The company sells 25 variants including cookies, snack bars and crackers and plans to add two to three more variants by the end of December this year.
The coronavirus pandemic seems to have prompted people to change their food habits and turn towards healthier options.
In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Sreenivasulu Vudayagiri, CEO of Unibic India, says that during the lockdown, the company has witnessed a huge demand for healthy cookies such as oatmeal digestive cookies, honey oatmeal, multigrain and muesli.
“We have seen very good growth in our health segment. People are sitting at home generally; they want to have some snacks but at the same time they are cautious about health,” he observed.
Overall, the company sells 25 variants including cookies, snack bars and crackers, and plans to add two to three more variants by the end of December this year.
The company on an average manufactures 4,000 tonnes of cookies per month with each cookie weighing between 6-8 grams.
About Unibic and its revenue
Last year, in November, the founder of Unibic India Nikhil Sen passed away suddenly. He left behind a 15-year-old legacy of a popular cookie brand, which was acquired by Peepul Capital in 2012. Currently, Peepul Capital holds 90 percent stake in the firm.
Nikhil Sen had built the company into a Rs 380 crore brand.
Vudayagiri, a partner at Peepul Capital, took over the business as CEO in 2019. The company has now reached Rs 500 crore revenue.
In the first quarter of the current financial year, the company has grown by 30 percent to Rs 500 crore and expects to grow by 15-18 percent in FY21.
“We have grown 10 times in the last eight years and we have been growing anywhere between two and a half to three times every year. We expect around 15-18 percent growth for FY21,” Vudayagiri said.
In terms of the revenue break up, about 45 percent of earnings comes from South India, mainly from major metros.
The company is looking to accelerate growth, diversify product portfolios and expand reach in semi-urban and rural areas in India and overseas markets in 2020.
Currently, Unibic India exports to 21 countries with top markets being the Middle-East and parts of Asia, followed by the US, Europe and Australia.
Expansion plans
The company has the largest wire cut cookie manufacturing plant in India, located in Bengaluru which is running at almost 100 percent capacity.
“In May 2020, we achieved full capacity at the plant during the slowdown and now we are at more than 90 percent capacity to meet consumer needs,” Vudayagiri said.
He further added that the company is on the lookout for land in Hyderabad for setting up one more manufacturing plant which will be commissioned by next year.