CONSISTENTLY RISING demand for natural health beverages over carbonated energy drink has opened the door of high opportunity in the coconut water market. According to TechSci Research report, packaged coconut water market in India is projected to exhibit a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of over 17 percent during 2018-2022, on account of rising young working-class population base along with increasing personal disposable income and surging health consciousness.
Some of the leading players operating in India packaged coconut water market include Jain Agro Food Products Private Limited, Pure Tropic, Dabur India Limited, Lifetree Agro, Foods Private Limited, Nilgai Foods Private Limited, etc.
By seeing the potential and growing demand, many newcomers are penetrating into the coconut water market and making their space. Launched in the year 2016, Kalyan F&B Private Limited is the exclusive importer of ‘Be’ products in India. ‘Be’ is a Thailand based brand which provides a wide range of flavoured coconut water and coconut chips. BW Hotelier spoke to Ashish Verma, Managing Director, Kalyan F&B Private Limited who told us about his plans with the company.
Verma claimed that the company do not use any preservatives or artificial colours or flavours for most of their products. The Product Basket comprises of be Pure Coconut Water, be Mango, Coconut Water with a splash of mango, Coconut Chips, Banana Chips, and Dried Mango etc.
According to Verma, the canned packaging of their beverages is the unique offering in the Indian market. “Our main aim is to achieve top rank in the category of imported Coconut Water,” he adds. The products are currently manufactured and imported from Thailand and are exported to many western and European nations.
Apart from coconut water, the new aspect of healthy snacks as coconut chips has been added by Kalyan F&B Private Limited in the Indian market. It is a baked product that claims with zero cholesterol. “Before profitability, we would like to focus on the acceptability of the product in the Indian market. Since it is a new product for the market, we often receive reactions of astonishment amongst the customers. Once acceptability is achieved, profitability will automatically follow,” said Verma.
The products are currently placed in retail outlets like Foodhall, Modern Bazaar, Le Marche, Needs etc. and the company is continuously working towards increasing the presence in the other retail formats too. These products are also available online on portals like Amazon, bigbasket etc.
When asked about the sales outlook of the company, Verma replied, “It is too early to give a figure on sales at such a nascent stage. Especially because the sale of Coconut Water is affected by season variations and the Coconut Chips were launched just two months back. But we are surely on a growth spree and plan to expand, starting with the key metro cities.”
The company further plans to launch new and innovative products for the Indian Market. “India is a budding market and we have high hopes from our product,” Verma concludes.