Chennai-based AVT Natural Products has tied up with Swedish company Gavia to bring the TexMex range of Mexican food into the Indian market. Initially, the 50:50 joint venture will distribute the Santa Maria range of products in the country. The company also plans to set up a food manufacturing unit in the country.
“The joint venture will invest about Rs 25 crore for a single manufacturing unit, the location for which is yet to be identified,” MSA Kumar, managing director, AVT Natural Products Ltd, told Indiaretailing. The company is expecting a turnover of Rs 100 crore by September 2008.
The Santa Maria range of products, including tortillas, taco shells, chips, dips, seasoning mixes and wet sauces, will be available in 150 supermarkets and hypermarkets in Bangalore and Mumbai initially, and in eight other cities in the next phase of launch – i.e., in September this year.
Priced in the range of Rs 50-200, the TexMex range, falling in the cuisine category of food products, is targeted at SEC A households. “It will be more of a social eating concept,” Kumar stated.
Ludvig Mattson, managing director, Gavia India AB, termed the Indian market “an interesting one,” and expressed his hope that “it is ready for a new experience.”
Gavia has been sourcing spices from AV Thomas McCormick Ingredients for over a decade now.
– Vishnu Rageev R, Bangalore Bureau
