Potato News from India

November 23, 2007

Burger King, Wendy's in talks with DLF for joint venture

Both Burger King and Wendy’s have held talks with DLF, a leading real estate developer to discuss an entry into the Indian market. Sources say that the ball is now in DLF’s court for zeroing in on a partner. The exact partnership model that is being ex...

November 22, 2007

Interview with Manu Anand, managing director of Frito-Lay India

FritoLay India has become the largest player in the branded salty snack market in the country and has been one of the fastest-growing FMCG companies in India for a number of years. Fritolay India managing director Manu Anand discusses the future plans ...

November 16, 2007

The Indian Snack segment is getting bigger

Packaged snacks are getting a lot of attention from big, branded players. So Frito-Lay, with its Lays, Cheetos, Kurkure, Lehar, Uncle Chipps and Quaker Oats snack brands is seeing some pretty concentrated competition from ITC’s Bingo! with its 16 flav...

November 12, 2007

Dairy company GCMMF enters Indian snack market with Munch Time

Taking a cue from the success of ITC's Bingo, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), universally known for its dairy products brand Amul, has decided to enter the branded snacks market with Munch Time, a salty snack much like Frito Lay’...

November 11, 2007

Efficiency of McDonald's India is an inspiration.

In India, McDonalds reveals unique local flavours — both on its very resistable menu and otherwise. Much to the surprise of ultranationalists and leftists who thought the American food giant would be routed, it has stuck around, growing and expanding ...

October 24, 2007

Satnam Agro expected to launch its Indian French fries next month

Satnam Agro Products, established by farmer-turned-entrepreneur Mandeep Singh has set up a state-of-the-art potato processing plant at a cost of Rs 63 crore at Jalandhar. Singh is hoping to launch next month French Fries made out of locally grown Chip...

October 23, 2007

How to tackle the Indian Seed potato shortage

A separate policy on potato and introduction of public-private partnership (PPP) model are required to address the problem of seed shortage faced by farmers, experts said here on Monday. “There is a need to have a separate policy on potato as it is one...

October 15, 2007

McDonald's India seeks to triple number of restaurants.

McDonald's Corp.'s Indian unit plans to invest at least INR3 billion (USD 75 million) over the next three-to-five years to triple the number of its fast-food restaurants in the country (currently 125), a senior company executive said Monday. "We...

October 02, 2007

McDonald's no longer betting big on kid stuff in India

Happy Meals, Big Mac’s most famous sub-brand specially tailored for children and a company trademark since 1979, has been witnessing a year-on-year decline in sales in India. “Kids’ visits to our stores have been declining year-on-year and have been ov...

September 28, 2007

India's 'retail revolution' sours for Reliance

Indian giant Reliance Industries has frozen plans to bring a Western-style "retail revolution"to the nation's biggest state amid bitter opposition from small traders, an official said Wednesday. Reliance has suspended retail operations and ...

September 26, 2007

The power of private labels: Retailers take on established brands with their own

When Pepsico’s Frito-Lay decided to boycott Pantaloon’s Food Bazaar due to differences in terms of trade, it was the latter’s private label which got a boost in shares. Today Tasty Treat, the ready-to-eat private label of Food Bazaar, is leading with ...

September 18, 2007

FritoLay plans aggressive campaigns, to add variants to its brands

PepsiCo India's FritoLay brand is revving up through an array of marketing campaigns and variant launches, with the onset of cooler climes and its flagship cola business taking the seasonal backseat. According to Deepika Warrier, marketing director, F...

September 12, 2007

The battle for market share in the Indian savory snacks market

Over nearly a decade, Frito-Lays India grew to be the undisputed champion of the branded part of the salty snack segment, estimated to be valued at around Rs 2,000 crore. Competition for the vast majority of this period was principally from local brand...

September 11, 2007

Futures trading in potato changes the potato supply chain

Futures trading in potato started last year with contracts available on both MCX and NCDEX and things began changing. The MCX contract is based on prices at the cold storage and the NCDEX contract is based on mandi prices at Delhi. The average daily tu...

August 27, 2007

Bingo carries forward the ‘Great Combination’ story for ‘Red Chilli Bijli Potato Chips’

ITC Food’s Bingo is once again using the popular ‘Great Combination’ humour platform for its newly launched ‘Red Chilli Bijli’ flavour potato chips. With its previous campaigns having generated a huge buzz around the brand name, ITC Food has decided t...

August 22, 2007

Technico could boost ITC's Bingo potato chips business.

ITC’s latest acquisition may seem like an extension of its presence in the agri-inputs space. The Zuari group’s seed potato business Technico Pty in Australia will add to its agri-input business. But just as trading in wheat gives it an edge in sourci...

August 18, 2007

Indian ITC takes over Australian owner of Technituber technology

Diversified major ITC Ltd, which launched potato chips under the brand Bingo, has taken over Australian agri-biotech company Technico Pty Ltd for an undisclosed sum, as part of a strategy to strengthen its foods business. An ITC spokesperson said th...

August 14, 2007

Battle for Indian chips potatoes

A battle being fought between biggies like Pepsico, Reliance Retail and ITC one that could decide who makes the crisper chip. For the past seven years contract farming has ensured Pepsico to source 40 per cent of its need from Western Maharashtra, pota...