Rasna looks at ramping up capacity, distribution

After starting its new manufacturing facility in Hyderabad in January, Rasna could set up a plant in the North-East region.

Piruz Khambatta, CMD, Rasna, said, “We want to set up more medium-sized plants across the country as it helps to manage logistics as well as freight costs. In the near future, we are looking at the North-East region as it has huge potential… We are looking at setting up a plant in either an industrial area or a food park in the region.”

The company is considering investments of about ₹50 crore to set up this plant. Rasna currently has nine manufacturing facilities across the country.

Talking about plans for the summer, Khambatta said the company this year is focusing on pushing promotional schemes for products that come with freebies and collectibles, not just in modern trade outlets, but across smaller outlets in the country. These schemes will be backed with an ad campaign featuring Akshay Kumar and Naisha Khanna.

“Our aim is not just to strengthen the market share in the powder drink segment, but also compete with fruit drinks. Our instant drink powder Rasna Fruit Plus is fortified with vitamins and minerals and offers natural fruit energy in a drink. It’s targeted as a hydration solution not just for summer, but also for consumption for round the year.”

So for instance, the company’s promotional scheme offers a sipper and an ice cooling stick that makes it convenient to consume, just like any other fruit drink, he added.

The company has also strengthened its sales field force team with 800 people this season. “The major thrust needs to be on growing visibility of our products and distribution . Additionally, we are banking on our super distributors in rural regions,” Khambatta said .

Talking about rural slowdown, Khambatta said in the past 2-3 years, rural economy has not done well.

“As more and more government benefits trickle down to rural regions, and if this year sees good monsoons, we expect rural demand to pick up.”

Nearly 30-35 per cent of the company’s sales come from rural regions.

Last year, the company also forayed into the breakfast snack segment with Vitos.

Khambatta said, “Right now, we are focusing on growing the penetration of our snacks brand Vitos and strengthening its distribution.

“We hope Vitos will have a presence across 2-2.5 lakh outlets by June. After that, we will focus on marketing it and launching an ad campaign.”