Galla Foods Private Limited, owned by the promoter family of industrial and automotive battery manufacturer Amara Raja Group, is targeting to capture 10 per cent share of the fruit drinks market in India in the next five years.
Announcing the company's foray into the domestic fruit drinks market with the launch of two products – Classical Mango and Apple-Litchi – here on Wednesday, Jay Galla, managing director of Galla Foods, said the company was seeing south India as a key market and was targeting to tap 3 per cent by the end of this year.
The domestic fruit drinks market is currently pegged at Rs 2,400 crore, which is expected to double to Rs 4,800 crore or 810 million litre in the next five years. The south Indian fruit juices market is estimated at 92 million litre with 98 per cent contributed by fruit drinks.
Branded fruit juices consumed primarily as thirst quenchers with fruit pulp content up to 21 per cent are classified as fruit drinks and account for nearly 76 per cent of the overall market.
“When it comes to product strategy, we compare ourselves with automobile maker Maruti, which has most of its models in the small car segment. WIth mango dominating the fruit juices market with 98 per cent share, our future products will also be mango-based – complete with some emerging taste preferences,” Galla said, adding the company was planning more new launches shortly.
Galla Foods is already into the mango nectar segment and its Think Mango brand currently enjoys a 49 per cent share of the Rs 24 crore or 7.2 million litre market down south.
According to Asheesh Nigam, head (sales and marketing), the company would concentrate on the three south states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – this year and go for a pan-India presence from the year after, besides expanding its manufacturing footprint across the country. Galla Foods has a 9-million litre a year beverage capacity in its Chittoor plant.
The company clocked revenues of Rs 55 crore, which includes its fruit concentrates and pulp exports business, last year. It foresees revenues of Rs 85 crore this year, Galla said, adding “the company’s beverages business is expected to account for Rs 15 crore of this.”