Freedom Oil, a beloved brand of every kitchen

Launching a new product, building a successful brand and taking it to the tops is quite a task in the Indian context. If it’s a consumer product, the challenge is that much higher.

Gemini Edibles & Fats India (GEF India), the Hyderabad headquartered company, has in a way achieved this through the ‘Freedom’ brand oil. Though, not fully pan India yet, it has emerged as the market leader in the Sunflower oil segment in volume sales. All this has done with in a decade.

Hyderabad is known for its high growth in IT, Retail, BFSI, Seeds, Agri Institutes and housing global brands in different sectors. The Telangana State government has also been proactive in encouraging innovation, startups and supporting ventures in these areas. Therefore, the rise of a consumer brand in the highly competitive FMCG segment is a ‘ feather in the cap’ for the young State, formed in 2014.

GEF India is an entrepreneurial venture of industry veteran, Mr Pradeep Chowdhry who left ITC and started it in 2009-10. It is into edible oil manufacturing and selling. Currently Golden Agri International (GAR) Singapore owns majority share, which is one of the leading integrated palm oil plantation companies globally GEF India has three manufacturing plants in Andhra Pradesh with a combined edible oils processing capacity of 2600 MTS per day.

Narrating the evolution of ‘Freedom brand oil’, P Chandra Shekhara Reddy, Senior Vice President ( Sales & Marketing) of the company says, “ The company sensed the need for a good sunflower oil product in the market. We quickly developed and introduced it under the name of ‘Freedom’. Within three years, the product grew in acceptance and was creating waves”.

As per the latest sales figures, the  brand has garnered a 21% market share in SFO category in India as per Nielsen RMS data. It consistently outperforms competition and industry norms in terms of profitability.

The product is a leader in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and growing very well in the states Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. It has presence in parts of Jharkand, Maharastra,Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Plans are afoot to expand its reach, he said.

 Meanwhile, the company’s flagship brand ‘Freedom Refined Sunflower Oil’ has been adjudged No.1 brand (Nielsen IQ data on Refined Oil Consumer Pack) by volume sales in the sunflower oil segment in the country.

GEF India has launched four products under the ‘Freedom ‘brand - Sunflower oil, Mustard oil, Rice bran oil and Groundnut oil. The   success story of the ‘Freedom oil’ brand has been published in the reputed Harvard Business Journal. It has also found a place as a Case Study taught to the MBA students in the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), explained Chandra Shekhara Reddy who has over 30 years experience in the industry.  

GEF India began operations by setting up its edible oil refineries in the port based town of Krishnapatnam in undivided AP in 2010. At that time over 60% of edible oil and most of sunflower oil was imported. There was huge demand for a quality product in South India. After tasting success, the company expanded with another unit near the Kakinada port in 2014. At present it has two plants in Kakinada and a large one in Krishnapatnam.

Very soon, GEF India will set up its maiden unit in Telangana. “The new facility to come up on the outskirts of Hyderabad will  be an integrated processing facility unlike the ones near the ports in AP where we are processing crude oil that we import”, says Pradeep Chowdhry, the Managing Director.

The unit will augment production capacities. It will involve an investment of around Rs 600 crore in two phases and provide employment to 1000 people  from the Telangana State. It will  support many oilseed farmers too, he said after a meeting with K T Rama Rao, State minister for Industries, IT and Urban Development recently. The Minister, KTR  said the investment by Gemini Edibles would play an important role in employment generation and helping the farmers in the State.  

Expansion & Directional Shift in Strategy:

Looking ahead, GEF will focus on expansion into South and Western markets, especially Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharastra. But, the big shift is expected to come with its increased engagement with State governments and seed companies. “The aim is to focus on the farmer and  give more value to him in the next decade. So far, we have given value to the consumer. This will mean a directional change”, explained Chandra Shekhara Reddy.

 With the domestic oilseed market predicted to grow, GEF India is gearing up to meet the demands in the segments it operates. The company is going with a strategy of reaching out to cover about 500 kms of market from each of its plants, he said.

A look at the overall market scenario shows that the imports of edible oils have been constant since 2020. On the price front, after a sharp rise post pandemic, the prices of edible oils, were coming down. On the demand side,  Soybean, rapeseed, rice bran and groundnut oils are also notching up steady growth.

With the import of vegetable oils, including edible and non-edible oils, touching  14.12 million tonnes (mt) during the first 10 months of 2022-23, Industry experts predict a record import of over 16.5 (mt) during the current oil year ending in October. India’s highest import ever was 15.1(mt) in 2016-17.

Societal Role:

As part of its outreach and commitment to society, GEF has been playing an active role in several initiatives over the last few years. Under its corporate social responsibility, the company has recently built and donated a centre in Warangal to the Telangana Police project called ‘ Bharosa’ for the welfare of women. It was inaugurated by the State minister, KT Rama Rao in October 2023 first week. The Bharosa support centres help women and children who are victims of violence and are managed by the SHE teams of the Telangana Police.

Similarly, it is supporting about 200 Kishori Bal Vikas Kendra’s (girl child care centre) run by the Seva Bharati Trust. Here, the girl children of labourers of slums dwellers are engaged in skill development, tuitions and other support by volunteers after they return from School till the parents come back home from their work. This helps prevent dropout of girl child and also boost the confidence of both the kids and poor parents. Beyond, the regular CSR activities near its operational plants in AP, the company has also helped an NGO in Shimoga in Karnataka to save and restore a lake. Similar efforts are being identified for support in Hyderabad too. Another regular and significant continuing programme is providing vans (10 so far) to the Akshayapatra foundation which in turn provides free meals to lakhs of people on a daily basis across several states of the country.

Looking Ahead and Challenges:

With over a 1000 employees across its plants and sales offices, GEF India is rated among one of the best companies to work with. The attrition rate is quite low and it is largely attributed to the ‘people friendly’ nature of the top management, especially the founder & MD, Pradeep Chowdhry. The company also sponsors many activities that promote the brand and also involves its staff welfare.

Manpower and talent are a challenge as far as marketing and trading skills are concerned being based in Hyderabad. It’s easy to get finance and engineering professionals given the diversity of corporate in the city and the academic institutions, the company says.

In the first decade of its full fledged operations, GEF India has grown into a whopping Rs 11,000 crore turnover company. Buoyed by the rapid growth, the company has decided to expand into new category and come up with a new offering called ‘Lamp’ oil,  says Chandra Shekhara Reddy.

The coming years will see an exciting phase of rising demand, competition and growing consumer preferences in the Indian market and we at GEF India are gearing up to meet the expectations and achieve a healthy growth, says Chandra Shekhara Reddy.

Manufacturing Unit

The unit to come up near Hyderabad will see an investment of around Rs 600 crore

and provide employment to 1000 people from the Telangana State