SIL to venture into biscuits business

Explaining about the Seabuckthorn fruit, Dhanota said it was hailed as the king of vitamin C, as it is the richest source of Vitamin C in the world.

"A glass of Leh Berry contains almost 16 times Vitamin C than that in orange juice. It has the natural goodness of over 100 nutrients, 8 vitamins, 24 minerals, 18 amino acids, primary anti-oxidants, carotenoids, flavonoids and essential bioactive substances vital for growth and body functions. The Seabuckthorn market is ever growing with the present global prospect of Rs 5000 crores. China is the market leader and our group is already aiming at Rs 1,000 crores mark in the next couple of years.''

The Indage Group, with an annual turnover of Rs 600 crores is known by its major enterprises in the field of wines and champagnes. Champagne Indage Limited has brands like Chantilli, Riviera, Ivy and Marquee De-Pompadour, while Indage Hotels Limited has brands like Athena and Nandos under their belt.

Seabuckthorn Indage Limited was incorporated in August 2005. The company is also planning to set up integrated manufacturing-cum-research and development facility with the latest state-of-the-art technology at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh with an investment of Rs 25 crores.

"Right now we don't have any plans to set up any manufacturing unit in Punjab," he added.

Further adding he said the company planned to launch each of the seabuckthorn products through the shop-to-shop concept, where retailers would be brought in as marketing partners, thus bringing the whole family of consumers, retailers and manufacturers together.

"Market of juices, nectars and fruit-based drinks in India is growing by almost 50 to 55 per cent for the last three years and has a market size of Rs 800 crore. Our company plans to capture 10 per cent of this industry in the next one year," he said.