Frozen food firm Himalya International has formed a 50:50 joint venture with US-based food and agribusiness conglomerate JR Simplot to market its products in the country and South East Asia.
"We are forming a 50:50 JV with JR Simplot -- Himalya-Simplot -- to market our products in India and South East Asia. Both the companies will initially invest $5 million in the venture," Himalya International Managing Director and Co-Founder Sanjiv Kakkar said.
The JV, headed by four directors, two from each company, aims at sales of $50 million in India and South East Asia markets within the next three years, he said.
Besides marketing, JR Simplot will provide technological expertise in potato farming and in production of french fries, he said.
JR Simplot is $4.5 billion global food and agribusiness conglomerate, with products that are sold in every state of America and many foreign countries.
Himalya International has two manufacturing units in the country, one in Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh) and one in Vad Nagar (Gujarat) with a daily production of 240 tonne. The company also has a small production unit in the US.
"These units are adequate enough to cater to our needs. However, after 2014, depending on the demand we may consider establishing another one or increasing the capacity of the existing units," he said.
At present, Himalya International exports mushrooms, french fries, onion rings, breaded appetisers, mozzarella sticks and fruit yogurts and cans of soups to the US, Latin America and Europe.
"We export mainly to the US and through it to Latin America and a small consignment to Europe. Now we will market products in South East Asia and aim our shipments to be $200 million by 2014," he said.
