India

LT Foods JV to ‘create’ rice-based snacks

12-Oct-2017 - Last updated on 12-Oct-2017 at 04:58 GMT

Basmati rice manufacturer LT Foods will launch premium rice-based snacks through a joint venture with Kameda Seika of Japan, under the brand name Kari Kari.

The product will be initially be available in four flavours across Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and will form a “new category that we are trying to create,” according to Ashwani Arora, chief executive of LT Foods, which will have a 51% stake in the business, named Daawat Kameda India.

“The products are developed as per consumer preferences in terms of flavours and tastes. We have been looking at this market for the past three years,” Arora said.

With LT Foods present in 65 countries, and snack specialist Kameda operating across Asia and America, Kari Kari will likely be available in other countries at a later stage.

LT’s entry into the premium snacks market is part of its plan to cross the US$1bn revenue mark by 2022, through diversification into ready-to-make, ready-to-eat and organic staples. In March, it reported income of INR32bn (US$490m).

According to Euromonitor International, India’s savoury snack market will continue growing at an annual rate of 12%, to be worth INR445bn by 2021.