Best Foods builds rice exports and domestic retail

Extending the premium rice brand

75
retail
Best Foods’ basmati rice, pastes and sauces

The basmati rice industry like many others has hit a rough patch in the last two years. On one hand competition in the export market from international companies has increased and on the other hand domestic retail has failed to generate anticipated growth. Nevertheless, exporters and rice millers continue with plans to expand capacities and are setting up their own branded boutique stores across India.

From farm to retail

IMG 5094Best Foods procures and produces basmati rice from Himachal, Punjab and the foothills of the Himalayas and exports it to major overseas markets in Europe, the US and the Middle East. With its biggest buyer being Iran, it exports several grades of basmati rice in various sizes of customized packing and as well as in bulk in containerized shipments. Among its top brands are Best Royal Vintage, a naturally aged rice and its super premium, premium, select and special categories of rice besides its brown basmati rice. Rice is usually a water-intensive crop with each kilogram of rice produced using a lot of ground water. (According to the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices Report for 2015-16, the production of each kilogram of rice consumes from 2,605 litres of water in West Bengal to a high of 5,337 litres of water in Punjab.) Nevertheless, basmati rice growth is encouraged in the Northern states and especially Punjab because there is no obligation to sell at a minimum support price to the government procurement agencies.

After winning the silver trophy for three successive years from 2007 to 2010, Best Foods won the APEDA golden trophy for being the largest Indian exporter of basmati rice in 2011. The company processes nearly 2,500 tonnes of paddy in a day in 17 modern rice mills – all equipped with modern plant machinery using the latest technology. The mills produce a net daily output of 1,500 tonnes of basmati making it among the top five basmati rice producers in the country. Rice is grown in several ways across India and there are over 4,000 varieties, so the selection of species, cropping, growth, ageing, nurturing, and processing of a premium rice brand is essentially a farm to the factory journey.

Best Foods has extended this footprint with a retail presence giving its brand a wider reach from farm to retail. Starting with the selection of the right varieties and nurturing the crop and the soil with the help of contract farming it derives large output from paddy fields that is obtained for milling, processing, packaging and shipping to reach the marketplace.

Strong branding strategy

img 2731 5“The key to growth in the food sector is strong branding,” says Ayushman Gupta who is sparing no efforts to turn the rice miller cum exporter into an integrated food giant by adding ready-to-eat meals, sauces as well as health and wellness food products to the portfolio. The company has received accreditation from the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF), a 600-member association of professional chefs, and is planning to target consumer segments such as housewives, working women, restaurants, clubs, and B2B markets individually to achieve better market penetration.

Apart from selling its brands in high-end retail stores, the company has its own boutique stores in shopping malls that makes it the only rice brand with a direct retail presence. It sells not only its premium basmati and brown rice in its own retail stores but also sauces and pastes. Some of its delicacies are the rogan josh sauce, tikka masala sauce, butter masala sauce, korma sauce and white pasta sauce, besides tandoori paste, garlic paste, ginger paste and Kashmiri paste. Apart from this together with culinary experts it sells its own branded ready-to-eat rice-based meals such as vegetable biryani, dal makhani, paneer butter masala, rajma masala and palak paneer.

The impact, resilience, and growth of responsible packaging in a wide region are daily chronicled by Packaging South Asia.

A multi-channel B2B publication and digital platform such as Packaging South Asia is always aware of the prospect of new beginnings and renewal. Its 16-year-old print monthly, based in New Delhi, India has demonstrated its commitment to progress and growth. The Indian and Asian packaging industries have shown resilience in the face of ongoing challenges over the past three years.

As we present our publishing plan for 2023, India’s real GDP growth for the financial year ending 31 March 2023 will reach 6.3%. Packaging industry growth has exceeded GDP growth even when allowing for inflation in the past three years.

The capacity for flexible film manufacturing in India increased by 33% over the past three years. With orders in place, we expect another 33% capacity addition from 2023 to 2025. Capacities in monocartons, corrugation, aseptic liquid packaging, and labels have grown similarly. The numbers are positive for most of the economies in the region – our platform increasingly reaches and influences these.

Even given the disruptions of supply chains, raw material prices, and the challenge of responsible and sustainable packaging, packaging in all its creative forms and purposes has significant headroom to grow in India and Asia. Our context and coverage engulf the entire packaging supply chain – from concept to shelf and further – to waste collection and recycling. We target brand owners, product managers, raw material suppliers, packaging designers and converters, and recyclers.

In an admittedly fragmented and textured terrain, this is the right time to plan your participation and marketing support communication – in our impactful and highly targeted business platform. Tell us what you need. Speak and write to our editorial and advertising teams! For advertisement ads1@ippgroup.in , for editorial info@ippgroup.in and for subscriptions subscription@ippgroup.in

– Naresh Khanna

Subscribe Now
unnamed 1

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our Newsletter

As 2023 begins and FY 23-24 unfolds, will you support us?

What lies in store for the packaging industry in India and South Asia this coming year? Inflation, disruption of supply chains or environmental regulation? Or the resumption of high rural demand, continued investment and industry consolidation? Whatever happens, Packaging South Asia will be there, providing clarity and independent technical and business information in India and South Asia and around the world. We are a compact Indian organization bringing a window of fair and rigorous technical and business information that the industry can access this year and beyond. Please support us with your advertising and subscriptions, to keep us going and growing.

Thank you.