Indian delicacies have been making waves in the West, but this one takes the cake.. err paani puri.
An Ahmedabad-based foods company has lined up a Rs 100 crore investment plan to cater to the slurpy demand in the US for paani puri.
A Innovative Food Products, a maker of paani puri and papad, is looking to ramp up its capacity several fold to have presence in the US, Middle East and other countries
Set up just two years ago, the food processing company said it would invest Rs100 crore by 2020 for expanding its paani puri, papad and pasta making capacity.
"Our current production capacity is 30 tonne per day. We will invest Rs 100 crore to double the capacity every year till 2020," Ankit Hansaliya, co-founder of the company, which markets these products under the brand name Shareat, said.
Hansaliya said the capacity expansion will enable them to start distribution of their products across India and all neighbouring countries.
"We are already exporting our products to Bangladesh and Nepal, and will expand presence to remaining countries in the region. We will also start supplying ethnic paani puri kits, and multi-grain paani puri and pasta to Middle East, US and Australia in the near future," he said.
Even as it is eyeing expansion to other countries, the company is also mindful of the huge opportunities the domestic market offers.
"The share of processed food in India is just 2%, and we believe that this offers immense opportunities. We are targeting youths and people who relish street food by promising the same taste, with better quality, and easy to prepare options," Hansaliya said in a release.
The company expects the domestic market to account for 75% of its business by 2022, with exports contributing the remaining 25%.
At present, the food processing firm sells paani puri and other products in UP, Bihar, Delhi, NCR, Gujarat, Punjab, MP, Karnataka and a number of other states.
"We also plan to launch retail packs of our products in modern trade and retail trade within the next one year," he said.
