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Fruit drink market expected to see 35-40% growth in foreseeable future
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Monday, 21 October, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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fiogf49gjkf0d  In the next five years, it is estimated that India's fruit drink industry would be worth between Rs 12,000 crore and Rs 15,000 crore, although the country is one of the laggards as far as per capita consumption of fruit juice-based beverages is concerned.
In an e-mail interaction with Anurag More, Dhirendra Singh, chairman and managing director, Manpasand Beverages Pvt Ltd, spoke about Mango Sip (the company's flagship product) and the steps being taken to improve the packaging scenario.
How big is the fruit drink market in India? What is your share in the market?
The packaged fruit drink market in India is currently pegged at Rs 5,000 crore, and it is witnessing tremendous growth.
The per capita consumption of fruit juice-based beverages is 45 litre in Germany, 42.5 litre in Switzerland and 39 litre in the United States, but India's per capita fruit juice-based beverage consumption is just 20ml.
In the carbonated soft drink segment, the country's per capita consumption is just under three litre (which is also negligible compared to other countries).
This shows the huge opportunity India has in terms of business if proper strategies are devised to make fruit juices available and affordable.
Manpasand Beverages – whose flagship brand is Mango Sip (which is amongst the top four mango drink brands in India) – has been in the business of beverages since 1998.
Established by first-generation entrepreneur Dhirendra Singh, the company has carved a niche for itself in the market with a basket of 25 product variants.
How do you see the industry in next five years?
The market would be witnessing tremendous growth in the near future, as there are huge opportunities in the packaged beverage market.
These are being fuelled by a rise in the disposable income, changing lifestyle and a burgeoning younger middle-class.
As stated earlier, the per capita consumption is very low, and this presents the industry players with an opportunity to tap the huge untapped potential that this segment offers.
The industry is expected to see a growth of 35 to 40 per cent in the foreseeable future. So in the next five years, it is estimated that the fruit drink industry would be worth around Rs 12,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore.
What are the growth drivers for the sector?
The major growth drivers are the shift in the consumers' preference for non-carbonated fruit beverages, thanks to obesity and other health related issues; a change in lifestyle, affordability and availability.
This shift is creating newer opportunities for beverage manufacturers throughout India.
The opening of markets in the Tier-II and III cities of the country is a contributor to the growth of the sector.
Packaged juices are said to be costlier than non-packaged juices. What are the steps taken to change the scenario?
It is a fact that packaged fruit juices are at a premium compared to non-packaged ones.
However, that is unlikely to pose a major challenge for the juice manufacturers, given that the disposable income in the hands of Indian consumers has almost doubled in the last decade, and consumers are willing to pay a little more for quality products.
Another factor is quality assurance, which is guaranteed by tetra-packs, which have offered a solution to provide fruit juice that is practically fresh and preservative free.
These factors have resulted in an increased consumption of juices.
Juices are healthy only when prepared hygienically. Packaged juices from trusted national and international brands have usually been prepared and certified to be in accordance with health and safety regulations.
They thus underpin the confidence of consumers in considering them to be a healthy and convenient option, as compared to the fresh juices available at local joints and street stalls.
Do you have eco-friendly packaging for your products?
Manpasand uses aseptic packaging and PET bottles. Its rectangular aseptic packages reduces the carbon footprint, as it is highly efficient during transportation, storage and distribution.
It uses 33 per cent less space than cans. Moreover, the carton is recyclable.
Apart from this, Manpasand is also working to maintain a positive water balance, and has set up zero wastewater discharge systems in its plants.
The company understands the importance of a green environment and takes various steps to ensure its positive contribution to it.
How is the industry coping up with the reluctant attitude displayed by local farmers towards fruit farming, the current volatility in prices of fruits and the lack of storage facilities for fruit-based products?
We need to understand the reasons why farmers are reluctant towards fruit farming. As far as fruit and vegetables are concerned, India incurs post-harvest losses worth over Rs 2 lakh crore each year, largely owing to the absence of food processing units, modern cold storage facilities and a callous attitude towards tackling the grave issue of post-harvest losses.
The lack of proper storage facilities is also responsible for the wastage of substantial quantities of fruit produced in India. It can be prevented to a great extent by controlling the post-harvest environmental conditions.
