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Ready to Eat
The Ready-to-eat
industry of Indian foods is taking off, thanks in part to
the demand from global Indians, NRIs and others looking for
convenient food, (almost) authentic dishes and entrée
on the go. This demand for ready-to-eat meals has captured
a large amount of the food retail market in India and around
the world. Walk
in into any desi grocery shop in North America and one can
find a wide assortment of emerging desi brands. Interestingly,
the technology for this industry, at least for Indian players
has taken off from the Defense Food Research Laboratory, Mysore
-- Military Meals Ready a.k.a. MRE's, MREs -- that works towards
getting "just-cooked" freshness to Indian soldiers!!
Featured
on this page:
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Major
Players in the Global Indo (NRI / Indian) Ethnic Ready-to-Eat
industry
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Brands |
Descirption
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| Amul |
Gujarat
Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is India's
largest food products marketing organization. Apart
from being known for its dairy products, Amul has ventured
into the ready-to-eat industry and includes Processed
Cheese, Pure Ghee, Shrikhand, Nutramul and Mithaee Gulab
Jamuns among its offerings.
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| Gits |
Gits
produces the selected range of popular ready to cook and
instant foods that cover a range of ethnic Indian cuisine-and
where the recipes have "Global pallete acceptance". |
| Haldirams |
The
traditional Indian Sweet-Maker from a small set up has
transformed into a full fledged processing food industry
and taking its wares beyond the domestic frontiers to
the Western World. Offers packaged Bhel puri chats such
as Sev Puri, Chana Masala, Samosa, Pakoras, Alu Tikki,
Pao Bhaji, Gol Gappa, Dhokla among others |
| House of Spices |
The product line for House of Spices includes its own brand name, Laxmi Brand. Under Laxmi Brand, House of Spices carries all types of daals, beans, nuts, spices, edible oils, flours, pickles, pastes, chutneys, frozen vegetables and frozen meals. Under Shamiana, House of Spices other brand, they carry sweets, snacks as well as ice cream. |
Ethnic Kitchens |
Offers
packaged sweets,syrups,namkeens, cookies, pickles, aloo
Masala, Bhujia, Bhelpuri, Chana Dal, Kajui Ladoo and
many more items.
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| Kitchens
Of India |
ITC's
Flagship brand 'Kitchens of India ' has begun to carry
this exotic taste of Indian cuisine beyond the shores
of India . Connoisseurs of Indian food in the US, UK,
Switzerland, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Hongkong, Tanzania,
Canada and Australia now have the opportunity to taste
these delicious recipes.
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| ITC |
Aashirvaad
and Kitchens of India products from the ITC stable
of India include a wide assortment of ready to cook
foods and dishes ranging from Bukhara (Uzbek recepie)
to Murgh Methi and other exoctic cuisines and includes
"regular" Biryanis, Curry Pastes and dishes.
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| MTR |
Amongst
the top five processed food manufacturers in India,
the company claims to "market and export a wide
range of packaged foods to global markets"
that include USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia,
Singapore, UAE and Oman. MTR foods currently comprises
twenty-two delicious and completely authentic Indian
curries, gravies and rice.
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| Priyafoods
|
Priya
has a range of popular traditional recipes starting
from Dal Makhani, Navaratan Kurma to Palak Paneer, Paneer
Butter Masala, Punjabi Chhole and Rajma Masala along
with true southern delicacies like Andhra Veg Pulav,
Mango Dal, Gongura Dal. Priya's products are available
in USA, Canada, West Indies, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia,
U.K., New Zealand etc.
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Rajbhog
Foods Inc.
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Specializing
in Indian sweets and snacks in America, Rajbhog is capitalizing
on this niche by franchising its model across the US and
Canada, manufacturing and distributing sweets, snacks,
savories, frozen foods, ice cream and beverages. |
RainbowFoodsIndia
|
Exporters,
manufacturers & suppliers of all types of Indian Frozen
Vegetables, Meals & Snacks to USA and UK. They procure
Frozen Vegetables, Meals, Fruits, Parathas, Punjabi Veg
Curries, vegetables, fruits, pickles, pastes and Snacks.Reputed
professionals from 5-star hotels. Supply of Indian Frozen
Vegetables, Meals & Snacks foods. Products |
| Satnam
Overseas Ltd |
Kohinoor
Heat & Eat Indian Curries are a range of ready -
to - eat Indian delicacies. Kohinoor claims that "Heat
& Eat range of curries use the well-established
retort technology to offer extended shelf life to the
products through steam sterilization."
