Lanyard Foods Ltd (LFL), a leading oil trading company, has targeted the south Indian market with its new coconut hair-oil offering, 'Onam'.
The brand is positioned against 'Parachute' of Marico Industries and Cococare of Hindustan Lever Ltd and is targeting sales of Rs 1,000 crore for the current fiscal.
Lanyard Foods is also planning to enter palmolein and soy bean futures trading.
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Shailesh Desai, managing director, Lanyard Foods Ltd, said that "an innovative marketing plan will penetrate the coconut hair-oil market in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh". "This oil is extracted from the coconut plantations that the company has in south India," Desai said.
"The brand will be competing against other players such as Parachute and Cococare and will soon be entering the western and northern states," he added.
Elaborating on the marketing strategy, Desai said, "We are not keen on heavy advertising at the moment. Instead, we want to strengthen our regional distribution base by offering state-specific schemes and other lucrative incentives.
In the last couple of years we have developed a significant presence in other oil variants."
Desai added, "We should close the current year with sales turnover between Rs 1,000-1,100 crore. During the last three years, we were growing at more than 80 per cent per annum with extremely thin margins. However, with our entry in the branded segment our margins are likely to improve." Desai ruled out any plans for entering castor futures but added that the company is keeping its options open for palmolein and soybean futures trading.
He also said that there are no plans to go in for a private placement at the moment. The company's share price has appreciated more than 650 per cent from Rs 10 to Rs 75 in the last ten months. >