Comments
Kalady-based KKR Group of companies, the makers of Nirapara brand rice and range of food products, has set a target of achieving a business turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years.
The company has lined up plans to sell gingely oil, ready-to- eat-products, food processed in honey in the current year. Mr K. K. Karnan, Chairman of the Group, told Business Line that the main focus is to enter new domestic markets and European markets. There are also plans to introduce ayurvedic cosmetics and health-related products in the market, he said.
He said the company is all set to achieve a sales turnover of Rs 300 crore by the end of the current fiscal, against Rs 148 crore achieved the previous year. The export business had also gone up this year, as the figure has touched Rs 60 crore as on date against Rs 28 crore last year, particularly due to the lifting of ban on rice exports by the Government.
At present, Nirapara products are available in 32 countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Far East and West Asia.
The company plans to set up a warehouse in Tamil Nadu for the storage of spices , a central despatch warehouse in Kalady, and a coconut oil manufacturing plant for oil production.
A household name
According to Mr Karnan, the Nirapara brand was well accepted in the market and has become a household name in India and abroad, especially among Keralites. Today, the company commands 80 per cent share in both rice and rice powders. In spices and pickles, the share is 40 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, which is rapidly increasing. The company has also introduced savouries, soaps and vitamin-enriched food supplement in the market.
Over the years, the company has evolved from a traditional enterprise processing paddy to becoming one of India's leading food brands employing cutting edge technology. Having started off with traditional methods of boiling, sun drying and milling, the company today employs state-of-the-art technology to meet quality and hygiene standards.
Today, the factories are equipped for every aspect of processing of paddy right from de-stoning, cleaning, drying, de-husking, bran removal, polishing and finally sorting.
Besides food and food products, the group is also involved in building material processing such as crusher metal, tiles, industrial fencing and other related activities.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.