Foods & Inns acquires Kusum Spices for Rs 13.99 cr

Mango, guava pulp and frozen snacks manufacturer Foods & Inns on Wednesday said it has acquired Kusum Spices for Rs 13.99 crore.

Under the transaction, Foods & Inns will enter into partnership with a share of 99.99 per cent with Kusum Spices, which is in the branded spice business under 'Kusum Masala' brand, a release said here.

The company will fund the acquisition through internal accruals, it said.

Foods & Inns received Rs 148 crore by selling its land at Chembur in Mumbai and has used some of it to pay its debt.

"We have used Rs 13.99 crore and will use the rest for small ticket size acquisition in the frozen food category and also for expansion," Foods & Inns Chairman Bhupendra Dalal told PTI here.

Foods & Inns had acquired frozen foods company Finns Frozen, which produces frozen snacks such as samosa, onion bhajji, naans and vegetables, in March.

"With these acquisitions, we are expecting to double the revenue of our spice business and overall revenue to over Rs 400 crore," he added.

Kusum Spices had revenue of Rs 17 crore in 2018-19, while Foods & Inn's revenue stood at Rs 340 crore.

With Kusum Masala being a household name in the Mumbai suburb region, this acquisition will lead the company's transition from being a purely B2B (business-to-business) player to a branded B2C (business-to-consumer) one in the branded spice business, Dalal said.

Kusum Spice also exports spices worth Rs 4.5 crore.

The size of Indian spice market was estimated to be around Rs 40,000 crore in 2017.