Sarda Group to invest Rs 69 cr for expansion

Food services company Sarda Group today said it will invest close to Rs 69 crore on manufacturing juices of tropical Indian fruits and also on setting up a new manufacturing plant in North India.

"We have invested Rs 10.50 crore on our new range of fruit juices and another Rs 58 crore will be spent on establishing a new unit and further expansion," Sarda Group Chief Operating Officer Sandip Sinha said here at the launch of the company's new products.

The six new fruit juices, including amla, imli and kokum, would be available in tetra-packs and PET bottles are priced around Rs 15 and Rs 70 respectively, he said.

"We wanted to bring Indian regional fruits in the markets. The other major beverage companies are not into tropical fruits," Sinha said, adding the target markets include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The company, which has a manufacturing unit each in Nasik and Gujarat, is planning a third one in North India at an investment of Rs 30 crore by 2008-09.

"The decision to set up a unit in North is because we want to be closer to our target customers in Delhi and Punjab though we still have not zeroed in on the location," he said.

Sarda Group would also spend another Rs 15 crore for the expansion of its existing units.