Tasting instant success?

The market for instant food is steadily growing, specially among urban consumers. With a host of competing brands and flavours, variety is the spice, writes MARIEN MATHEW.

ANYTIME. ANYWHERE. Processed Food. Healthy Food. What is good for our jawans must be good for you surely. — This is a public interest ad by the Department of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Agriculture. "DFRL says ready-to-eat food technology in great demand", says a headline in a daily. Puzzled? Curious, at least to know what the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) is playing at if processed food translates only as cheese, sausage, salami and the likes or as tinned food for you?

To begin at the beginning, let us stroll down the aisles of a supermarket. On the shelves, in neatly stacked bright packets, there is a multi-course, ready-made meal. The brand names such as MTR, Tasty Bite, Top Ramen, Knorr, Maggi, Keells, Al Kabeer, Farm Suzanne and Bambino dance before your eyes.

Now where does the DFRL fit, in this ad-driven, brand brandishing FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) world? The Napoleonic wisdom - An army marches on its stomach — ought to answer it. On tough, inaccessible terrain, the rations have to be easily transportable with a long shelf life, besides being nutritious. Same requirements as the processed food industry. Many foods that were first designed for soldiers' stomachs have found their way to ours. In the U.S., granola bars and instant noodle soups reached supermarkets via army backpacks. Closer home, when you open an MTR bisi bele bath packet, think DFRL.

In India, the processed foods sector accounts merely for one or two per cent of the total food consumption. But the burgeoning urban spread and nuclear families with double incomes point to a rapid growth potential in the sector. K. Radhakrishnan, vice president, Merchandising and Marketing of the Food World chain and M. N. Ravi, Department Store Executive of the Nilgiris group, testify to this.

About 15-20 per cent of the total stock of both the leading retail stores is instant food. The popularity graph, they say, has been rising steadily for the last 10 years.

The picture doesn't end with the brands. The Food World and Nilgiris have many small local suppliers who are also in demand. Tayar Idli is one such success story. Both the outlets have their home brands too. Radhakrishnan qualifies Chennai consumers as willing to experiment, but extremely discerning value seekers. So it is just a matter of identifying the right level of value addition that is affordable for the boom to take off, according to him.

Coming to the big fish, the instant soup market wars are fought in MNC boardrooms. Of course, there are a few desi late entrants like Bambino with their Tomato Macaroni soup. But the pot began to bubble and steam only when Knorr stepped on to the till-then- exclusive turf of Maggi.

Nestle, Maggi's parent company is one of the biggest food company in the world and the perch is said to be the same in India too. With Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) taking over Knorr and other brands owned by the International Best Foods (IBF) as part of a global merger, now the two MNCs are all set to square off each other. The fallout? More flavours, deals and competitive prices - a win- win situation for the buyers.

The equation cannot be clearer than in the twisty battle of instant noodles. Maggi's curry noodles came just weeks after Top Ramen launched its version with much fanfare. Nestle, an earlier entrant in the field, has tied up nearly 79 per cent of the market in its strands. Indo Nissin Foods, makers of Top Ramen, is slowly gaining ground.

On the meals-ready-to-eat (MRE) segment, MTR and Tasty Bite are the lone players. From Mavalli Tiffin Rooms to department stores to processed food, the Maiyas of Bangalore have come a long way. Besides being a household name in the South, MTR spice trail leads all the way to the U.S., U.K., Gulf, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Tasty Bite that has a more pan-India presence with both North and South Indian (launched recently) dishes out its menu. It is also the largest selling Indian food brand in the U.S. in the natural food segment. Tasty Bite Eatables Limited registered an astounding 65 per cent growth rate in 1999-2000 over the previous year.

Variety is literally the spice in the Indian specialty mix area. Rice or rava idli, dosa, rava dosa, masala idli, vada, onion vada, dhokla, biriyani, kheer -- whatever grandma used to make so painstakingly, can be had from the supermarket shelves. Reconstitute with water and follow the directions given, piping hot idlis, vadas that rival those from Saravana Bhavan or Woodlands are ready. All this in just 15 minutes.

It all started with spinning vermicelli for Bambino Agro Industries Ltd. Success spurred the brand to pasta and its instant range — gulab jamun, rava idli, vermicelli kheer, badam milk, kesar milk. Tarla Dalal is another brand that came under HLL portfolio via an IBF deal. Dhokla, idli or eggless cake - the high profile culinary expert has a varied list to offer.

Let's push our trolley to the frozen food section. Along with the cold air, names like Al Kabeer, Farm Suzanne, Keells and Sumeru hit your face. Besides the traditional bacon, ham, sausage and peas, an array of convenience food make the cold corner a hot spot with the consumers. Al Kabeer Exports Ltd, a pioneer in the field, has an extensive chicken (samosa, seekh kebab, biriyani, burger), mutton and vegetarian (samosa, burger, French fries, spring rolls, paneer samosas, puff parottas) selection. Irfan Khan, manager, Marketing, projects a future growth rate of 25 to 30 per cent per annum and an ambitious expansion plan. The company also exports to the Middle East and Malaysia.

Farm Suzanne Private Limited is another well-entrenched name in the South. The freezer-to-frying pan line has vegetarian and chicken patties and burgers. Eric and Mary Rodrigues, directors, cognitive of the life style changes and the resultant business opportunities, foresee a 20 per cent annual growth. Time for dessert. Sink your teeth into a chocolate or vanilla cake. Pillsbury cooker cake mix and oven cake mix are here. If you thought pedas and burfis are our favourites hold your breath, the Indian cake market is estimated to be a whopping Rs. 300 crore one. The company, which entered the market in 1997, is growing at a rate of 30 per cent a year, says L.Ayyaswamy, Area Sales Manager. The future looks rosy too as more products such as eggless cake mix are in the oven and with an expected climb in the growth graph even up to 50 per cent.

Despite all the brand building and market buzz, India is yet to have a company that figures in the top 50-food and beverage company in the Asia Pacific region. Japan is still the undisputed leader. Of the 50 top companies in the region, 40 are Japanese. The other most populous country, China too draws a blank. The largest F&B companies in India like Nestle, Coke and HLL all have foreign equity holding. That's something to chew on, isn't it?

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