic is a unique fortified taste enhancer that is fortified with iron, iodine and Vitamin A and will be useful across kitchens, especially so for lower income families who are unable to afford meals that can give them balanced nutrition. Both products are unique, and probably the first of their kind in India.”
She further added, “Besides the requirement for affordable solutions, there is also a strong need to educate the consumer about the importance of nutrition. Having successfully developed Maggi Masala-ae-Magic as an affordable product that even low income families can use, we will now provide nutrition education to the base of the pyramid, and will soon launch the first programme in Dharavi, in Mumbai.” |
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Fast Food Chains to Revisit Menu |
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The impact of soaring food prices is soon going to get reflected in the menus of the premium fast food chains of the country. While prices of certain dishes of Domino’s, KFC and Mainland China have already gone up marginally, McDonald’s is also expected to follow suit very soon. With the prices of most essential ingredients used in the fast food chains going up by more than 20 percent, the profit margins of most fast food outlets have suffered despite the cost cutting measures like bulk-buying, increasing manufacturing efficiencies and providing vendors with long term contracts.
While offering quality food at reasonable prices has been the marketing strategy for the fast food outlets in India, the inevitable price rise has the potential of deterring an average customer from having a burger or pizza instead of home made rotis. India is an emerging market for the fast food outlets as the competitive prices have assured 20-22 percent growth for the fast food industry. |
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Food Prices Soar as Inflation Reaches 19 Percent |
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Inflation for food prices is hovering around 17-19 percent in the recent times. This high rate of inflation has affected the food and beverage industry in a major way. The soaring cost of pulses, sugar and vegetables has not only forced the common man to cut his and his family’s daily nutritional quota, but it has also led various restaurants to cook pricier meals. While the price of pulses went up by 42.21 percent, vegetables became costlier by 30.97 percent in the recent weeks. Among the vegetable items, the prices of potatoes and onions have gone up beyond the reach of poverty stricken Indians. While the centre has conveniently blamed the drought like situation in many parts of the country and the poor distribution measures of the states, the general public is expressing disgust at the lack of urgent and effective initiative on the part of the centre to control the food prices. |
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Festive Season Boosts On-Premise Liquor Consumption |
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The festive season in India and the cold wave across various states of India starting from November, made the mood upbeat for the alcoholic beverage industry as on-premise liquor consumption in hotels and restaurants rose by 12-15 percent on an average. Consumer sentiments suffered last year due to the economic recession and the ghastly terror attacks in Mumbai. Volume of sales increased substantially in the high-end spirits segment, which contributes around 20 percent of liquor sales in the country. As celebrating tipplers throng the pubs and restaurants between November to January to celebrate the festivities, this period alone brings in 22-25 percent of sales for the liquor companies. As the market has shown signs of recovery, the upbeat mood is expected to continue in the coming months. |
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Ruchi Soya Signs MOU with the Ethiopian Government |
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India’s largest soya food and soya oil manufacturer Ruchi Soya, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Ethiopia for soybean cultivation and processing facilities. The 24-year-old company would take 611, 775 acres of land on a lease basis for a quarter century. However, on the basis of the company’s performance, land size may go up to 1.23 lakh acres in subsequent years.
Ruchi Soya Industries Limited is the flagship company of Ruchi Group of Industries. Its merger with sister concerns ( Aneja Solvex Ltd., General Foods Ltd., Ruchi Credit Corporation, Ruchi Health Foods Ltd., Param Ind. Ltd., Ruchi Private Ltd. and soya businesses of MP Glychem) has positioned the company among the top five FMCG players in the country, with a turnover of Rs. 11, 915 crores.
Apart from producing edible oils, vanaspati, bakery fats and soya foods, Ruchi Soya is also the highest exporter of soya meal and lecithin from India. It is largely known for the Nutrela (soya chunks, granules, soya flour) brand which is the largest selling soya foods brand in India. |
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F&B Business of DS Group to Receive Rs. 25 Crore Investments |
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Dharmapal Satyapal Group (DS Group) has announced plans to invest Rs. 25 crore in its food and beverage segment, Catch Salt and Spices, to increase its capacities at its Noida unit. In view of the rapid urbanisation and increasing awareness about hygiene, the demand for well known brands in spices section has also increased over the years.
