Edible oil company Modi Naturals is set to foray into the packaged food business when the in-home consumption trend has gained traction and consumers are making a beeline for healthier products due to the pandemic. The company is launching a new sub-brand called Oleev Kitchen to launch “healthier-for-you” products starting with pasta and peanut butter while more products are on the cards.

Akshay Modi, Joint Managing Director, Modi Naturals, said, “In the next two years, we hope to earn revenues of about ₹ 50-60 crore from our packaged food business. Under the brand, Oleev Kitchen we plan to launch healthier-for-you products. Currently, we are piloting no-maida and high fiber pasta and peanut butter which also comes with the promise of protein. We are also evaluating other segments such as breakfast cereals among others and will add new products to this portfolio in the next couple of months.”

“Our popcorn brand PIPO has seen strong traction in the past one year. Under brand, PIPO, we will be looking at expanding our presence in indulgence and snacking space. We are looking at the ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat segments ,” he added.

The company, which has a strong presence in the edible oil space , is known for Oleev, Rizolo and Miller. It closed FY 21 with revenues of ₹446.63 crore up 15 per cent compared to the same period last year and said that its consumer business witnessed strong double-digit growth.

“ Our foray into packaged food segment will enable us to leverage distribution synergies with our edible oils business. We have a strong distribution in modern trade and premium general trade stores. At the same time, our e-commerce business has grown by nearly three times since our products due to the strong in-home consumption trends,” Modi added. In the next two years, the company is also looking to grow its direct distribution in urban regions from about 50,000 outlets to 60,000-70,000 outlets.

Talking about the olive oil segment, Modi said that after a challenging few years due to macro-economic factors, the segment in India has now begun witnessing volume growth. “ We have a market share of 16-17 per cent in the olive oil space and our growth in the segment has outpaced the market growth trends in the past year,” he added.

Bioethanol diversification

In a BSE filing in April, Modi Naturals Ltd said it is setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary called Modi Biotech Pvt Ltd for carrying out business operations of manufacturers of spirits and related activities. “ With the Central government’s focus on ethanol blending with petrol, this subsidiay has been set up to diversify in the bioethanol space. We see a huge potential in this space and hence we will be looking at setting up a bioethanol plant under this subsidiary,” Modi added.

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