The Hindu Business Line : Godrej targets health food market with soya milk Sofit

THE foods division of Godrej Industries Ltd (GIL) is eyeing the health foods market as a category to propel growth. In that initiative the company has launched a soya milk product under the brand name Godrej Sofit.

Sofit, launched in a retail consumer pack and a home pack, has been rolled out in Mumbai and Delhi. It will be launched in Bangalore and Hyderabad shortly.

"We have positioned this product on the health plank. So far the product's acceptance has been beyond our expectations," Mr M.P. Pusalkar, Executive Director & President, GIL, said. The early response to Sofit has bolstered the company's plans to roll out in other cities.

According to Mr Pusalkar, GIL gets the first mover advantage in this segment as a branded player. "As we are positioning this product as a health food, we are going through doctors, hospitals, nutritionists and are displaying our advertisements in health clubs and gyms," he said.

The product is being manufactured at its plant near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. "As Madhya Pradesh is the main soyabean cultivation area, procuring the material will not be difficult.

"The Bhopal plant is a model plant with HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) certification," Mr Pusalkar said. "We have undertaken stringent hygiene controls and have also put in place guidelines for storage beyond our factory."

During the current fiscal, the foods division had several new introductions including the launch of sub-premium sunflower oil under the brand name Godrej SunShakti. This brand was primarily aimed at the Southern market, where consumption of sunflower oil is noticeably large.

Earlier, the company had launched a sunflower oil and rice bran oil blended product under the brand name Godrej Sunrice.

Pegged at Rs 64 for a litre, Godrej Sunshakti will be manufactured by third-party players who have their own refining facilities in these regional pockets, to improve the logistics for its brand.

Godrej Industries manufactures edible oils under sunflower, groundnut, soyabean and is also test marketing blended edible oil - Godrej Sunrice. There has been a demand for rice bran oil because of its health benefits.

Though the foods division is expected to improve its topline to Rs 200 crore from Rs 180 crore in the earlier year, its bottomline would continue to be in a loss position. During 2002-2003, GIL's foods division had reported a loss of Rs 6 crore. Much of the company's capacities in edible oil and processed foods business have been idle impacting margins.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Foods & Food Processing | Health

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