Leading basmati rice firm LT Foods has widened its offering of value-added foods by launching cuppa rice under ‘Daawat brand’ on Tuesday, with the first order being dispatched to Indian Railways. The company hopes that the instant rice will be an instant hit as it is healthier, tastier and easy to prepare by just adding hot water.
After three months, LT Foods will decide on production capacity and investment upon evaluating the market response for the product, it added.
“We have launched ‘Daawat Cuppa Rice’ to test the market today. We have got the first order from Indian Railways,” LT Foods Managing Director and CEO Ashwani Arora told PTI in an interview.
State-run Indian Railways has placed an order for supply of 2,000 cuppa rice, which is being dispatched, he said.
Arora said, “The new product is just like any other cuppa noodles. Add garam pani (hot water) and it is ready to eat. It’s a very delicious product. We are confident this product will be an instant hit“.
Indian Railways plan to sell the product on station and inside trains in north India amid Covid-19 crisis, where it has stopped selling cooked meals inside trains.
The company has taken one and half years to develop the product, which is now being tested in the market.
“After three months, we will see the response and decide on the production capacity and investment,” Arora said, adding that a large investment may not be required for this product.
Besides, the company said it has two more innovative products in its pipeline, which will be launched at an appropriate time.
On other value-added products, Arora said the company will market the premium rice snack ‘Kari Kari’, launched in January this year, in more outlets in the coming months with relaxing of Covid-19 lockdown rules.
“Initially, we had plans to market the ‘Kari Kari’ product in 3,000 outlets. Unfortunately, we could not do it because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the lockdown rules are being relaxed, we will start introducing this product in more outlets,” he said.
Currently, the Kari Kari product, made from rice and peanuts, is being sold in 150 outlets in metro cities --Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Daawat quick cooking brown rice, fortified basmati rice, saute sauces are other value-added products of the company.
Asked about any impact of Covid-19 crisis on LT Foods’ business, Arora said there has not been much impact as the operations were running in full capacity.
The home consumption of its products has gone up but from food services has come down. However, the growth in home consumption has offset fall in demand from food services providers, he said, adding that the company is aiming to deliver a double digit growth in its revenue this fiscal.
LT Foods has presence in over 65 countries with revenue of ₹ 4,183.99 crore in the 2019-20. It has five manufacturing units in India.
The company’s other brands include Ecolife, Royal, Devaaya, Heritage, Indus Valley, Rozana and Daawat Chef’s Secretz.