Kahini Chakraborty – Mumbai
Paper Boat, one of the fastest growing brands from Hector Beverages, has extensively mapped traditional beverages across different parts of India. The company has aggressive expansion plans to tap the Rs 4,000 crore fruit juice industry in India, primarily dominated by international players in the market. Their current product range consists of various flavours such as Aamras, Jaljeera, Aam Panna, Kokum, Jamun ka Kala Khatta, Golgappe ka Pani. After experiencing healthy sales growth in markets like Delhi and Bengaluru, the company is planning to launch a manufacturing facility in Mysore to strengthen its position in other key markets including Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai by setting up depots and distribution centres.
Speaking exclusively to Food & Hospitality World, on the company’s expansion plans, Neeraj Kakkar, chief executive officer and founder, Hector Beverages said, “We are coming up with a manufacturing facility at Mysore, which is our second plant after the Manesar plant in Gurgaon. We have acquired five acres of land in the Kadakolla industrial area. The plant will employ around 80 people and is expected to be up and running by the second week of March 2015. We are investing over Rs 20 crore into this project which is a part of the Rs 60 crore that were raised in 2012 from Sequoia Capital, Catamaran Ventures and Footprint Ventures.”
The company recently launched an array of new traditional variants including Chilled Rasam, ice tea in two flavours: Ginger Lemon and Tulsi. With the launch of its new manufacturing unit in Mysore, the company is planning to launch new variants including: Thandai, Kanji, Neermore (Buttermilk) and many more. Presently the company sells around 1.5 million pieces of its products every month in key cities including Delhi and Bengaluru. Aamras is one of the top selling variant. Talking about their footprint in the market, Kakkar added, “We have already tapped the Indian consumer base in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Dubai. Going forward, we aim at expanding our reach to other countries as well.”
Expressing his views on the growth of the functional beverage market, he opined, “The overall juice market in India retails around 2.25 billion packs in a year. We as a brand have taken an initiative to introduce ethnic flavours that have strong connect with childhood memories. Traditional beverages is a niche segment and as a pioneer here, we look forward to develop and nurture it.”