Peepul Capital-owned Innovative Foods Ltd., which sells frozen food products under Sumeru brand, has drawn up plans to grow its domestic market business by almost five times to ₹250 crore in the next three years by focusing on top 10 cities, said a top official.
“Currently, we are present in 10,000 retail outlets of all format stores from kirana to departmental stores to modern trade,” said Mithun Appaiah, chief executive officer, Innovative Foods Ltd. “Our goal is to be present in 25,000 stores.”
Last year, the firm posted a revenue of about ₹55 crore through retail sales, exports and food service. This year, it might hit ₹90 crore primarily driven by product innovation, R&D, doubling of distributors and through digital presence. The Bengaluru-headquartered firm has two manufacturing units — Kochi and Chitoor — producing about 4,000 tonnes of frozen foods and ready-to-eat items in vegetarian and non-vegetarian categories.
While Chitoor plant was inaugurated during April 2018, Kochi plant has been in existence for over 30 years and it was also renovated recently. Over the years, Kochi plant had changed hands from the founders to Tatas to India Equity Partners and to Peepul Capital. Only a small portion of shares are held by employees and shareholders.
Exports
The frozen food products are shipped to more than 10 countries with the U.S. accounting for a major chunk, followed by Singapore, London, Fuji and Mauritius. “We are planning to make a foray into the U.K., West Asia and Canada where Indian diaspora is huge. The first consignment to Australia was shipped recently and we are yet to explore Japan and China,” he said.
The firm recently rolled out six new products along with its signature ‘frozen gourmet meals’ in collaboration with 13 time Michelin Starred chef Alfred Prasad. With this, the firm is offering 95 shop keeping units.