EID Parry expands product portfolio in value added sugar

Launches a new sugar brand for health conscious consumers

Murugappa Group firm EID Parry (India) Ltd is planning to expand its branded sugar portfolio with value added products. The company has today launched Parry's Amrit, an original cane sugar, and plans to launch two more products in an years' time, said senior management from the company.

The company today said that it will launch a the new retail brand product, which is claimed to be manufactured through a new process through which sugar is refined by keeping the natural nutrients in sugarcane juice in the end product, on September 18, 2015.

"There is no much differentiation in the sugar brands available in retail now and everybody are trying to differentiate on prices. We are looking at differentiation through value addition and going forward we will compete on value added products," said V Ramesh, managing director, EID Parry (India) Ltd. The company will be launching two more new products in next one year.

Indian consumer sugar market is of 25 million tonne and out of this 65 per cent is catered to institutions and the rest goes into retail. The public distribution system contributes to around seven to eight per cent of this retail market.

The company is placing Parry's Amrit to a health conscious consumer market, with claims that the product contains naturally retained magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorous and potassium, which are important nutrients for the harmonious function fo the body.

The company has set up a facility in its plant in Nellikuppam, in Cuddalore district, for the product and is in the process of attaining patent for the process. At present the facility has a capacity of 5,000 tonne per annum, which could be expanded to increase the capacity.

The product would be initially launched in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru, in Karnataka, in the initial stage, in 2,500 outlets by October 2015, and would look at launching across South India by January, 2016. The intial product is a 500 gram, at a maximum retail price of Rs 30 per pack. The product is sold at a premium, considering the value addition, he added.

The company would also be looking at expanding its market from South India to the northern and western parts of the country, said senior officials. With its facility in Nellikuppam, it was not viable for the company to supply the branded sugar products to an area beyond South India. However, it has started expanding the market to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh slowly and is looking at expanding in these geographies in future through its facility in Haliyal, in north Karnataka, which was acquired from GMR a few years back, said a senior official. Its brands currently has a reach to around one lakh outlets in South India.

The existing brands of EID Parry include Parry's Pure Refined Sugar, White Label Sugar and Vita Sugar.