Tata Group is the most prestigious brand in India. It is popular among Indians because of its national appeal. Recently, Tata Group is on an acquisition spree.
Tata Consumer Products Ltd(TCPL) is one of the units of Tata Group under the food and beverages sector. To broaden its offering in the packaged food area, TCPL has acquired Kottaram Agro Foods.
TCPL acquires Soulfull Cereals Maker
Through the official statement on Tuesday, TCPL revealed that it has acquired a 100% stake in Kottaram Agro Foods. Kottaram is known for its on the table products with the Soulfull brand. Breakfast cereals and ragi bites are a few of the well-known products under the brand of Soulfull.
TCPL invested Rs 155.8 crore to fully acquire Kottaram. The current acquisition is a strategic move of TCPL to add more variety of foods to its portfolio.
This deal makes TCPL stronger in the packaged food category. The company already sells pulses, spices, different mixtures under the Tata Sampann brand. Tata tea, Tata coffee, Tetley are other noted products sold under the beverage category.
The current acquisition is also in line with the extra demands of packaged foods due to pandemic. People are preferring home-cooked foods more than outside foods.
Pandemic has also forced users to chose healthier foods for immunity boosting purposes. Tata foods are considered as one of the pure and healthiest among all.
How Will Acquisition Help TCPL?
This acquisition will allow TCPL to expand its product portfolio into the fast-growing ‘on-the-table’ and ‘on-the-go’ categories and to participate in newer consumption occasions, the company said. This acquisition will bring more opportunities for TCPL. It will widen the distribution area of Tata foods.
Sunil D’souza, MD and CEO of TCPL said, “mini-meal food segment is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Soulfull brand has established itself in this category. With the acquisition, the company has a new market opportunity in this sector. The current team of marketers and entrepreneurs owned by Soulfull will remain with TCPL and will help us in further growth.”
Founded in 2013, the Soulfull brand mainly focuses on millet-based products like cereals, snacks, etc. The company has a strong customer base in the urban area. Kottaram had a turnover of approximately Rs 40 crore in FY20.
TCPL is widening its reach and distribution centers with the help of different favorable acquisition. A few months back in 2020, TCPL also acquired a 50% stake in Nourish co Beverages Ltd. Currently, TCPL and Nourish run Himalaya Packaged Water and Glucoplus brands as a joint venture.
Conclusion
It is known that Tata Group has recently acquired a major stake in 1mg and BigBasket. These all acquisitions are part of Tata’s ambitious digital project-Super App. Under this initiative, Tata plans to bring all major sectors like health, retail, manufacturing under one umbrella of Super App. These acquisitions are also a sign of a business war between Reliance Industries and Tata Group.
As per the Brand Finance survey of Most Valuable Brands Worldwide, Tata retained its first position among Indian Brands. Globally it holds 77th position among the most valuable brands.