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Mayiladuthurai-headquartered desiccated coconut company, KMR Industries, is eyeing the domestic retail market to accelerate its growth plans.
Business Line caught up with its Director, Mr S. Mukunthan, at the Agri Intex Fair here.
The fair, organised by the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) is an annual event.
The small industries body partners with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Banking and the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University to conduct the event.
And in this 12th edition, KMR Industries has taken a stall.
Sharing his experience, Mr Mukunthan said that KMR has been participating in the last three editions of the Agri Intex Fair.
‘The product is well received particularly by home makers and working women as also the health-conscious consumers.
‘Currently, it is available in Hyper Marts in Chennai and Coimbatore. We are in dialogue with a few people here for marketing the 100 and 200 gm desiccated coconut pouches,' he said.
KMR Industries, a TIIC-supported venture, was started in 2006.
‘In the initial days of this venture, around 3,000 nuts were grated every day. It has since risen to 10,000 nuts a day and the daily desiccated coconut production is 1,000 kg,' says Mr Mukunthan.
Around 60 per cent of the production is being exported. ‘There is a huge demand for desiccated coconut in the US and Czechoslovakia. But then, we export in bulk (25 kg bag). Only 10 per cent of the production is packeted and sold in super markets,' he said.
The company sells 80 per cent of the production in bulk, he added.
‘Our margin is very less when we resort to bulk sales. So, we decided to enter the retail space. We have spent close to Rs 24 lakh in branding and sales promotion activities,' he said.
The company sources the nuts from the markets in and around Mayiladuthurai.
Around 35 workers, mostly women are engaged in production.
lnr@thehindu.co.in
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