WHAT’S cooking? Nothing really, if the likes of MTR, Haldiram’s, Cremica and ITC have their way. Convenience food is in. Sustainable high margins, coupled with lucrative export and growing domestic markets, are driving new brands such as Haldiram’s, Bikano, Cremica, Topz and Catch to foray into the ready-to-eat (RTE) food market.
While ethnic food major Haldiram Foods, which already offers packaged mithai and namkeen, is planning to launch its ‘meals ready to eat’ (MRE) offerings by Diwali this year, the north India-based packaged pickles and sauces brand Topz is planning to launch its RTE offerings (including MRE) in a few months time.
“There is huge potential in convenience food. More working couples means less time to cook and more cash to spend on food,” reasoned Nitin Seth, MD, GD Food India and owner of brand Topz. Apart from the urban socioeconomic development, it is the lucrative high margins in ready-to-eats that is dictating the market’s fast-paced growth and new players’ foray. “This is an emerging category with margins as high as 300% in some products,” says an industry analyst.
Then there is the huge overseas market, hungry for branded Indian ready-to-eat cuisine. “Indian cuisine is popular with both the Indian diaspora and others. Our RTE range, which is in test-marketing stage right now, would be targeting the overseas market and the higher-end premium market in India,” said an official from DS Group, which will launch its ‘Catch’ RTE munchies this year. Other like Cremica and MTR are hoping to achieve a healthy mix between domestic markets and exports with new offers in the heat-and-eat Indian meals category. “Both segments contribute equally to MTR’s turnover,” said MTR Foods CMD Sadananda Maiya. Though RTE players say the margins in the Indian market vary from 100% to 300%, the field is better for players like ITC, Satnam Overseas and LT Overseas, with strong backward integration that enables them to source raw materials at farm gate prices.