Borthwicks Flavours Set For Fresh Entry

Borthwicks Flavours, the century-old British flavour company, is returning to India with a majority stake in a venture with the Shiv Jatia group, eight years after it snapped its technical alliance with a Chennai-based company.

The company, which has interests in 70 countries in the world, will be the third multinational to make a foray into the Rs 700-crore Indian flavour market. Bush Boake & Allen, a US-based company, and Quest International, a subsidiary of Unilever, are already in the domestic market.

Borthwicks Flavours (India) managing director Neil Prasad said on Saturday that the UK company will be picking up a 51 per cent stake in the venture and will invest about Rs 3.5 crore initially. The Delhi-based Jatias -- with interests in the fruit processing industry -- will hold the remaining 49 per cent. The joint venture hopes to receive the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) soon.

 

Sources expect the competition to intensify in the domestic market with the entry of a third MNC. The Indian flavour market is projected to grow by about 20 per cent over the next two years. Prasad unveiled ambitious plans for Borthwicks in India and said the company is aiming at a 10 per cent market share in two years.

The company's plant, coming up at Gurgaon near Delhi, will go on stream in August this year. It has already firmed up sale contracts for its flavours with a number of clients such as Nestle, Smithkline Beecham, Whyte & Mackay and Mohan Meakins.

Borthwicks produces natural and artificial flavours and has a range of 50,000 different products. Prasad said, to maintain the international quality of its products in India, it may initially source raw material from abroad.

Prasad said Borthwicks would like to give the Indian food and beverage industry the opportunity to use flavours of international standards. Our major strength lies in understanding tastes of different countries and regions. Our flavours range from herbs to hibiscus flowers and from wood extracts to honey, Prasad said.