Mother Dairy forays into organic food business

The company aims to make Safal Organic a brand worth Rs 100 crore by 2021 and is looking forward to generate a revenue of around Rs 50 crores by fiscal 2019-2022.

Milk and dairy products major Mother Dairy Fruits & Vegetable Pvt Ltd (MDFVPL) enters into the organic food business as part of its strategy to diversify its product portfolio. It has recently launched its organic range of fresh fruits and vegetables and other kitchen ingredients under its horticulture brand Safal.

The new range of products – labelled as ‘Safal Organic’ - is available in select 100 Safal booths across Delhi NCR, along with Safal’s existing range of edibles.

“In our effort to align our portfolio to the ever-evolving needs of our consumers, we are now launching organic F&V and kitchen ingredients in line with all regulatory, industrial, quality and food safety requirements,” Saugata Mitra, Director, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable, said in a statement.

“With this foray, the company aims to make Safal Organic a brand worth Rs 100 crores by 2021. Safal is looking forward to generate a revenue of around Rs 50 crores by fiscal 2019-2022,” Mitra said.

Safal Organic will offer fresh fruits and vegetables such as apple, pomegranate, mausambi, lemon, potato, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic etc.

The fresh organic produce is being sourced from farmers with certified organic farms across the states of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Apart from the fresh fruit and vegetables, Safal is also introducing a wide range of organic kitchen ingredients namely pulses, rice, spices, millets, dry fruits, wheat flour, besan, sugar, salt and flattened rice flakes (poha), in bio-degradable and recyclable packaging options.

Going forward, the company plans to further expand its ‘Safal Organic’ range by adding seasonal fruits and vegetables along with honey, rock salt and more varieties of whole spices and pulses.

“With foray across 100 key booths, Safal will be the largest retail network offering fresh F&V organic produce to consumers across Delhi/NCR,” Mitra said.

Safal Organic products are in compliance with the National Programme for Organic Production, under the Government of India and it also conforms to the ‘Jaivik Bharat’ initiative of FSSAI.

“The harvested produce is subjected to stringent testing for 127 pesticidal residues by accredited labs. In addition, the logistics for organic is duly differentiated at all levels and processing too has been distinguished along with packaging storage and consumer touchpoints to ensure compliance with laid norms,” Mother Dairy said in a statement.

As part of its agronomic interventions, Mother Dairy is also advising farmers on GAP for organic produce, providing them with the required logistical support, hand-holding them for adherence to compliances and facilitating technical inputs for crop upkeep and production enhancement in the long run.