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'As Mot her Made It ': T he Cosmopolit an Indian Family,'Aut hent ic'Food and t he Const ruct ion of Cult ural …
Tulasi Srinivas
dominated by 4-5 players, including MTR, Gits, ITC, An analysis of the drivers explain the factors for growth of
Bambino, and Kohinoor Foods. Apart from focusing on the industry including the target consumer base for RTE is
the domestic market, these companies have also expanded expanding, organized retail displays advantages in driving
their reach internationally in geographies with a sizeable RTE sales, cold chains development, and government
Indian Diaspora. On the domestic front, there is an initiatives. Indian Government is also providing more
interesting competitive dynamics emerging. With the infrastructure for this sector. Excise duty is now ZERO %
introduction of private labels, e.g. Tasty Treat by Big on RTE and 100 % tax deduction for the first 10 years for
Bazaar and in-store, freshly-made snack mixes, e.g. idli new units. This allows manufactures to bring down their
and dosas, modern retail presents a credible threat for prices & spreads its flavors to the world.
branded RTE and RTC players, who have traditionally
relied upon this channel for increasing their visibility and The prices of most brands in this segment range from
reach. The urban consumers are not complaining though, Rs25/- to Rs.40/- for a typical 285g dish. The 'Kitchens of
as they have wider options in product range and prices, India' range from ITC comes in a tin pack, and is priced
easier availability, and increased convenience. A larger much higher than the rest, ranging from Rs110 to Rs150
proportion of urban consumers are experimenting with for 450g. This brand also finds its way to homes overseas,
RTE/RTC foods on a more frequent basis with the top two where it is mainly sent as a gift item. Purchases for
value propositions being 'saves time' and 'tastes good'. overseas travel constitute almost 10% of sales in this
Among the three categories mentioned earlier, pasta and category. MTR foods is the largest player in this emerging
instant mixes lead in terms of frequency of consumption. market with a near 65% share. The rest of the market is
made up of Satnam Overseas, ITC, Tasty Bites, GCMMF,
The market of processed food industry in India has been a Haldiram and other local players.
new concept which is in its nascent stage. The total
processed foods market size this year is Rs1500 crore, out
of which Ready to Cook foods capture Rs 1275 crore and WHY READY TO EAT FOOD
Ready to Eat capture Rs.225 crore this year and is expected
annual growth of 25 – 30% over next 5 years shows huge Globalization of Indian food and its culture are the
potential for growth by tapping a larger consumer base.
core factors for popularization of ready to eat foods.
Under Ready to Cook product, Instant noodles is leading Main motivation for these ready to eat foods is fast
with Rs1000 crore followed by Soups Rs. 200 crore , Pasta
growing foreign market.
Rs.50 crore and others Rs.25 crore. According to Tata Retail outlet culture is now growing rapidly in
Strategic Management Group, the RTE market is expected
India.
to grow to Rs 2900 crore by 2015.
Shelf life of these foods are at least 12-18 months.
Quality, Taste and Flavor of these foods remains as
good as fresh up to the expiry date.
Women wanting to spend more time out of the
kitchen.
More working bachelors staying away from homes.
Cost effective in comparison to the Indian cuisine
served by the restaurants in foreign countries.
Nylon-Aluminium-polypropylene that can withstand high New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Japan and
process temperature & pressure. Their most important Oman. Starting with the legendary MTR restaurant in
feature is that, they are made of heat resistant plastics Bangalore, India‘s silicon valley, now offer 'complete
unlike the usual flexible pouches. This makes the retort meal solutions'. Its wide range of products include Ready
pouches unique which are suitable for the processing of to Eat curries and rice, Ready to Cook gravies, frozen
food contents at temperatures around 120 degrees Celsius. foods, ice cream, instant snack and dessert mixes, spices
and a variety of accompaniments like pickles and papads.
ADVANTAGES OF RETORT PACKAGING Its deep understanding of culinary expectations and needs
has resulted in many new and innovative products. Its
investments in infrastructure and technology ensure them
Pouch laminates permits less chance to overcook
to scale rapidly and consumers across the globe count on
during the retorting thus products having better
to bring them all-natural, wholesome and delicious food
color, texture & less nutrients loss.
that is also convenient and no-fuss.
It requires less energy for sterilization.
It requires less disposal & storage space. The RTE range currently comprises 22 Indian curries,
Low oxygen & moisture permeability. gravies and rice. In sync with product innovations, the
Shelf stable for longer time & requires no company has also expanded retail presence significantly;
refrigeration. contemporary ‗Namma MTR‘ is MTR‘s retail chain that
Sun light barrier, light weight, easy to open. allows customers to experience the wide MTR range.
Namma MTR is split into three sections. One section
MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDIAN ETHNIC showcases the entire range of products. The second section
READY TO EAT INDUSTRY is a novel concept kitchen where customers can interact
with specialist chefs to learn about MTR products and
watch live demonstrations. This concept kitchen also
MTR
works as an ideal platform for feedback allowing the
Kohinoor Foods
company to understand and address consumer needs The
ITC
third section offers a variety of fastfood — one can either
Haldiram
eat here or get a quick take-away from the express counter
Tasty Bites
Priya and MTR kiosks now serve consumers across Bangalore
and Chennai.
Masala Dosa + Alu Curry Rava Idli + Potato awareness of long term health issues associated with
Sagu an irregular diet and fast food consumption. Ensuring
Punjabi Chole + Paratha Palak Paneer + and communicating freshness, and offering more
Paratha convenient product concepts should be the areas of
believed in the benefits of consuming freshly Educate the customer or adopt strategies for changing
customer‘s perceptions like RTE foods contents high
Removing the scepticism surrounding the freshness
prepared food at home.
fat and calorie, used Genetically Modified Foods,
different states in India and abroad, manufactures need
Introduce RTE salads targeted at the health to introduce great verities in their menus. There is a need
conscious. to expanding their reach in small metro and cities to
increase their sell to reduce the cost. Thus, looking at the
Explore meal combinations of rice/bread and curries.
Offer RTE foods in packaging formats that allow for opportunities and challenges, which markets offer to the
manufacturers of Ready to Eat & Ready to Cook sector,
direct consumption from the container.
Introduce greater variety of Canned ready meals, it can be said that the future is very promising for those
Chilled ready meals, Frozen ready meals, Dried ready who can understand the dynamics of the markets and
make use of them to their best advantage.
meals.
Ensuring that the meat product does not spoil. As the
current popular sterilisation methods are not ideal for BIBLIOGRAPHY
meat.
Government should provide relaxation on excise tax [1] http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/24/stories/20071024
particularly in Non vegetarian foods. 54651900.htm
Since technology and packaging costs are high, all [2] http://www.mtrfoods.com
the current players, instead of being present in few, [3] http://www.garamchai.com/ReadyToEat.htm
mainly metropolitan markets, need to look at [4] Rahman Tazyn ( 2012 ), ―INDIAN EHTHNIC
expanding their reach in cities with a population of RTE‖ - A REVOLUTION FOR THE INDIAN
over one million, which will help bring down prices PROCESSED FOOD INDUSTRY.
indirectly. [5] http://www.bharatbook.com/market-research-
reports/food-market-research-report/ready-to-eat-
market-in-india-2010.html