Food to be a major vertical for the DS group in the next five years.
Catch, a spice brand of the DS Group, will launch a line of blends, fresh grinds, sprinklers and seasoning spices to appeal to people from different cultures and regions.
The DS group has come up with a three-pronged strategy to ensure growth of the Catch brand. Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman and MD of the company, said, “The strategy has been developed based on a detailed market research of food habits of people in small, medium and big cities. Catch plans to double its manufacturing base and grow to a Rs 200 crore brand this financial year.”
The strategy will be to make Catch a pan-India player with more regional blends, launch fresh grinds to cater to urban tastes, expand the dealer network and upgrade production facilities.
In line with its vision to make Catch a pan-India player, the company recently launched a new blend, ‘Sambhar powder,’ in South India for the South Indian thali. This blend has been launched as ‘sambar masala’ in other parts of the county.
“We want to cater to the specific needs of regional cultures and palates. The ‘Sambhar’ blend is an integral part of the South Indian cuisine and is consumed with similar fondness in other parts of the country. Hence, we came out with this variant. We will soon come up with other flavours.”
The DS group maintained that food would be a major business vertical for the next five years despite the group’s presence in areas like hospitality, packaging and infrastructure. Catch has been a very popular brand in North and Central India since its launch in 1987 as a table-top sprinkler for salt and pepper.
The other recently launched blends are ‘Pudina Chutney Masala Mix’ and ‘Raita masala’. Catch has also developed ‘Rasam powder’ and ‘Biryani masala’ keeping the southern flavour in mind. For lovers of pickles and spicy foods, Catch is developing Achari Masala for North Indians. For pure vegetarians, there is a treat with ‘Shahi Pulao Masala’ without onion and garlic. ‘Biryani masala’ and ‘Shahi pulao masala’ were test-marketed recently. ‘Fish masala’ for the eastern parts of the country is another addition.
Catering to the urban audience will be Catch’s Fresh Grinds rangem including Garlic Salt, Italian Seasoning, Magic Masala, Pepper and Crystal rock salt.
The total spice market in India is about Rs 40,000 crore, out of which Rs 5,500 crore is branded. Branded products include national players, regional players, local players and in-store brands. In the branded segment, MDH is the leader with a seven per cent market share while Catch spices command three-four per cent of the market. All other players, MTR, Everest and in-store brands have a share of three-five per cent each.
The turnover of the brand in 2009-10 was Rs 144 crore. The projected turnover for 2010-11 is Rs 240 crore. To further increase its capacity, the group has invested around Rs 100 crore in a new unit at Greater Noida. It will be completed in about two-and-a-half years.
“The DS group plans to leverage its dealer network expansion and upgrade of production facilities by following a well-defined procedure for product development & quality assurance. Accordingly, we have expanded our distribution network from 88,342 to 145,000 plus retail outlets and 811 to 1,215 distributors in the past nine months,” said Kumar.
The company is focusing on below the line activities and is promoting Catch at five-star hotels, top-notch caterers and restaurants. Kumar confirmed, “We are regularly meeting chefs of renowned hotels to ensure that our product remains the most preferred in their menu.”
