FMCG start-up to bite into chocolates

After almost a year since Goldman Sachs and Mitsui Global invested behind Global Consumer Products, the FMCG start up is now ready to enter the chocolates category by launching its own brand early next year. Hiring a slew of FMCG professionals from companies like Perfetti, Hindustan Unilever, Britannia, Ferraro and Cadbury Kraft, it intends making a initial foray into the four southern states with its new brand of chocolates.

Speaking to Businessline, A. Mahendran, Chairman & Managing Director, Global Consumer Products said, ``We call ourselves a synthetic start up as we now have both financial and human capital. Our chocolates foray will be in the value for money segment and will include confectionary like mints, gum and candy for which we are building distribution in southern India.’’

Currently, Cadbury Kraft dominates the chocolates category with more than 60 per cent share along with new entrants like Ferraro and Mars.

The new FMCG start up would be subcontracting its manufacturing across the product categories it plans to enter in future like energy drinks, juices, packaged water and snacks along with chocolates.

Recently it has hired FMCG professionals like Anuradha Narsimhan(former Marketing Head of Britannia Industries) and even has the former director of Perfetti, Ashok Dhingra on its board of directors.

Global Consumer Products is also open to forging JVs with Japanese companies waiting to enter India since it has the Tokyo based Mitsui Global as a PE investor in the company.

`` The Mitsui Group also has a foods company and they could license some of the food brands to us or they could help us with forming JVs with FMCG companies wanting to enter India in specialised categories like noodles which need technology,’’ added Mahendran.

Mitsui Foods, a part of Mitsui Group also has a host of brands which could get licensed to the Indian start up. `` Mitsui Foods in Japan has the Royal tea and Coffee brands which get licensed to us,’’ added Mahendran.

Having built iconic brands like Goodknight and Hit, Mahendran has been the former Managing Director of Godrej Consumer Products before he launched its own FMCG start up nearly a year ago with an investment of Rs 315 crore from Goldman Sachs and Mitsui Global who have picked up 80 per cent in his company for the next five years.

``We are looking at a sales turnover of Rs 1200 crore in the next five years after which we will either sell out or list the company since we on the build, operate and transfer model,’’ said Mahendran.