Vegit eyes 25% growth in FY'15, plans expansion

MUMBAI: Vegit, the agro division of the Rs 950 crore Merino Group which offers ready-to-cook packaged foods, is eyeing 25 per cent revenue growth in the next financial year.


"We are expecting a growth of 25 per cent on the back of our continuous addition to product portfolio," Merino Industries Regional head Madan Singi told . He declined however to share the current size - in value terms - of the agro division business. Vegit's nine snack products are available in 20 cities. It is planning to increase the number of products to 15-16 in the near future.

"We are planning to expand our product presence to all metro cities and also extend it to tier II cities. We believe the growth will come from tier II cities in future," he said.

The company, Singi said, has tied up with all the major retail stores. The ready-to-cook market is over Rs 2,000 crore, of which the "aloo ( potato) mash" category is worth Rs 500 crore.

Vegit is planning to begin exports from next year to countries that have high Indian population. "We are in the process to begin exports of our products to countries like the US, which has a high Indian diaspora. We expect to begin shipping our consignment in the next financial year," Singi said.

In the Agro Business, the Merino Group began in the cold storage business and diversified into farming, biotechnology and food processing. Vegit began with potato flakes and ready to eat snack mixes under the brand name 'Vegit'. The company has a unit in Hapur in Uttar Pradesh with a capacity of processing 50,000 tonne potatoes annually.