The Hindu Business Line : Spicing up America

HIGH-quality Indian spices in attractive packs and under the brand name Flavourit will soon occupy the shelves of mainstream supermarkets across the US, thanks to the efforts of the Spices Board.

<15,3m>To start with, 500 packs are already on their way to San Francisco for trial marketing in the State of California. "We are targeting the large number of high-income Indo-American families concentrated in various parts of this State, such as Silicon Valley," C. J. Jose, Chairman, Spices Board told Catalyst.

Based on its success, the products in multiple packs containing 12 spices in three different packets would be positioned in mainstream markets there, he said. Commonly used spices such as black and white pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, fennel and herbs such as rosemary and parsley are being marketed now.

The Board embarked on this venture based on a marketing study conducted in the US by an international agency it appointed some time ago. The study found potential for value-added good quality spices. Convinced of the potential, the Union Government has shown interest in financing a publicity campaign in the US to promote the Flavourit brand, he said.

In fact, the Board had already started e-marketing the famous Tellicherry Garbled Extra Bold (TGEB) black pepper and Alleppy Green Extra Bold (AGEB) cardamom as well as vanilla in March. The latest addition, he said, is vanilla extract (vanillin). "Other spices would be gradually added to the menu." The response so far has been encouraging from within the country and abroad and the demand is on the increase, he pointed out.

The Flavourit brand is promoted and the quality of the spices assured by the Board while its marketing is undertaken by the Spices Trading Corporation Ltd (STCL) in partnership with Indian Posts, IDBI, HDFC, UTI and Citibank.

The products could be booked through head post offices in India and a dedicated online system for delivery anywhere in the world.

Explaining why the Board has embarked on this venture, Jose said, "History has it that Indian spices were sold at 100 times their original value in the consuming markets of Europe. While we know that the export of spices added to the revenues of Indian princes and made canons, gunpowder and muskets freely available to them, very little is known about the condition of the spice growers in India during those days." In more ways than one, the inequalities of the trade continue even today. The introduction of Flavourit is, therefore, an attempt "to re-establish their identity and get for our spice growers a fair share of the value realised in the spice trade," he said.

This would also provide a marketing channel for the growers of cardamom, vanilla and pepper and more particularly to those who have taken up organic production of spices with the encouragement of the Board. The spices would be procured directly from spice farmers' groups. Surpluses generated from the business would be ploughed back in promoting the demand for these and other Indian spices worldwide.

Though he lauded the Board's decision, Thomas Philip, Chairman, All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) said he is sceptical about establishing the brand in the American market due to the huge investment involved. "Annual slotting fee for a square feet of space in a reputed super market chain runs into several millions of dollars."

The Board expects these efforts to reap benefits in the long run. The Spices Board Chairman said, "We hope to establish the identity of Indian vanilla, a recent introduction of an exotic spice hitherto confined to Bourbon (now known as Reunion and Comoros islands) and some other islands of Polynesia." It also seeks to re-establish the identity of the once popular Indian spice grades such as TGEB pepper and AGEB cardamom.

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