Bharti

FieldFresh Brings Authentic Oriental Flavours to India through Strategic partnership with Japanese Brand KIKKOMAN

• ● Brings world’s No.1 Soy sauce brand to India to strengthen its overall condiments portfolio in the market
• ● Aims to achieve market leadership in the premium oriental condiments space over the next 3-5 years

New Delhi, November 03, 2017: FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd., a Joint venture between Bharti Enterprises & Del Monte Pacific Limited, today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Japanese Heritage Food Brand, KIKKOMAN, to introduce its globally acclaimed Soy Sauce in India. With this partnership, FieldFresh Foods will have the exclusive rights to manufacture and market Kikkoman products in India, thereby strengthening its condiment portfolio in the market.

Speaking about the partnership Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are delighted to partner with Kikkoman Corporation. This is a significant milestone and in line with the Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. We are confident with Kikkoman’s expertise in the premium oriental condiments segment and our deep consumer understanding of the Indian market will help both the companies to emerge as a leading player in the segment and achieve market leadership in the next 3-5 years.”

“With a surge in specialized restaurants offering Oriental cuisine, we are expecting the partnership to also give a significant boost to our B2B business, Mr. Mittal further added.

Mr. Osamu Mogi - Director, Executive Corporate Officer of International Operations Division, KIKKOMAN added “We are very excited to partner with FieldFresh Foods in India to introduce KIKKOMAN. The partnership will not only allow us to enter the vibrant Indian subcontinent, but also help us build and develop Japanese food culture in the country. KIKKOMAN is committed to promote international exchange of food culture, and with Del Monte’s well-established presence in both modern trade (supermarket chains) and foodservice, a tie-up with them allows us to leverage our combined strength which will be enriching for customers. As we continue to promote excellence through our products, we are hopeful that the collaboration will familiarize people with Kikkoman offerings and define us as one of the most trusted companies in the world.

The KIKKOMAN range of products will be manufactured at FieldFresh Foods’ state of the art manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which was set up with an initial investment of approx. Rs.150 crores in 2009-10.

The size of the Indian Soy Sauce market is estimated at INR. 100 Cr in retail and foodservice combined, and is expected to grow at 20% YoY. Given the massive opportunity that the sector presents, Del Monte is targeting to lead the premium oriental condiments category in India over the next 3-5 years.

Mr. Yogesh Bellani, CEO, FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd. said, “We have been expanding our oriental condiments portfolio with the combined efforts of Del Monte’s global heritage, and now with KIKKOMAN’s expertise in Japanese cuisine, we are hopeful to expand our footprint in growing the condiments segment. We aim to achieve a market leadership position in the premium oriental condiments segment.”

Currently, Del Monte in India is present in four categories including Culinary, Beverage, Italian and Packaged Food, and has a strong condiments portfolio of ketchups, mayonnaise, pizza sauces etc. With the growing appetite for Pan Asian cuisine in India, FieldFresh Foods collaborated with KIKKOMAN to expand and strengthen its footprint in the Oriental condiments space, both in retail and in foodservice segments. KIKKOMAN is the number one Japanese Soy sauce brand in the world and one of the global leaders in Oriental condiments. They manufacture and sell soy sauce, soy sauce-based seasonings, and foodstuffs worldwide.

About FieldFresh Foods Pvt. Ltd.:

FieldFresh Foods Private Limited is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises & Del Monte Pacific Limited. With a vision of 'Creating Delightful Food Experiences', FieldFresh Foods offers a range of food and beverage products under the Del Monte brand in India, while exporting fresh and processed vegetables like Baby Corn, Sweet Corn, Chillies, Gherkins, Jalapenos to UK and western Europe. It also exports culinary sauces & condiments to international QSR's in 12 markets in Asia Pacific.

For fresh produce, FieldFresh Foods has an Agriculture Centre of Excellence (ACE) at Ladhowal, Ludhiana in Punjab, which is one of the largest agricultural R&D facilities of its kind and is spread over 300 acres with a state-of-the-art protected & open field cultivation for vegetables. The Company also has a world class manufacturing and R&D center for Del Monte range of products at Hosur, near Bengaluru. This state-of-the-art facility manufactures a range of Fruit Drinks, Sauces, Dips, Dressings, Processed Vegetables and Condiments. The plant has fully integrated and highly automated lines consistently producing high quality products which remain untouched by the human hand.

About KIKKOMAN Corporation:

In 1917, the Mogi and Takanashi families (8 families) merged their family-run businesses to form Noda Shoyu Co., Ltd. Shoyu means soy sauce in Japanese. That was the origin of Kikkoman. The company's name was changed to Kikkoman Shoyu Co., Ltd. in 1964, and again in 1980 to Kikkoman Corporation. Although soy sauce still remains Kikkoman's leading product, Kikkoman today represents much more than soy sauce and has expanded far beyond Japan. Kikkoman Soy Sauce is now produced in the United States, Europe, Singapore and Taiwan as well. As of March 31, 2017, the number of Group companies is about 56, and consolidated net sales is JPY 402,174 million (approximately USD 4,385 million / exchange rate is 1JPY=109.03USD) as of March 31, 2017.