MTR Foods, known for its packaged food items, has set up worth Rs 50 crore seed funding to invest in startups that are engaged in food processing business, cited ET.
Bengaluru-based company has been a major player in the (packaged) food industry. It’s tradition of food and hospitality began in 1924 with the establishment of the MTR Restaurant by the Maiya family in Bangalore.
Presently, MTR Foods stand tall as an Indian heritage brand. A popular household name, MTR Foods has consolidated its market leadership in the south and is all set for a strong pan India presence, beginning with forays into the northern, western and eastern regions.
In February 2007, MTR Foods announced its official partnership with Nordic conglomerate Orkla.
The Orkla global conglomerate comprises four business units: Orkla Foods Nordic, Orkla Brands Nordic, Orkla Food Ingredients and Orkla Brands International. While the Nordic region is Orkla Brands’ domestic market, it has established strong market positions in India, Russia and parts of Central and Eastern Europe.
“We clocked about Rs 900 crore in revenues in 2018, and is hoping to touch Rs 1,000 crore in 2019 as we are consistently been growing at 14 per cent CAGR for the past five years,” Sanjay Sharma, CEO of MTR Foods said.
“We started something like startup fund. The face of the Indian food processing industry is redefined by the startups. We want to now clearly participate in this market. We put together Rs 50 crore fund,” Sharma added.
Sharma further added that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh together contribute the second highest to the sales from India and, in 2019, the company has put together a strategy to focus on the two states both in terms of launch of new products as well as investments and strategic initiatives.
He said the company expects about Rs 150 crore from the two new products that were launched. MTR exports products worth about 10 percent of the total revenues.