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| Shana |
Shana
Frozen Foods specializes in ready to cook Ethnic foods.
Shana is a popular brand in the frozen Asian Ethnic
food segment in U.K. and Canadian market. Includes new
South Indian Range of frozen Idlis, Vadas, Masala Dosas
and Mini Uttapams.
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| Tasty
Bite |
Tasty
Bite has a range of entrées and Ready Meals. They
have exceptional retort pouches which was developed for
the Apollo space program. Tested to withstand extreme
temperatures and heights from well below sea level to
as high as the moon, this retort packaging has made Tasty
Bite a favorite with campers, mountain climbers, sailing
expeditions, desert safaris. |
Veekay
Impex.com
|
Exporters
of Fresh Fruit Juice, ready to eat food products; kairameen
Moliee(Pearl-spot fish), Motha Fish curry, see Fish
Curry,Chilly Chicken (boneless).
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Ashoka
Ready to Eat
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Ashoka is a Brand owned and managed by ADF Foods Limited (a BSE listed Company) in India. Ashoka is our Flagship Brand and the leading Ethnic Indian food brand made in India. It is among the widely distributed ethnic Indian brand. Its range includes ready-to-eat curries (Heat & Eat), Frozen Foods (Indian Breads & Snacks), pickles, condiment pastes, mango pulp/slices, chutneys, pappadums, IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) ready-to-cook vegetables, and Microwaveable rice. |
| Vimal
Agro Products |
Vimal
Agro Products with state of the infrastructural set up
has the potential to manufacture more than 80 different
food products ranging from canned vegetables, Fruit pulp
and slices, Pickles, Chutney, papads and Ready to eat
foods and supply products to the retail sectors in Canada,
United Kingdom, United states of America under the brand
name VIMAL and SWAD |
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If
you fancy a change from nan breads then what about my
favourite - parathas? I found a delicious range of frozen
parathas at the Shana stand. They come in plain, onion
and stuffed with mixed vegetables or aloo palak
(potato and spinach). My favourite was the plain paratha
which was light and flaky just like it should be. |
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Ready-to-eat
segment whets NRI appetite
|
MADE
in India. Sold in Sainsbury, Selfridges, Walmart and
Safeway.
It's
fast becoming a reality. For, even as the Rs 25-crore
ready-to-eat packaged foods market faces challenges
back home, the category is gathering momentum overseas.
From
ITC's Kitchens of India and MTR Foods, to Tasty Bites
Eatables and Satnam Overseas, everyone seems to be wanting
a slice of the NRI's food pie.
ITC
Foods has already had a test run of its Kitchens of
India range of ready-to-serve packaged foods in Selfridges,
UK. Mr Ravi Naware, Chief Executive, ITC Foods, said,
"Retailing in the UK, other European countries
and the US is very much on the agenda. Next year, we
plan to begin retailing in supermarkets in the UK."
Or
take the Rs 130-crore MTR Foods. "We plan to begin
selling our ready-to-eat food range in Sainsbury, UK,
within the next six months," said Mr Sadananda
Maiya, Chairman & Managing Director, MTR Foods.
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|
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The
company's presence on the global map - at roughly 8
per cent of its sales - is currently marked by exports
to the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan, among
other countries. MTR has projected exports to account
for 20 per cent of its sales in five years.
The
Pune-based Tasty Bite Eatables Ltd (TBEL) claims to
be the largest-selling Indian food brand in the `natural
foods' category in the US. Mr Ravi Nigam, Executive
Director and President, TBEL, attributes the brand's
performance in the US to "significant" investments
on the distribution front. "We have decided to
focus on our largest revenue generator the Ready-To-Serve
(RTS) or retort packaging category," Mr Nigam added.
Tasty
Bite's portfolio also includes ready-to-cook (RTC) curry
pastes already popular in western markets.
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Satnam
Overseas Ltd, on the other hand, proposes to set up a rice
mill in the UK. The purpose: to market its flagship brand,
Kohinoor, at retail chains in Europe such as Walmart and Safeway
to ensure timely supplies of products. Estimated investments
in the facility are Rs 20 crore, which will be routed through
Satnam Overseas' UK-based subsidiary, Indo-European Foods.
