Lotus Chocolate to triple capacity

Lotus Chocolate Company Limited, the publicly-listed company of city-based Puzzolana Group, is planning to triple its cocoa-based chocolate production capacity from the current 350 tonne per month in the next three years.

“The expansion is proposed to cater to the increasing demand from big groups for industrial products, besides supporting our own brands that are in the pipeline,” Abhijeet Pai, director of Puzzolana, told mediapersons on the sidelines of the Partnership Summit on Friday.

According to him, the company, which has over 10 own brands in the dairy chocolate slabs segment, is set to launch its new brand ‘Magic’ shortly. It will be a competitive product with ‘more chocolate for less price’, Pai said.

“Our industrial business currently accounts for 67 per cent our our production with consumer products comprising the rest. We would want to keep this ratio intact for the next two years,” he said.

Pai said the company was setting up a 12-tonne per day capacity chocolate chips plant in Hyderabad that will go on stream by this March. He, however, declined to divulge the quantum of investment that it is infusing into the plant.

The family-owned group, a manufacturer of crushing, screening and bulk material handling systems, had acquired Lotus Chocolate in 2008. It expects revenues to touch Rs 60 crore this fiscal, as against Rs 42 crore last year.

Lotus Chocolate’s scrip ended the trade at Rs 28.20 on the BSE on Friday, up 4.06 per cent, over the previous close of Rs 27.10.