A taste of India at Food & Drink Expo

Visitors to the Food from Britain stand at Food & Drink Expo in Birmingham on 6-9 April will be able to get a taste of the insight on offer from leading Indian retailer Reliance Fresh, keynote speaker at FFB’s International Networking Event on 21 May.

Sumit Kumar, Assistant General Manager, International Business, will give a short presentation about the retailer’s work in India, and opportunities for British producers, at 10.15-11.00 at the Food & Drink Expo Briefing Theatre in Hall 6 on Monday 7 April. The presentation will be a useful introduction to the retailer prior to its starring role at the FFB International Networking Event on 21 May.

The Indian market

India offers superb opportunities for British speciality producers as the moneyed upper classes continue to grow. Based primarily in the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, upper classes represent only 3% of the Indian population – or an astonishing 33 million people. This group has adventurous tastes and is the primary market for imported products and world food.

Growing imports and developing distribution

Distribution channels, which in the past have deterred many manufacturers from targeting such a lucrative market, are developing rapidly. The arrival of supermarkets onto the Indian retail scene has led to an ‘adapt or die’ situation in the more affluent areas of towns and cities, with more traditional retailers adjusting their stores to offer an experience more similar to supermarket shopping. Imports, which have grown at a steady 25% over the past five years, are predicted to continue to grow by 25% over the next five years. The UK already has a strong role exporting certain products to India, as the largest supplier of grated cheese and the second largest supplier of soups and sweet biscuits.

Retailers

The bulk of imported products are distributed to the larger modern food retailers in the five major cities of India, namely Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. The major retail chains include the Reliance Group, Spencers, Food World, Food Bazaar, Big Bazaar, Nilgiri’s, Trinethra and. These major retailers target the middle to high income consumers that reside in and around the five major cities in India.

One development of particular interest to British food and drink manufacturers is the development of speciality gourmet stores for the upper classes. This is an unprecedented market development in India and British companies are well-positioned to fulfil the demand for high-quality, innovative speciality products generated by these new stores.

For more information about India and Reliance Fresh, please contact Ruth O’Connor on roconnor@foodfrombritain.co.uk, or visit the Food from Britain stand at Food & Drink Expo on 6-9 April in Hall 6 – C238.

Inward Buyer Visit: Russia, Czech Republic & Ukraine

Food from Britain will also be bringing buyers from Russia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine to the show on Tuesday 8 April. If you are interested in taking meeting them to present your products’ potential, contact Kelly-Jane Haley on kjhaley@foodfrombritain.co.uk.

31 March 2008