FMCG honchos talk innovation at FICCI Foodworld 2019

The daylong conference, attended by prominent dignitaries across the sector, was a platform for the industry to discuss the innovation that could drive the industry and initiatives to attract investment in the sector

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) jointly with Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India organized FICCI Foodworld India 2019 in Mumbai on Thursday. With a theme ‘Driving Innovation in Food processing sector’, the daylong event was a forum for the industry to discuss measures to drive the industry forward and attract new investments to the sector.

The conference saw the presence of many industry stalwarts and prominent figures from the food sector. In the inaugural address Rameshwar Teli, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Government of India, expressed the government’s support to industry players to set up food processing industry in the country especially in the hilly terrains. Teli also invited the industry and entrepreneurs to invest in the north eastern states.

Amid concerns over the economic slowdown in the sector, big players from the industry remained optimist and expressed hopes of turnaround. Hemant Malik, Chair, FICCI Food Processing Committee & CEO- Food Division, ITC said, “India has moved from a food scarce to a food surplus nation and the industry is on track in terms of growth and profitability. Through various government initiatives and reforms have resolved a lot of hurdles faced by the industry making.”

Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries stated that economic slowdown is a cyclic factor and things will kick back to normal in six months. He was also quick to point that not much has changed in terms of Britannia’s market-facing expenditure. Mohit Anand, Co-Chair, FICCI Food Processing Committee & MD, Kellog’s India identified slowdown as an opportunity to tap shift from unorganized to organized sector and uttered that the food processing sector has the potential of becoming a Rs 500 billion sector.

Siraj Hussain, Former Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Food Processing Industries, Government of India, shared his concerns faced by the sector and said, “Due to the fall in prices the farmers suffered. There is an increase in food wastage impacted the growth of the industry. We hope there are reforms that will increase the development in the Food Processing Infrastructure along with driving investment in the rural agriculture.”

A FICCI Centre of Excellence on Nutrition was also launched at the occasion with an objective to create greater awareness amongst stakeholders on the different aspects of nutrition and reformulation. The event also discussed the efforts taken to reduce the wastage and bring in sustainable measures to boost the Food Processing Sector.

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