DS Group's Entry Into Food and Beverages Sector

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Background Contd...

In 1983, the DS Group entered the food and beverages market when it acquired the Noida-based Hi Tech Foods Ltd., (Hi Tech). In 1987, Hi Tech created a niche market for tabletop salt with its 'Catch Salt Shaker.' Satyapal, the then proprietor of the DS Group, felt that branded free-flowing table salt was exactly what many Indian homes were looking for.

Getting cooking salt out of a 1-kg bag, and putting a portion into a shaker, was an inconvenience for the workingwomen. By the early 1990s, Catch, as a brand, had achieved the distinction of having made it to the up market Indian dining tables. In 1991, 100 gms shaker packs of Catch black salt, garlic salt, chat masala,5 garam masala,6 and turmeric powder were introduced. In 1998, Hi Tech launched sambhar powder7. The costlier commodities such as pepper, garlic salt and chat masala were launched in 50-gm shaker packs (See Table I for price). In the same year, white pepper was also launched at Rs 93 per 100gm shaker pack. However, of the total Catch brand sales of Rs.250 million in 1998-99, Catch salt alone accounted for Rs 100 million (See Exhibit II). In late 1998, with the launch of DS Foods, the Catch brand was transferred to it from Hi Tech.

TABLE I
PRICES OF 50 GM PACKS

Source: www.dsgroupindia.com

In October 1999, DS Foods launched Catch mineral water. Within a year, the product generated sales of Rs 100 million in volume, of which Rs 50 million was accounted for by exports. Exports were mainly to the US, Europe and West Asian countries. Catch was the only Indian 'natural spring water' and was positioned in the premium segment (See Table II for various brands in the segment). It was the only brand in India to get National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certification for meeting the quality and safety standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

TABLE II
PRICE OF NATURAL SPRING WATER BRANDS

Source: ICMR

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5] Masala is a mixture of spices ground into a paste/powder used to flavor Indian dishes
6] A mixture of spices used in Indian cooking to impart a hot pungent flavor to a dish
7] Sambhar is a spicy curry of South India made of chilli, spices, tamarind juice, tomato, onion and other vegetables. Sambhar powder is the ready-to-use powder of spices.