The Rs
100-crore Bikanervala Foods Pvt Ltd plans to set up manufacturing
units for traditional Indian sweets and ethnic snack foods
in Canada and Dubai, said Mr S.S. Aggarwal, the company's
Managing Director. The first Bikanervala Indian fast food
outlet-cum-sweet shop in the US is expected to take off in
New Jersey in six to eight months.
Bikanervala's
manufacturing facility in Canada a joint venture with a
Toronto-based NRI will involve an initial investment of
about Rs 2.2 crore. According to Mr Aggarwal, setting up an
overseas production base would help the company maintain freshness
and enhance product shelf life. - Ratna
Bhushan, The Hindu
Interesting
articles on the Ready-to-Eat industry in India
- Ready-to-eat
segment whets NRI appetite:
- MADE in India. Sold in Sainsbury, Selfridges, Walmart
and Safeway. It's fast becoming a reality. For, even as
the Rs 25-crore ready-to-eat packaged foods market faces
challenges back home, the category is gathering momentum
overseas. From ITC's Kitchens of India and MTR Foods, to
Tasty Bites Eatables and Satnam Overseas, everyone seems
to be wanting a slice of the NRI's food pie. - Hindu Businessline
- Hungry
kya? Just heat and eat:
If you can?t stand the heat in the kitchen, just get out...
and stop at the nearest supermarket where there?s a range
of ready-to-eat foods. From Dal Tadka to Chettinad Chicken
there?s something for everyone, writes Tina Garg. - Deccan
Herald
- Slices
of India in a pack: So, you want to experiment with
non-local cuisine and don't have the time (or patience)
for a three-course gourmet meal in a speciality restaurant?
There's a simpler, and more delectable solution at hand
and you don't even have to venture too far from home. When
you go grocery shopping next time reach out for a readyto-eat
pack for your dose of pongal, jodhpuri halwa, mirch ka salan.
Thanks to a change in lifestyle (nuclear families, working
couples, more disposable income and less time to cook),
more and more people, are opting for ready-to-eat food in
a big way. - The Financial Express
- Cooking
made convenient: Want to try out a new dish on your
family? Just snip away at covers to bring home the tastes
of India IT'S EIGHT in the evening, you're still in office,
and some friends have invited themselves over for dinner.
What will you do? Rush home, don the apron and rustle up
something delectable? "Nah!" says Rohit, a self-confessed
lover of cooking. The great stuff he churns out in the kitchen
has many of his bachelor friends lining up for home-made
food. What Rohit does now in moments of crisis is pick up
ready-to-eat side dishes straight off the super market shelf
and team them up with pre-packed parathas and rotis. For
dessert, he chooses from any of the readymade ones on offer.
His friends can't really make out the difference. - The
Hindu
- Here's
$20m, just don't make me cook: It took a while to
catch on, but as the country's 15-year-old globalization
process brings about rapid changes in the lifestyles of
urban Indians, ready-to-eat food is fast becoming a compelling
proposition. Over the past two years, the ready-to-eat packed
food market has grown from an almost insignificant number
to become a US$20-million-revenue industry in 2004. Industry
players say that, considering the current 35% growth rate,
revenues in this sector can easily touch $50 million in
the next three years. - By Indrajit Basu, Asia Times Online
- General
Mills
exports atta and frozen flat breads to over six countries.
The Pillsbury frozen flat breads include products such as
ready-to-puff rotis, stuffed paratha and flavoured paratha.
Besides, it also supplies the Betty Crocker range of dessert
mixes to Europe. - The Hindu Business Line.
Other
Links
Blog
on Ready to Eat
MarketingProfs.com:
As for the consumer insights, it would be "impulse purchase"
decisions for the latter and "home resemblence"
for the former. This is more of a generic remark, since if
you delve further into the purchase behavior, you would have
to consider the demographics, the economic classes and the
occupations to get an exhaustive pattern.
The
Epicentre.com
Meal,
Ready-to-Eat (MRE)
is a self-contained meal in lightweight packaging produced
by the United States for its soldiers in the battlefield where
organized food facilities are not available. They replaced
C-rations in the early 1980s, and were the successor to the
so-called "Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol" (LRRP
pronounced "Lurp") developed by the U.S. Army
for Special Forces and U.S. Army Ranger patrol units in Vietnam.
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