Japanese food processing and seasoning company Ajinomoto India, which produces Hapima range of products, will focus on making seasoning for vegetarian dishes.

Atsushi Mishuku, Director, told BusinessLine that the company is working on a new range of seasoning for vegetable dishes, which comes with ready-made garnishing.

According to market research done by the company, though there are plenty of seasoning available in the State, products that cater exclusively to vegetarian dishes are very less. Govinda Biswas, Manager – Marketing, said the frequency of consumption of vegetable dishes is very high, at least four times a week, compared to meat-based dishes.

But there are hardly any players in the market that cater to this particular market, he added.

Mishuku said, “Making products exclusively for this category will differentiate us and will help us reach wider audience.”

Currently, the company will concentrate on strengthening its market in Tamil Nadu before scaling up to neighbouring States.

The company is the distributor of Ajinomoto (mono sodium glutamate) and manufactures seasoning for fried rice and crispy fries under its brand Hapima. In Tamil Nadu, the product has a presence in 30,000 retail outlets and is looking to scale up its distribution network in Bengaluru from 3,000 outlets and three distributors due to increasing demand for Hapima products. The new product, which is in research and development stage, is likely to hit the market in another two years and will be produced in the same manufacturing facility, which is on an expansion mode.

The company has so far invested ₹30 crore, which includes the investment for expansion and will have the total capacity of 2,000 tonnes.

Recently, Ajimoto entered a joint venture partnership with Toyo Suisan Kaisha, a Japanese noodle maker.

The joint venture Maruchan Ajinomoto is a new entity and produces noodles under brand name A&M priced at ₹12.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW