Future expects `Ektaa' to be Rs 100 cr food brand in 2-3 yrs

Even as retail to financial services provider Future Group is riding high on the success of its private food brands, the group expects its 'Ektaa'brand to clock a Rs 100 crore turnover in the next 2-3 years, a top company official has said.

"All our private food brands are doing very well and contribute around 20-25% of the overall food business, which again is a growing category for the group. We expect Ektaa to become a Rs 100 crore brand in the next 2-3 years," Future Group Head (Private Brands) Devendra Chawla told PTI.

Future Group, which bagged the Golden Spoon award for the second time in a row at Food Forum India as the best retailer for a private label this year, claims to be the first retailer to create a brand that will bring different Indian communities together and celebrate their diverse culinary tastes.

Ektaa was introduced in the market last August and has so far launched five variants of rice -- Red Matta from Kerala, Sona Masoori from Andhra Pradesh, Govind Bhog from West Bengal and Basmati from Punjab, at Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets in 1 kg and 5 kg packages, respectively. It has also launched a few pulses.

The group is now looking at adding more categories into the brand, Chawla said, adding there is a huge opportunity in the regional food categories.
    
"There is a huge opportunity out there in different statess, with each community having around 20 different categories. However, these categories are in the unorganised sector and our focus is identify these authentic native food categories and sell under branded labels," Chawla said, citing the example of the 'khakras' (a local snack) market in Gujarat.
    
Khakra, a must have snack for every Gujarati, has an about Rs 500 crore market. The same is the case for the market for "muruku" in Andhra Pradesh, Chawla said.
    
"We are now planning to go beyond commodities like rice or pulses. We plan to launch authentic spices like a Awadhi Biryani masala or a Kashmiri chilli powder, or... A Maharashtrian 'poha' or 'puran poli' in the ready-to-eat category," he added.
    
The company recently launched 'Kasundi', an authentic Bengali mustard dip sauce, and plans to come out with ready mixes over the next few months.
    
"The brand will have a strong positioning on the geography-community-food-people platform. We are thinking local and acting community," he said, adding Future Group has always tried to connect with the masses.