The country’s largest fast moving consumer goods maker by revenue – Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) – has acquired packaged foods brand Kohinoor from American giant McCormick at an undisclosed amount.
Apart from the premium basmati rice brand, the deal includes its umbrella brands such as Charminar and Trophy that together are valued at about Rs 115 crore.
AWL, which is already the largest edible oil importer, refiner and marketer in India, will consolidate its position in the branded rice market at the third spot with the addition of Kohinoor brands. The three brands already has a sale of Rs 300 crore a year, the company said.
The latest move by the Ahmedabad-based firm aligns well with its near-to-medium term strategy of rapidly growing the packaged foods and personal care portfolio by capacity expansion and acquisitions.
The Kohinoor deal will help the firm cross-leverage its distribution and production capabilities, while help gain market share and premiumise its portfolio, which AWL desperately needs to improve its margins.
“The acquisition is in sync with our business strategy to expand our portfolio in the higher margin branded staples and food products segment. We believe the packaged food category is under-penetrated with significant headroom for growth. The Kohinoor Brand has a strong brand recall and will help accelerate our leadership position in the Food FMCG category”, said Angshu Mallick, CEO & MD at AWL.
The company is actively working to acquire brands that are scalable and would help it improve its margins. IN FY2021-22, AWL’s foods and personal care business grew 38 per cent to Rs 2,621 crore from Rs 1,905 crore in the previous year.
According to Mallick, the management’s strategy is very clear about the way forward. “Our strategy is very clear: we want to expand our foods business. Second, whether the deal can help us expand nationally or even internationally. Third, will we get perpetual business from it? And fourth, whether we can expand that portfolio to meet our objective of making it big in processed foods”, he told Business Today during an earlier interaction.
In the latest deal, brands like Trophy that primarily serves the HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and cafes) channels will be heavily leveraged by AWL, which already has a significant presence in the segment.
While, its rapidly growing distribution network in the general trade – covering 1.6 million or 80 per cent of the foods and grocery outlets in the country – means greater distribution of mass market brands like Charminar. To improve its brand visibility and consumer experience, AWL is also expanding its branded stores chains. In the January-March quarter, it added 16 new branded outlets.
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