Basmati rice seller Best Foods Ltd. (BFL), which owns the ‘Best Rice’ label, is seeking to expand its footprint across the domestic market in the upcoming fiscal to strengthen its position in the packaged basmati segment, which is growing at almost 30-35 per cent a year.

“We will continue expanding aggressively in India where we understand the retail format. We are already present in 250 cities and towns around the country and will cover about 350 by the end of the next fiscal,” said Aayushman Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, BFL, on the sidelines of the ‘I Love Best Rice’ campaign here on Thursday.

“We will retail mainly through modern retail stores since it’s difficult to reach consumers buying packaged basmati through mom-and-pop shops. Penetration is also higher in cities and towns since conversion of loose to packaged formats is far higher,” Gupta said.

The campaign, earlier held in Kolkata and Hyderabad, highlights the “goodness” of rice as a staple and is supported by TNS Global Research Consultancy, a market research firm, which collated responses regarding consumption patterns and consumer perception, apprehension and preferences over three months.

Iran ban

Bulk trade accounts for most of the four-year-old company’s sales. At present, BFL exports 70 per cent of its basmati stock to markets, such as West Asia and the European Union. Asked if Iran’s temporary ban since last October had impacted the company, Gupta said it was limited.

“Domestic consumption of basmati is quite low, so most of it is exported. Our markets are diversified, so we did not depend on Iran entirely. The growth in the segment, however, slowed a little due to the ban, which affects the industry as a whole,” said Gupta.

“Buyers there were unable to get permissions for imports, but we possessed the norms of certification the Iran government had required, something that quite a few exporters don’t have,” he added.

India exported 2.57 million tonnes (mt) of basmati rice between April and December of this fiscal, a decline of 6.19 per cent from the corresponding period last year. Iran, the largest importer accounting 60-65 per cent of India’s basmati exports, had clamped down on issuing import permits due to a large carryover stock resulting from record domestic production and heavy imports from two years previously.

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