Satnam In Talks With Two Foreign Food Companies For Technical Tie-ups  ( December '2,2003, FE)

The Rs 454-crore Satnam Overseas Ltd (SOL), the Delhi-based rice exporter, is in talks with two foreign food companies based in Thailand and Singapore for technical tie-ups. The company may sign a joint venture with them as well.

“We are tying up with companies based in Thailand and Singapore for technical transfer and may later sign a joint venture too,” SOL’s joint managing director Gurnam Arora told FE.

SOL’s tie-ups are essentially to take ahead its recently launched ready-to-eat (RTE) foods range under the brand name Kohinoor Heat & Eat and Namkeens range. Immed-

iately, the expansion plan includes roll-out of ‘ready-to-eat paranthas’ and ‘packaged nuts’ for the domestic market as well as exports. “These are new concepts and we want to upgrade our packaging so as to increase their shelf life,” Mr Arora said.

Additionally, in the wake of increased competition in the Rs 150-crore RTE foods category—read MTR Foods’ recent onslaught—SOL has decided to promote its RTE range for the first time on the electronic media. The company plans to make its brand highly visible by spending over Rs 2 crore in the next three months.

“We plan to double our advertising budget in the next two to three months,” he said.

The company is also setting up a new plant for its RTE foods range in Sonepat, Haryana. The company plans to spend Rs 6 crore for upgrading this facility in the first phase and another Rs 6 crore in the next phase. Its existing food processing unit at Murthal (Haryana) has a production capacity of 8,000 monocartons per day.