Mother Dairy forays into organic food biz

Leading milk supplier Mother Dairy has entered into Rs 4,000 crore organic food business as part of its strategy to diversify product portfolio.

The company is targeting a revenue of Rs 50 crore next fiscal and Rs 100 crore in 2020-21, Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Director Saugata Mitra said.

To start with, Mother Dairy has launched its organic range of fresh fruits and vegetables and other kitchen ingredients under its horticulture brand Safal.

The new range of products labelled as 'Safal Organic' is available in select 100 Safal booths across Delhi NCR.

"With this foray, the company aims to make Safal Organic a brand worth Rs 100 crores by 2021. Safal is looking forward to generate a revenue of around Rs 50 crores by fiscal 2019 - 2020," Mitra said.

Safal Organic will offer fresh organic fruit and vegetables sourced from about 500 farmers with certified organic farms across the states of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

A wide range of organic kitchen ingredients namely pulses, rice, spices, millets, dry fruits, wheat flour, besan, sugar, salt and flattened rice flakes (poha), have been introduced.

Going forward, the company plans to further expand Safal Organic range by adding seasonal fruits and vegetables along with honey, rock salt and more varieties of whole spices and pulses.

Safal has set up a facility to handle organic produce at Mangolpuri in the national capital to ensure a distinguished supply chain as mandated in the regulations. The capacity of the newly established organic facility is around 15 tonne/day.

Safal's organic products are in compliance with the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), under the central government, and it also conforms to the Jaivik Bharat' initiative of FSSAI.

Mother Dairy said the harvested produce is subjected to stringent testing for 127 pesticidal residues by accredited labs. In addition, the logistics for organic is duly differentiated at all levels and processing too has been distinguished along with packaging storage and consumer touch-points to ensure compliance with laid norms.

As part of its agronomic interventions, Mother Dairy is also advising and helping farmers in growing organic produce.

"The company is also looking to expand its retail channels going forward, with plans to launch the product range in general trade and modern trade by end of current fiscal, starting with Delhi-NCR," Mitra said.

Mother Dairy was commissioned in 1974 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

It is a leading dairy player which manufactures, markets & sells milk and milk products, including cultured products, ice creams, paneer and ghee under the Mother Dairy' brand.

The company also has a diversified portfolio with products in edible oils under the Dhara' brand and fresh fruits & vegetables, frozen vegetables, unpolished pulses, honey etc under the Safal brand.