A fully automated food processing and beverages unit FieldFresh Foods with an investment of Rs. 115-crore by the telecom major Bharti Enterprises, in a 50:50 joint venture with the Philippines-based Del Monte Pacific Limited was unveiled near Hosur on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference after inaugurating the facility Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Mittal said, “The inauguration of the new facility heralds a new phase of development for Del Monte brand in the processed food and beverages category in India. This investment underlines Field Fresh Food’s commitment of delivering world class products of great quality and taste for the discerning Indian consumers and raising the standards of the industry. Our mission and vision is to make the Del Monte as one of the top 10 brands in the processed food and beverages sector before 2014.’’
The Hosur unit come up in a sprawling 21.4 acre plot aims to create new benchmarks in the processed food and beverages industry in the nation. Culinary products such as ketchups, sauces, mustard sauce and mayonnaise, will be produced at the unit. Apart from this, fruit drinks at a production rate of 300 cans and 200 PET bottles per minute and over 4 tons per hour will be produced. The unit will also have the packaging capabilities in squeezy, glass and flexible pack options for all the culinary products.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Del Monte Pacific Limited Mr. Joselito D. Campos Jr, said, “India is one of the most exciting consumer markets. Brand Del Monte with its commitment to taste and quality, has had a great journey so far, and look forward to the many more milestones in India.”
Mr. Campos said the plant and its equipments are fully integrated and highly automated, resulting in production of consistently high quality products. The state-of-the-art facility is supported by the best in class plant manufacture for power generation and re-distribution, effluent treatment, cold storage, pasteurization and packaging. The products will remain untouched by human hands during the entire production process.
Chief Operating Officer, FieldFresh Foods Mr. Sanjay Nandrajog said, taking the brand promise of Del Monte – “Taste. Like Never Before” forward, this facility will house a Research and Development facility, online laboratory and automated monitoring systems.
“We are geared to break new ground in the food and beverage (F&B) market in India and I am optimistic that our plans will propel us to be one of the top two F&B companies in India by 2014,” he said.
Del Monte products would be in 30 cities across the nation in the first phase and later expanded to other cities and towns, Mr. Nandrajog added.
