24 Lettered Mantra eyes Rs 400 cr sales

Wholesome food. Wholesome life. That's 24 Lettered Mantra, a retail chain for organic products, which is planning on expanding its reach across the country with the launch of 30 to 40 stores over the next two years.

Opening its first store in the city at Baner, Radashekar Reddy Seelam, managing director, Sresta Natural Bioproducts Pvt Ltd, the promoting company for 24 Lettered Mantra said, "We plan to open 30 to 40 stores at an investment of Rs 20 crore over the next two years and also start exports to the UK, which is a $13.5 billion market."

Currently, the retail chain has one company-owned store in Hyderabad and has franchisees for Chennai and Bangalore, where it has two stores, and Pune.

Pegging the domestic market at Rs 1,000 crore with the estimated land under organic farming at 1 to 1.5 lakh acre growing at 25 to 30 per cent acreage, Sresta, which has its own integrated contract farming projects spread across 5,000 acre in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Orissa, "plans on adding 12,000 to 13,000 acre over the next two years", said Seelam.

"We have been adding 1,500 acre each year for the last three years," he pointed out. 24 Lettered Mantra is a one-of-its-kind attempt to provide organic food in an organised retail venture.

Currently, the company has received venture capital funding worth Rs 5 crore from a domestic venture capitalist focused on life sciences. "We are looking for additional funding of Rs 25 crore to Rs 30 crore to support our expansion plans," he stated.

Speaking of the company's revenues, he said, "We are targeting revenues of Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore this financial year and looking at a breakeven point within two years. In the next five years, we aim to become a Rs 400 crore entity."

Detailing the plans for Pune, Sunil Jalihal, director, Tenet Retail, the franchisee partner for Bangalore and Pune said, "In Pune, we are opening three more stores beginning with Kalyani Nagar in the next 3 to 4 months followed by one on NIBM Road and Deccan within the next 12 months and six more in Bangalore over the next 18 months. In Maharashtra, we will have 10 to 12 stores spread across Nagpur, Mumbai and Pune," he added.

With a product range that includes fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, dals, flours, cold-pressed edible oils, spices, tea, coffee, jams, marmalades, pickles, jaggery, bakery products and more, the retail chain will be adding more products soon the next 3 to 4 months, besides introducing nuts, like hazel nuts, brasil nuts and blueberries, which are not available here locally.