The management also has taken up another plant on lease in Visakhapatnam (Vizag) under the same company which will focus very strongly on marine products.
MUMBAI: The Indian Hotels Company Ltd diversified into processed food business with the acquisition of Amalgam Foods in January.
While the new business is stabilising, the management is currently focusing on investing in Amalgam’s Sumeru brand, tightening up the sales, distribution and logistics management for the product line up besides streamlining the production infrastructure in Kochi.
The management also has taken up another plant on lease in Visakhapatnam (Vizag) under the same company which will focus very strongly on marine products.
The Sumeru brand of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products will be marketed in the country and produced out of Kochi, while the Vizag unit will target the exports market with a variety of marine products.
“That’s the way we are modelling the foods business. It is still a very young business, embryonic and small and we are nursing it and will grow it as we go along. At a later stage, we will great will a lot of group synergy with this line of business in the later years,” said CFO Anil P Goel.
On the air catering side, as the load factor continues to be strong, the company has opened new facilities in existing and emerging markets. New markets and airports are being looked upon as growth drivers.
With the airline catering market booming, the company is supplying to 52,000 meals on a daily basis. This number is likely to increase substantially in the coming years.
“The per meal price doesn’t vary very much so it’s primarily a volume game but the business is still quite strong as we all know there is a lot of activity happening in this sector.
That’s the reason we are now adding more kitchens in order to cater to the growing demand,” said Raymond Bickson, MD, Indian Hotels.
Earlier in January, the company launched its Amritsar facility and there is another one coming up in Bangalore soon.
“This apart, we have the infrastructure for a flight kitchen in Goa which can be commissioned at short notice,” said Bickson.
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