Bharti Enterprises Ltd on Tuesday said it will import and sell the Philippines-based Del Monte Pacific Ltd’s processed food products, including packaged fruits and drinks, in the Indian market. Both the companies will also invest Rs 100 crore to establish a manufacturing facility to make some of the products locally.
The proposed facility, to be established near Hosur in Tamil Nadu, is expected to start operations in the next year 2010, Bharti Enterprises’ vice-chairman and managing director Rakesh Bharti Mittal said.
“When the Hosur facility becomes operational, we will make packaged fruit drinks, juices, and culinary products like ketchups and sauces in India,” Mittal said, adding, “We will continue to import packaged fruits like pineapple from Del Monte till we improve and expand the Hosur facility.”
The company will begin selling Del Monte’s products in India in 15 cities to begin with, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi (National Capital Region), Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad. It also expects to expand its sales to 25-30 cities in about one year after it covers initial 15 cities, Mittal said.
There is already a market for premium processed foods in India in metro cities, which is also fast expanding into second tier cities as well, he said.
“India’s fast expanding economy, evolving consumer needs, and the emergence of organised retail offer tremendous opportunities for growth,” Mittal said.
The foray to retail Del Monte’s products in India marks Bharti’s entry into the processed food and beverage segments. Bharti Enterprises will sell Del Monte’s processed food products in India under the Del Monte brand only, while it will continue to sell fresh fruits and vegetables under the FieldFresh Foods brand in its joint venture with the Philippines-based group, Mittal said.
FieldFresh procures fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers and sells those into domestic and global markets within a very short span, while maintaining their freshness. The company exported 270 tonnes of corn and babycorn in the last fiscal year that ended March 31, and sold more than 8,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables in the domestic market, FieldFresh Foods’ chief executive officer Sanjay Nandrajog said.