Storage and handling conditions need to be enhanced in the fruit markets, thereby providing infrastructure facilities to bring down the post-harvest losses and promote increased productivity.
The prices of fruit have seen a higher degree of volatility than those of grains.
A huge gap between the demand for and the supply of fruit; the inefficiency of the markets in matching the supply and the demand in different parts of the country; their inherent perishability and the lack of cold chains are the key reasons for the frequent volatility in the prices of fruit.
The government should envisage plans and strategies to tackle these problems.
The industry should also take initiatives proactively.
What impact has the devaluation of the rupee had on imports (if you import any products)?
Manpasand sources all its material locally and within the country itself. Therefore, there is no impact of the devaluation of the rupee on its products.
What are the new trends you are witnessing in this sector?
Fruit juice lovers are now considering packaged fruit juices to be more hygienic than non-packaged ones, as the former are available in sealed packs.
Now, both urban and semi-urban people are willing to spend a little more for quality products. A number of companies are trying to capture the untapped segment of the market aimed at children. The rural market in India has a huge growth potential in this regard.
Fruit juices have created a space for themselves in regular household menus, as a part of a family’s breakfast, at social gatherings, and as an accompaniment to evening snacks.
As a result, consumers are picking up multiple family packs at one go, which is an emerging consumption trend.
In the past few years, there has been a sharp change in the number of nuclear families, in tandem with a surge in the number of working couples, which has led to higher disposable incomes.
This has aided the affordability of packaged fruit juices, which are fast replacing fresh, homemade juices and becoming a compulsory item on breakfast tables.
The trend of consumers evolving from fruit drinks in bottles to sweetened juices to 100 per cent packaged juices has been observed largely in the past couple of years.
Consumers are buying in greater quantities for household consumption and buying fruit juices has become more of a habitual purchase than a need-based purchase.
Brief us about your product offerings.
Manpasand manufactures and markets more than 25 product variants today. Its flagship brand, Mango Sip is amongst the top four mango drink brands in India.
The company’s other major fruit drink brands are Apple Sip, Litchi Sip and Guava Sip. It also plans to launch many new fruit-based beverages keeping the consumers' health and taste in mind.
At Manpasand, the focus has been on delivering nothing but the very best in quality.
Our mission is to be counted as one of the leading beverage brands in the world, and bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
In just a decade-and-a-half, Manpasand has carved a niche for itself with its focussed marketing strategy and strong presence in Tier-II and III cities and rural markets in India for its ready-to-serve fruit juice products.
The company's state-of-the-art plants are equipped with fully automatic smart technologies.
Manpasand packages its products in PET and tetra-packs.
It endeavours to provide quality products are endorsed and accredited with ISO 22000-2005 certification.
Tell us about your expansion plan.
Manpasand is scaling up its production capacity from the present 10 million to 20 million cases with an investment of around Rs 150 crore at both its plants in Vadodara and Varanasi.
It will also scale up its distribution network in more than 20 states with a clear target to reach minimum two lakh outlets with help of 2,000 distributors.
The company will be aggressively working towards building our presence in rural markets. It always keeps the country and customers in mind, while devising expansion plans.
Manpasand constantly looks at opportunities to serve the country and customers very well.
India is one of the largest fruit producers, with annual production standing at around 76 million tonne (or about 10 per cent of the world's total production).
India processes only two percent of its fruit, and nearly 30 per cent of the fruit produced gets spoilt before it is sold.
The company is working towards a gigantic plan to prevent this wastage and put India on the world map for fruit product marketing.
It has set up research and development (R&D) centres, where many food technologists work round the clock to study about how these fruit can be processed further and marketed throughout the world.
In a nutshell, Manpasand plan to create a worldwide market for Indian fruit beverages. There is a huge potential in export market for its fruit juices, since we are amongst the leading producers of various fruits.
India's farmers will be benefited through this, and a global Indian fruit drink brand will be created in this process.
Do you plan to launch any new products?
Manpsand's mission is to be counted as one of the leading beverage brand in the world and bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
Keeping in mind the consumers' tastes and preferences, it will continue to add new products to its portfolio at regular intervals.
In the near future, the company plans to launch fruit-based beverages, and has big plans to foray into the mineral water, nectar, pure juice and snack businesses.
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