Dhuri (Punjab) [India], November 24 : KRBL Ltd, a publicly listed company which is popular for its 'India Gate' basmati rice, is foraying into mixed spices and rice bran edible oil segments.
India Gate brand has already forayed into other premium non-basmati rice categories that typically sell at a premium.
Their mixed biriyani masala is already on e-commerce platforms for about a year now and it is planning to launch it in brick-and-mortar general stores next financial year.
"It is already on e-commerce platforms for a year now. Now we are planning to launch it in brick-and-mortar general stores. Looking at the success of biriyani masala, we are actually creating a range of masalas, for premium market. We will launch it in the first quarter of next financial year. We will be in the spice mix category, because consumer convenience is a factor," one of the top management officials told reporters at their Dhuri rice milling facility.
"In 30 years, we have made such a strong brand. India Gate has become synonymous to a rice provider... Atta, spices, edible oils, and pulses are all logical extension that we see in the brand India Gate," the top management added.
In the immediate term, they are also entering into "healthy" edible oil business.
"It is a category where we can add value. In January, we are planning to launch it. We already produce unrefined rice bran oil at our plant, and it is a logical conclusion to process and retail it. Our retail network ecosystem in a way will complement it," the top management said. "These are two categories - spices and oil - we are looking at aggressively to launch it in the next few months."
The KRBL founders had in 1994 made a conscious decision to make a rice brand 'India Gate' at a time when agricultural commodities were mostly sold in loose unlabelled packs. Their mainstay product is basmati, a GI-tagged commodity.
Separately, the basmati rice brand has set a record paddy procurement target this season, given the opportunities the business has to offer with the government removing the floor price on export of Basmati rice in September this year.
India consumes about 105-110 million tonnes of rice annually, of which about 4 million tonnes is Basmati. The country exports about 5 million tonnes Basmati, worth around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore.
"We are looking at higher export as compared to last year," Kunal Gupta, Head Dhuri Plant, a fifth-generation businessman, told reporters.
He said they are in the process of procuring about a million tonnes of paddy from farmers from the recently harvested kharif Basmati paddy.
"This year we will be buying highest paddy because of the opportunities in both domestic and global markets. Because of the MEP (minimu export price) removal, there's a lot of demand. So we are forecasting a good year. Our procurement target is about a million tonne," Kunal Gupta told reporters at their Dhuri facility.
KRBL sells about 7,00,000 tonnes of basmati rice annually, and 30 per cent of it is exports.
Rice is a risky trade with a lot of volatility in prices, besides the short procurement window.
"We have been able to survive because we have created a brand. Brand safeguards you from volatility," said Ayush Gupta, Head India Business, KRBL.
Asked why there was a need for diversifying product offerings beyond basmati, they said India Gate brand will work in their favour.
KRBL has an annual installed capacity to process about 1.2 million rice cumulatively across its six plants.
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