Aachi Masala plans pan-India expansion by 2015

The company expects its turnover to reach Rs 1,000 cr in 2016

Aachi Group of Companies, a Chennai-based Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company focusing on masala and food products, is looking at a pan-India expansion in the next two years. The company is expecting its turnover to reach Rs 1,000 crore in 2016, the promoter of the company told Business Standard.

Aachi Masala Foods Pvt Ltd presently has a presence across 12 states in the country, including the southern states and Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and New Delhi. It entered most of the North Indian states in the last one year.

"We are in 12 states now and our plans are to have a pan-India presence by 2015. We will complete our present capacity expansion programmes for market expansion April, this year," said A Padmasingh Isaac, founder and chairman, Aaachi Group of Companies.

The capacity expansion plans under progress include setting up of an R&D at an investment of Rs 9 crore to bring in changes to the products to suit the international standards and tastes. It is also completing expansion of its factory with chilly and dhaniya grinding facilities, for Rs 28 crore, for market expansion.

The company is expecting to complete an investment of Rs 100 crore through the projects it started in 2012-13, by 2015. In 2013-14, it has planned an investment of Rs 15 crore for a cold storage facility. The investments would be from internal accruals and debt.

However, the promoters of Aachi Group is looking for investors into other business it is planning to come up in the beginning of 2013-14. There are plans to launch ready-to-eat products like Snacks, under the brand name Aachi Frispo, plans to launch mineral water and juice products.

Under the promoter owned firm Sabash Marketing Pvt Ltd, there are brands including Blesso, which offers over the counter medicine products like cough syrup, Sabash, which offers personal care products, Twinkle, which offers detergent and mosquito coil and a honey brand.

The promoters are looking at selling stake in these ventures to raise around Rs 15-20 crore in total. It is looking at starting discussions with private equity, venture capital or angel investors for this, said Isaac.

The company also has a packaging firm which caters to all its present FMCG business which would also look for fund raising. However, there are no plans for fund raising through equity dilution in the Aachi Group of Companies at present, he added.

Aachi Group would use its distribution strength to support these businesses across the country, said Isaac. The company currently have a reach to 1.2 million outlets and plans are to increase this to 2 million outlets in next two years.

The company, founded in 1998, is expecting to clock a turnover of Rs 575 crore, of which Rs 350 crore would come from 'masala' products alone, in 2012-13.