The Hindu Business Line : NAPCL targets Rs 12-cr turnover, plans to double sales

FOR a company based at a remote village and owned 70 per cent by local farmers, having to take on rivals such as Pepsi and Dabur could be akin to getting crushed to pulp.

But Nadukkara Agro Processing Co Ltd (NAPCL), which makes the Jive brand of packaged fruit juice, fights with such giants every day. And though the company is yet to become profitable and revenue is still a trifle, its business has never looked better than now.

"Sales crossed five million packets in the last fiscal. This is a 130 per cent increase from the previous year," said Mr Sasikumar K, Managing Director.

Revenues in 2004-05 grew over 50 per cent per cent to Rs 4 crore from Rs 2.6 crore in 2003-04. Losses have come down by Rs 11 lakh to Rs 18 lakh, Mr Sasikumar said.

This fiscal, NAPCL hopes to add some more respectability to its books. "Our target is to reach a turnover of Rs 12 crore and double sales to 10 million packets."

Jive, which comes in pineapple and mango flavours, competes with brands such as Tropicana and Real.

NAPCL was promoted by the Kerala State Government and the European Union to bring the benefits of value added agro-products to farmers.

It has since become a public limited company with local farmers holding 70 per cent shares. The Kerala Government owns the rest.

Mr Sasikumar said as part of expanding its reach, NAPCL is in the process of setting up a distribution network in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. It has also tied up with airline companies, including the newly launched Air India Express, to serve Jive on board.

A new pineapple drink named Fandu is also on the cards. More flavours are also being planned in order to double sales.

NAPCL has identified contract processing for other companies as a key source of revenue during the year. It has already tied up with the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) to make the Refresh brand of mango juice.

"We have got an order from Delhi-based FIL Industries to process its entire supply to South India," said Mr Sasikumar.

FIL Industries, which has the Fruitful brand, would be outsourcing processing of 27 lakh packets of apple and other Himalayan fruit juices to NAPCL.

Trade Craft, a company in England, has also tied up with NAPCL to buy 12 metric tonnes of ginger candies annually. Fifteen farmers would be cultivating ginger in 7.5 acres towards fulfilling this order.

Through such contract processing, NAPCL is hopeful of utilising a part of its idle production capacity and earn 15 per cent of revenues. This year, the company plans to raise its capacity utilisation to at least 50 per cent.

Mr Sasikumar said NAPCL has also hiked the price at which it sources pineapple from the farmers to Rs 5 a kg from Rs 4.

One of the main reasons for underutilisation of its capacity was the company's inability to pay market price for pineapple, which often affected the supply of raw material.

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