Comments
FieldFresh Foods, which sells Del Monte brand of packaged food and juices, is planning to expand beyond the urban areas in India for which it will introduce products in more affordable range targeting the mass market.
A joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific Ltd, Field Fresh is also looking to double its retail presence to one lakh outlets in the next one year and is also planning to bring in more products.
“We are present in 100 cities with our entire range of around 100 SKUs. These 100 cities represent 75 per cent of urban consumption. Now we want to go deeper, make our products available to the masses and to as many places as possible,” FieldFresh Foods Chief Executive Officer Mr Sanjay Nandrajog told PTI.
As part of the plan, the company is bringing its products in different sizes and formats and at different price points.
For instance, the company has now introduced fruit juices in PET bottles of 500 ml for Rs 28 over and above the existing cans of 240 ml at Rs 25 a can.
“Our products are coming up in sachets. We have launched our Four Seasons juice in PET format along with mango flavour. These are the products, amiable to be well distributed,” he said, adding the firm would also tap the modern trade to improve its distribution and sales channels.
Mr Nandrajog said the company had recently introduced Del Monte brand of ketchup and sauces in sachets at Rs 1.25 to cater to the volume segment.
Besides, the company will invest on building its brand and enhancing its distribution its brand presence in India over the next one year, he added.
“We will keep investing behind brands, behind distribution and new product development...We would like to place more and more SKUs in more outlets and gain our outlet share...we would like to see 1,00,000 outlets in the next 12 months,” he added
Mr Nandrajog, however, said the surging input prices are a challenge for the company in making its products affordable.
“The challenge definitely is that today we have the rising cost and the expectation of consumers is value for money..we have to keep providing value and keep ourselves competitive in the market,” he said.
Ruling out any price hikes in the immediate future, he said the company is looking to introduce its other operations, including packaging.
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.