Tasty Bite aims to double capacity every three years

Takeover by Mars Food to help firm enter newer markets

Preferred Brands International, the makers of ready-to-serve Indian and Asian food products under the Tasty Bite brand, has drawn up a road map to increase production capacity and expand global footprint, said a top official.

“We have three facilities at Pune making ready-to-serve, sauce and frozen products,” said Ashok Vasudevan, chief executive, Preferred Brands International. “We have capacity to make 40,000 tonnes per annum. The goal is to double it every three years.”

Recently, the Connecticut-based manufacturer and marketer of Indian and Asian food products was acquired by Mars Food, part of Mars Inc.

“Our Pune unit is working at full capacity. Mars has a food line and production facilities in different parts of the world. It is our facility now and the capacity can be expanded easily. Mars Food has strong presence in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, while we have strong presence in the U.S. for the consumer business and in India for food service,” he said.

With the takeover by Mars Food, the firm’s infrastructure is expected to scale up so as to address new markets, said Mr. Vasudevan. “Besides, we will replicate the success of Tasty Bite in other markets and take the food service business globally,” he said.

In India, Preferred Brands has a significant food service business under which it supplies sauce and pie to other manufacturers and quick service restaurants, while Mars Food markets chocolate, drinks and confectioneries.

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Madras, Mr. Vasudevan said it was a long journey for Preferred Brands, which was into the 24th year of operations. “It took us 15 years to enter the first 10,000 outlets and three years for the next 10,000 outlets. Since then, we have been seeing a compounded annual growth rate of 16% year-on-year and this will be accelerated with significant expansion in Australia.”

Asked about the future plans, Meera Vasudevan, co-founder, Preferred Brands, said: “Our focus will always be on products, process and ingredient innovation. India is a country which is filled with several natural vegetables and ingredients. We have lined up several products. On the anvil are the roll out of super food grains, super millets and ancient millets.”