Himalya-Simplot aims US$ 50 Mn in next 3 Years

Himalya International Ltd., India's 1st Frozen Food Company establishes a Marketing Joint Venture with one of the largest global food and agribusiness conglomerate, J.R. Simplot Company. The JV has set-up a new company named "Himalya-Simplot Pvt. Ltd." with 50% shares of both the companies which will market all the products of Himalya International Ltd. in Indian & entire South-East Asian Markets. The JV headed by four Directors, 2 from each company, aims at sales worth $50 Million within the next 3 years.

Speaking on the announcement, Sanjiv Kakkar, Co founder and Managing Director of Himalya International Limited said, "The JV Company will have its Corporate Office in NCR region and registered office in New Delhi. "Himalya-Simplot Pvt. Ltd.' will utilize production from Himalya Internationals new Facilities in Gujarat besides products being manufactured at their Paonta Sahib Facility. Himalya International has established a large Food processing facility at Vad Nagar, Gujarat having daily production of 30 metric tons of Mushrooms, 80 metric tons of French Fries, 50 metric tons of Onion rings, 40 metric tons of breaded appetizers, Dairy plant to make Mozzarela sticks and Fruit yogurts and around half million cans of soups every day. New Facility will employ over 1500 people and is a zero waste company."

Scott Simplot, the Chairman & EC Member of J.R. Simplot Company expressed, "We are delighted to be in India and looking for a great future together. Indian market has great potential and Simplot brings their expertise in marketing and agriculture to benefit consumers. India accounts for less than 1.5% of international food trade despite being one of the world's major food producers, which indicates huge potential for both investors and exporters. With rapid increase in per capita income & purchasing power along with increased urbanization and improved standards of living, India has a large untapped opportunity to cater to 1000 million domestic consumers. Our JV will capture these untapped opportunities."

Speaking on the announcement, Man Mohan Malik, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Himalaya International said, "We at Himalya are excited on this association with Simplot. The new JV Company will market our products in the Indian & South-East Asian Markets and we look forward for a great response from the consumers. Himalya is a trusted brand and we firmly believe that working with Simplot will strengthen our position & increase market-share in the processed food sector. It's our moment of glory to partner with the World Leader & take Himalya to its rightful position under the Sun"

Himalya International Ltd. has been successfully selling its various products for the last 15 years under three broad categories ' fresh, chilled & frozen. Their portfolio of brands consists of ' Himalya Fresh, The Finger Food factory, Bufalabella and Elevation 5000. Their product offering varies from IQF Industrial ingredients, specialty appetizers, gourmet dairy products etc. With an experience of over 70 years, Simplot is recognized as a global leader in production innovation and efficiency. Their main forte is expertise marketing and potato farming & processing units.

The size of global processed food industry is estimated to be valued around US $3.6 trillion and accounts for three-fourth of the global food sales. Despite its large size, only 6% of processed foods are traded across borders compared to 16% of major bulk agricultural commodities. Indian food-processing industry is miniscule in comparison and is estimated to be US $50 billion and is likely to grow at over 13%. With enormous scope for value addition, increase in the consumption of processed food products in India and many fiscal incentives being planned by the government, this sector is poised to maintain the growth momentum in the future.

It is estimated that 400 million upper and middle class consume processed food. With the convenience needs of dual income families, 300 million more consumers are expected to move to processed food by 2015. The market size for the processed foods in India is thus bound to increase from US $102 billion to US $330 billion by 2014-15 assuming a growth of 10%. The share of the value added products in processed foods would almost double from US $44 billion currently to US $88 billion during the same period, growing at the rate of 15%. The JV between these two food giants brings a major break-through in the Indian processed food market.