DS Group, that started its business with tobacco products, entered the foods & beverages arena under the umbrella brand ‘Catch’ that included spices, beverages and ready to eat snacks. With a turnover of Rs. 14,000 crore, the group has diversified interests in hospitality, FMCG, rubber thread, packaging, steel, cement and power sectors.
While the new investment would be utilised for expanding its capacity to meet the growing demand, the company is also planning to introduce new variants of spices to suit the local tastes of various places and expand its presence in south and west India. |
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Milk and Chocolate Products from China to Remain Barred in India |
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Milk products from China are banned in India for another six months. The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has recently notified that, “The central government hereby further extends the prohibition on import of milk and milk products, including chocolates and chocolate products and candies, confectionery, food preparations with milk or milk solids as an ingredient, from China, for a period of six months from December 24 and until further order.”
Chinese milk and chocolate products were banned in India last year due to health reasons as reports of contamination in milk reached the policymakers in New Delhi. |
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India’s Tea Output and Export Quantity Falls in 2009 |
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According to the data available up to November 2009, the tea production in India fell by 1.32 million kgs as compared to 2008. India, however, fared better when compared to countries like Sri Lanka and Kenya, who are some of the major competitors of India in the global market. While Kenya’s Tea production declined by 31.27 million kgs, Sri Lanka led the downturn by showing a fall of 39.63 million kgs at the end of November 2009. The fall in the global tea output in 2009 is attributed mainly to the poor monsoon during the production period.
But the disturbing fact for the tea industry in India was that its tea exports fell by 17.6 million kgs as against 13.59 million kgs of Sri Lanka during the same period. Exports of tea from Kenya declined by 33.64 million kgs. Only small tea producing countries of Malawi and Zimbabwe showed marginal increases in export volume of teas in 2009.
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RJ Corp Plans to Expand F&B Business in Africa |
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RJ Corp., which owns franchisee rights for KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee and Walt Disney group company Disney Artist, and PepsiCo India’s biggest franchisee bottling business, announced plans to expand its dairy business in Africa either through buyouts or greenfield ventures. The company has earmarked Rwanda and Tanzania for starting the dairy business in Africa. RJ Corp. also voiced its intention to set up greenfield plants in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
It here deserves a mention that several Indian companies such as Marico, Godrej and Dabur have ventured into the African market in the recent years to tap the unexplored markets of the continent. RJ Corp. runs dairy businesses in Kenya and Uganda where it deals in packaged milk, yogurt, processed cheese, butter and milk powder. The group also plans to set up 50 KFC stores in Nigeria.
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Australian Trade Commission Launches VB Beer |
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In a lead-up to the Australian Day celebrations in New Delhi, Australian Trade Commission—the trade and investment promotion agency of the Australian Government —has launched Victoria Bitter beer in India. Known as VB in popular parlance, the iconic Australian beer would be imported and distributed by New Delhi- based Pearls Wines, a division of PGF Limited, engaged in importing and distributing a range of Australian and other foreign liquors in and across India.
In India, the beer will be available in 375 ml bottles and cans. Targeted at the younger population of India, VB will initially fill the stacks of five-star hotels and A-class restaurants in the NCR, Delhi that includes the areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad & New Delhi. Subsequently, consumers of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai and Kerala would also be able to savour the beer in the top-end restaurants and hotels.
Speaking at the launch, Rikhab Jain, General Manager, Pearls Wines, said, “We have set ourselves a target of 25,000 cases for the quarter commencing January 2010. In the next one year, our target is to sell one lakh cases.” He further added that Pearls Wines would work towards having a 12 percent market share of India’s beer market for VB by 2012, which it intends to further increase to 26 percent market share by 2014.” The beer market in India is expected to grow from 1225 million litres in 2008 to 2017 million litres in 2013, translating into a US$ 5.7 billion market.
The history of this classic lager beer dates back to 1850s. VB is brewed by Carlton & United Breweries, a subsidiary of Foster’s Group. In terms of beer sales in Australia, Victoria Bitter has led the market share for the last 20 years. Legendary Australian cricketer, Brett Lee is the brand ambassador of VB beer. |
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