Tata Chemicals, which has just become the first branded national player in pulses, expects to team up with five million farmers
R Gopalakrishnan, Tata Chemicals Vice Chairman, calls it the ‘farm to fork’ strategy. Just a fortnight ago, the company became the country’s first national branded player in pulses by launching four popular varieties – chana, toor, urad and moong under the i-Shakti brand name.
And Gopalakrishnan says the initiative is holistic in nature and takes due care in every process – from seed to food – and therefore the term ‘farm to fork”, which involves millions of farmers.
But will the entry into a segment that has been avoided so far by big Indian players work? Experts say it will – for a variety of reasons. First, Tata Chemicals, a major player in fertilizers and chemicals, is no stranger to foods. It already has three major products – the Tata Salt and i-Shakti Salt – and a cooking soda brand named Samunder, and has set up a strong distribution network comprising over 600 Tata Kisan Sansar outlets apart from the traditional kirana stores and modern format food retail chains.
This is a huge advantage as the same distribution network (1.5 million-plus outlets across the country) has helped Tata Chemicals to maintain its dominant position in salts despite the presence of many strong domestic players in this business. Tata Chemicals has 58 per cent market share in the packaged salt market with production of over 700,000 tonnes of salt every year.
Second, Tata Chemicals has a formidable procurement/supply chain in the rural areas. The company, which already supplies fertilisers to farmers, can easily utilize this strength.
Ashvini Hiran, chief operating officer, consumer products division of Tata Chemicals, says the branded pulses, priced between Rs 95 and Rs 100, will be initially available in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It will reach the rest of the country by March. “India is the largest producer, consumer and also the largest importer of pulses. This was the main reason for us deciding to offer quality branded pulses”, he says.
The background work done for the foray into pulses was exhaustive. Tata Chemicals and its subsidiary Rallis India initiated the mission on pulses in April, last year. The companies teamed up with the Tamil Nadu government to cultivate pulses using modern farming practices at Pudukiottai in Tamil Nadu. Around 500 to 700 farmers were involved in the pilot project, which was later extended to Punjab.
The company also launched a campaign ‘GrowMorePulses’ to bring together communities associated with the production of pulses, including the academic, agricultural and government sectors. The campaign also plans to spread awareness of the benefits of cultivating pulses, develop a stronger and more accessible knowledge base for pulses cultivation, and provide the agricultural community with information and tools that can help improve its production.
“We expect about five million farmers to participate and benefit by teaming up with us in pulses cultivation”, says Hiran.
India produces about 14-15 million tonnes of pulses every year, but demand is about 18 million tonnes per annum. The balance is imported from countries such as Canada, Myanmar and China. Lack of quality hybrid seeds, modern cultivation practices and thin profit margins discourage farmers from growing pulses.
Tata Chemicals’ branding strategy will revolve around messages on natural, farm fresh pure ‘desi daal’ with no added chemicals, polish or colour, says Hiran. Factors like maximum protein power, 100 per cent laser-sorted, machine-cleaned and graded uncut daal, superior in quality over other packed or loose dal, will be also highlighted to create brand equity especially among house wives, he added.
The company is also planning to position the branding of pulses similar to Tata Salt’s “ Desh ka Namak” commercials, which associates the brand with a nationalistic feeling and creates a passionforthe brand among consumers.
“Pulses are the cheapest and the richest source of protein for the vegetarian Indian. I-Shakti Dal was launched with the mission of not only increasing production of pulses in India to help bridge the existing gap between demand and supply of pulses in the country, but also provide better reliable quality, hygienic pulses to Indian household”, says R Mukundan, managing director of Tata Chemicals.
Tata Chemicals has plans to launch more brands in food retailing, but will not reveal the plans at this moment.
