India’s very own food and snacks company Haldiram’s has hit a major milestone of topping $1 billion in sales, almost double that of fast food giant McDonald’s local business. With its sales at over $1 billion in the last financial year 2019-20, Haldiram’s has doubled its business in just a span of four years. Further, the company is not hesitant to go for an IPO in future even when it has deliberated on it yet, AK Tyagi, Executive Director, Haldiram’s, told ET Now in an interview. “Maybe in the future we will go to the equity market. However, we have not considered it yet,” he said. The namkeen maker is also looking to expand its frozen food portfolio in the country after a successful run in the export market. With the rising nuclear families in India, the prospects of frozen food in the country look well, he added.
The ongoing slowdown and rising inflation in food items has also taken a toll on Haldiram’s sales and its profits were impacted due to rise in the prices of key raw material, AK Tyagi told the news channel. Haldiram’s has also changed its strategy to combat slowdown. The impact is much more profound in the rural market as compared to urban, he added. The growth rate in the FMCG segment has witnessed a major slump with it slowing down to 9.7% in the last year from 13.5% in 2018, according to latest findings by Nielsen. However, Haldiram’s is confident of the growth rate exhibited by the salty snack category and said that across various food categories such as potato chips etc, the market is expanding at the rate of 10-15% and the same is also applicable to Haldiram’s.
On partnership with Kellogs
American breakfast cereal giant Kellogs was also eyeing a stake in Haldiram’s in 2019. Speaking about the same, AK Tyagi said that the company will look for a strategic partnership with foreign brands and does not mind entering into a joint venture. Recently, the Bhujia maker had also tied up with e-commerce behemoth Amazon for sales of its savories in the United States.