This article is based on a presentation at the 2nd International Summit of Processed Food, Agribusiness and Beverages, organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) and supported by the Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India. The presentation was made to a mixed audience of retailers, manufacturers, farmers, government functionaries and service providers, and rather than provide answers, the objective was to raise questions that were not being discussed. The old saying goes: where there are issues, there are opportunities. By that standard, the perishable commodities supply chain offers plenty of issues and, hence, opportunities. Part of the problem,…
Economic Times, New Delhi, November 28, 2010 Ravi Teja Sharma Airtel is a fairly new brand and is prepared to go through the works. Also, Sunil Mittal still may not be listening to dissenting voices from the public. But why did Airtel decide to rebrand? Mohit Beotra, head of brand and media at Bharti Airtel explains: "We are at a significant stage of evolution at the moment. This brand is now going to be visible on two different continents. This will signal our readiness to change." He adds that the new logo, which has a lower case font in a…
Economic Times, Bangalore, November 3, 2010 Sarah Jacob Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Certainly for several packaged food companies , if not for everyone. Call it the breakfast war, the scramble to serve the first meal of the day is getting busier with companies such as Britannia, Marico, PepsiCo, Kellogg India and MTR Foods offering more and more options to meet Indian consumers' rising demand for quick-fix food. Britannia Industries, which already occupies share of the breakfast table with bread, butter and cheese, is making early moves in the ready-to-cook breakfast meals segment, an official said.…
BusinessWorld, 30 October 2010 Vishal Krishna Debt-laden Subhiksha’s hopes of resurrection seems to have reached a dead end. The retailer received a serious blow this week with the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court rejecting its merger proposition with Blue Green Constructions and Investment (BGCIL), a Madras Stock Exchange-listed company. A merger would have helped the combined entity list on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange and raise fresh capital. Subhiksha owes at least Rs 800 crore to its creditors, which include Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Venture and ICICI Bank. The court squashed Subhiksha’s appeal stating…
Business Standard Mumbai, October 25, 2010 Raghavendra Kamath McDonald's has ambitious plans to become a breakfast destination as well. After wooing customers with happy meals and extra-value meals, Big Mac has added breakfast to its menu, which it believes will keep the chain "ahead of competition". After trial runs in a few Mumbai and Delhi restaurants, McDonald's has taken over two years to formally launch the breakfast category, which both the chain and analysts call a challenging segment to be in, given the Indian habit of having breakfast at home. "Most Indians prefer to have their breakfast at home and…
Brands are ready to roll the red carpet for consumers this festive season. But for #India's #jewellery brands this #Diwali will likely be a tad different from previous ones.
Reliance Retail & 7-Eleven ending 5-year franchise deal in India @SagarMalviya_ET
@devangshu:"convenience stores pressured by q-comm; family-kiranas survive with lower overheads & different margin expectations than corps"
Speciality Restaurants expanding into high-margin QSR and cloud kitchen spaces - @devangshu shared his perspective on the opportunities and realities of managing a diverse "house of brands" in the food service sector #India #strategy #diversification
