Mother's Recipe plans frozen food foray, eyes Rs 500cr revenue

Pune-based packaged foods brand Mother's Recipe, which is eyeing a turnover of Rs 500 crore by 2018-19, is planning to enter the frozen food category in the next two years.
It clocked a revenue of over Rs 200 crore in 2014-15, while the estimated turnover for 2015-16 is Rs 250 crore.
"For financial year 2016-17 also we are expecting a 25 per cent growth. In the next 3 years we are looking at Rs 500 crore turnover," Desai Brothers - Food Division (Mother's Recipe) Vice President - Marketing and Sales, P Rajan Mathews, told PTI here.
The brand, which has a portfolio of pickles, ready-to-cook mix and cooking pastes, among others, is planning to foray into the frozen food category and will set up a dedicated unit in Gujarat.

"Frozen food is something we will see tremendous growth in. Two years down the line, we have plans of setting up a frozen unit for exports and domestic market.
"We are looking at frozen vegetables and frozen vegetarian snacks. Frozen vegetarian snacks is growing at 21-22 per cent CAGR and that is one of the segments which will grow. The only lacuna is cold chain, which has to be developed," he said, without divulging the financial details.

The global frozen food market is estimated to reach USD 306 billion by 2020, according to Allied Market Research.
The brand is present in the ready-to-eat food category in the exports market and will enter the domestic market in the third quarter of this fiscal.

Mathews said the company is targeting a market share of 10 per cent in the first two years in the category.
The brand, which has 25 per cent market share in the Rs 450 crore organised pickle industry in India, plans to increase its range.
It sells 47 varieties of pickles in the domestic market and exports 60 varieties.
In the Rs 300-crore cooking paste industry, it has a market share of 20 per cent and will expand its portfolio by adding onion and tomato paste in the last quarter of this fiscal.
Ready-to-cook spice market is estimated to be around Rs 400 crore and Mother's Recipe's market share is 10 per cent. The brand plans to take its total to 30 variants in the category from 24 at present.

The company has two exclusive stores in Pune and plans to roll out the 'experience zones' to other major cities in the future.
"We have started in Pune with 2 stores. We are looking at it as an experience zone. This year we should have 3 in Pune. We will wait for a year and then roll out in major cities. At least 2-3 store in each major city," Mathews said.
Mother's Recipe exports to 40 countries. Exports contribute to 40 per cent of the company's turnover.
With the increasing popularity of Indian cuisine globally, it is tweaking its distribution model and focusing on the large retailers rather than just specialty Indian or Asian stores.

"We are looking at moving from Indian diaspora to mainstream. Our distribution model will have to be different and we have to target retailers like Carrefour, Tesco, Walmart. We have started it in Australia where we are at Woolworths and it's doing well," he said.