MTR Foods, which has been registering a CAGR of 18 per cent with its 140 products of which 44 are from the innovative category, has been able to generate Rs 700 crore ending 2015-2016. While 90 per cent of the earnings came in from the domestic market, 10 per cent were from export earnings as the company was present in 30 countries.
The company unveiled the Cuppa Project to offer breakfast in a cup, opting for healthy ingredients like multigrain and focussing on single-serve portions.
Since its takeover by the Norway-based Orkla Foods in 2007, the company had a fund infusion of Rs 230 crore which enabled it to increase its production capacity to the current 45,000 MT.
“The company is financially strong with zero debt and negative working capital as it embarks on all its future expansion with internal accruals. Our brand has grown in the last five years. There is makeover in branding image because of the rapid transformations in the food processing sector,” stated Sanjay Sharma, COO, MTR Foods.
Consumers are evolving and are opting for digital modes to access products. This is mainly because of dual income homes, paucity of time and lack of cooking knowledge. There is a 30 per cent increase in women entering the workforce and every third person hired in a company is now a woman. Now the consumer perception of Indian foods is that it is cumbersome, difficult to make and time consuming. When a processed version is taken into consideration, then it should taste like homemade food but seen to be difficult to consume on the move.
Another testing time for MTR in the last five years is the stiff competition emanating from 38 companies in categories where it is present. “There is no differentiation in the offerings and only commoditisation of categories prevail.Therefore, we needed to make MTR more agile and a fast- moving organisation, making it consumer-centric to ensure there is innovation,” he added.
The company’s pillars of innovation were evolved ensuring all recipes were authentic, appealed to younger consumers in terms of convenience. The company experimented with new ingredients and flavours to provide a whole new experience with the MTR brand.
This saw the company changing the brand perception. All its mixes are now marketed in pouches and its ready-to-eat range was designed for the consumer on the move. “With regard to the Cuppa Project, there were 44 innovations in 2014, which were viewed to be disruptive. These covered the multigrain and single-serve portions which decreased the preparation time from15 minutes to a mere three minutes. The focus on mega innovation paid off because it added value and was in-sync with the changing consumer needs,” said Sharma.
