The Hindu Business Line : `Cluckers' chicken products from Venkateshwara's coop

THE Pune-based Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) group will be establishing franchisee retail outlets across the country by December for the sale of chicken-based food products under the brand name "Cluckers".

"We are planning to establish 318 franchisee outlets throughout the country in the first year of operations. The VH group will do the brand promotion, quality inspection and install quality delivery system", the Chief Executive of Venkateshawara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd, Mr O.P. Singh, told Business Line.

According to Mr Singh, VH group, which was already engaged in the business of ready-to-eat chicken products being sold under the brand name Venkys, would continue its effort for the forward integration of the poultry sector and had earmarked Rs 15 crore to build up the support system. The franchisee retailing system would enhance the consumption of chicken products in the country and would thus help poultry farmers in realising remunerative prices.

He said that in the next three months time, VH would start exporting Venkys chicken products to South Africa, West Asia and Australia. The company had got the necessary approvals.

Currently, VH, which entered into a retail tie-up with House of Spices of New York, was exporting butter chicken, keema, nuggets and chicken wings to the US where it is now available in 3,000 outlets.

Besides the poultry sector, VH is also creating a support system for enhancing the productivity in the dairy sector. As a part of this effort, the company had set up Ventri Biologicals for the production of vaccines for dairy animals. The Rs 35-crore plant, claimed to be the biggest in Asia, would start producing 80 million doses of vaccines by the end of this year.

Mr Singh said that the company was also setting up two research centres in Pune and Uttar Pradesh under its foot and mouth disease control programme.

The two centres, being established at a cost of Rs 8 crore, would also start functioning from December, this year.

With all the above projects becoming operational by this year end, VH group was expecting to post a turnover of Rs 1,700 crore in 2004-05 as against Rs 1380 crore last year, Mr Singh added.