Long before the traffic begins its daily argument, the air around the Lalbagh Fort Road in Bengaluru hums with something older, the clink of stainless steel tumblers, the hiss of the filter coffee being juggled and poured from a height, and the soft rustle of newspapers folded. Inside the dining hall of Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, which is famously known as MTR, men in wrinkled shirts and retirees in sandals sit shoulder to shoulder, without hurry, as waiters in uniforms glide past carrying steaming hot idlis, vadas and dosas.
For nearly a century, this quiet rhythm of breakfast has endured in Bengaluru’s Lalbagh, shaping not just the city’s mornings but, in time, a company that would carry those flavours far beyond Karnataka. Nearly a hundred years later, this up-resuming, non-chaotic dining hall became the foundation of a Norwegian conglomerate’s billion-dollar bet on the Indian kitchen.
In 2007, a 350-year-old Norwegian conglomerate that began as a copper mining firm in 1654 in Norway’s Trøndelag region decided to enter another consumer market – India. Its gateway for the same was not a large multinational brand or a major FMCG; instead, it chose a Bengaluru-based company known for rava idli and masala powders, MTR Foods.
For Rs 353 crore, Orkla acquired MTR Foods in February 2007. At that time, the latter was a regional brand with about Rs 135 crore in annual revenue built on the foundation of South Indian culinary traditions. Over the next 18 years, this investment went ahead to evolve into Orkla India Limited, now valued at around Rs 10,000 crore and made its market debut with a mild premium, opening at Rs 751.50 on the BSE, up three per cent from the issue price of Rs 730, while on NSE, it was listed at Rs 750.10 per share.
The origins of MTR
MTR’s story dates back almost a full century, when in 1924, the Maiya brothers opened a modest restaurant called Brahmin Coffee Club in Bengaluru’s Lalbagh Fort Road, serving idlis and coffee to locals. By 1960, they had renamed the restaurant to Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, or MTR, which was known for its delicious local breakfast, hygiene, consistency, and simplicity.
A crucial point for MTR came during India’s Emergency period in 1975, when the Food Control Act slashed menu prices across restaurants. Idlis dropped from 25 paise to 10 paise, and coffee went down from Re 1 to 25 paise, amounting to losses of Rs 1 lakh in just 19 days. The Maiyas’ 50-year-old business was suddenly under threat. Sadananda Maiya, grandson of co-founder Yagnanarayana Maiya, decided to adapt rather than shut down. He began packaging the restaurant’s recipes into ready-to-cook mixes, introducing instant rava idli and khara bath packets.
By 2006, MTR Foods had expanded its range to include masala powders, pickles, papads, and vermicelli, clocking revenues of Rs 135 crore and profits of Rs 17 crore. With its first HACCP certification in 2002 and exports to Japan, the US, and the UK, MTR had quietly transformed from a Bengaluru restaurant into a modern food brand.
The Orkla Playbook
When Orkla acquired MTR in 2007, the company resisted the temptation to immediately expand the brand nationally. Instead, it focused on deepening its roots in South India. “We saw a flourishing regional business in it,” he says. “We don’t want to be a small fish in a big pond, but a big fish in a small pond,” Sanjay Sharma, who took over as CEO in 2009, told Forbes. The Norwegian parent never imposed expats in India, maintaining the brand’s “Kannadiga-ness.”
Today, MTR outlets are spread across various locations in South India, including Bengaluru, Udupi, Mysuru, Hassan Highway, as well as international locations like Singapore, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London, Seattle, Kathmandu, Toronto, and Bangkok, as per their website.
According to a release by Orkla dated 2021, MTR food products are available in 32 countries, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand. MTR Foods has two factories located in Bengaluru, Karnataka and Pune, Maharashtra, and is headquartered in Bengaluru. This company offered almost 400 products under the spices, which accounted for 66.3% of sales and convenience foods, which contributed 33.7%.
Orkla went ahead and added Rasoi Magic to its profile in 2013. Eight years later, it acquired a 67.82% stake in Eastern Condiments Private Limited at Rs 2,000 crore. Eastern Condiments was founded in 1983 by Kerala-based entrepreneur M.E. Meeran. Prior to the acquisition, Eastern had grown into one of the biggest branded spice exporters, generating Rs 900 crore in revenue with 12% operating margins. Eastern brought along seven factories and 3,000 employees along with it, thereby almost doubling Orkla’s footprint.
As per media reports till June 2025, Orkla India operated nine owned manufacturing facilities along with 18 contract units in India and three in the UAE, Thailand, and Malaysia. The distribution network spans 834 distributors, 1,888 sub distributors, and 20 warehouses across the country. Furthermore, it is also reported by media organisations that Orkla India delivers 2.3 million units daily on average.
The company has 31.2% market share in Karnataka’s packaged spice market, 41.8% in Kerala’s market and 15.2% market share in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. As per news reports, its household penetration in Karnataka and Kerala stands at nine out of 10 homes. The company’s international business, primarily led by Eastern’s exports, now spans 45 countries and contributes 21% of total revenue.
Numbers That Tell Orkla’s Story
Other than some short-term fluctuations due to the merger integration, Orkla India recorded a revenue of Rs 2,172.48 crore in FY23. This rose to Rs 2,356.01 crore in FY24. For FY25, the revenue stood at Rs 2,445 crore. The company’s profit stood at Rs 255.69 crore in FY25.
When compared with competitors, Orkla stands out. The Profits for FY25 had a margin of 10.7% while Tata Consumer Products stood at 7.3%. The EBITDA margin for Orkla stood at 16.6% whereas Tata was at 13.5%.
The IPO and Beyond
In October 2025, when almost every company is participating in the IPO race, Orkla India did too. It opened its IPO at Rs 1,667.54 crore with a 100% offer-for-sale with no fresh capital raise. The shares were priced between Rs 695 and Rs 730. The company’s valuation, taking the upper band into consideration, turns out to be Rs 10,000 crore.
Prior to the IPO, Orkla India raised Rs 499.6 crore from 30 anchor investors, which included Nippon India, LIC, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Nomura, and Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global. Retail investors subscribed to 118% of their quota, while non-institutional investors bid 2.5 times their allocation. The company’s shares are slated to list on the BSE and NSE on 6 November 2025. As per media reports, Orkla India’s CEO Sanjay Sharma called the listing ‘a commitment to India, not an exit’.
From a broader perspective, India’s packaged food sector is projected to grow at an 11% CAGR through FY29. As Orkla India makes its market debut, it does so not as a foreign entrant, but as a deeply Indian company, one that turned idlis, masalas, and everyday meals into a global business story.