The Allana Group is one of India’s largest exporters of processed foods and agro commodities. With a rich heritage of 156 years, the Allana Group has been promoting healthy living across the globe since the year 1865 by maintaining the highest standards of quality in procurement, manufacturing, and distribution.
Allana Consumer Products Private Limited, the Consumer Products division of the Allana Group manufactures and markets pristine range of bakery ingredients and also distributes London Dairy premium ice cream in India. The Division also includes Oils & Fats business and manufactures and markets well-known brands namely Sunny & Priya edible oils & fats, Allegro Olive Oil, Lion Vanaspati, and Alfa range of Industrial and Bakery Fats to cater to varied customer segments.
The company has launched Beyond Meat in India, the renowned plant-based meat brand of USA and is all set to introduce many more premium and innovative products in the days to come.
In an exclusive interaction with Medianews4U, Milind Pingle, Chief Executive Officer, Allana Consumer Products Private Limited, speaks to us on the growth of the company in India and much more.
How hasthe Allana journey in India been?
Allana Group takes pride in its rich heritage and a tradition of quality, innovation, and customer service since 1865. The vision of our founders, their farsightedness, ambition and discipline has helped the company progress and evolve over the years. Our foundation is built on strong core values, which distinguishes and guides our action. Our founders translated their vision into a potent reality and in the process, created a position of prestige in the form of one of the biggest commercial enterprises in the country. We have leveraged our heritage with pride and passion, and strived for the benefit of our consumers, stakeholders, and society at large.
The group is established as India’s largest exporter of processed foods and agro commodities to over 85 countries. Our categories include Frozen / Chilled Meat, Processed / Frozen Fruit and Vegetable products, Coffee, Spices and Cereals apart from a thriving Consumer Products business.
Allana Consumer Products Private Limited is the Consumer Products Division of Allana Group and a prominent player in the domestic market with strong R&D foundation, core understanding of consumer needs and emerging global trends .In the last decade or so, Allana Consumer Products has expanded across Oils & Fats and Bakery Ingredients business by setting up a refinery and manufacturing facilities in Khopoli in Maharashtra. We have a multi-faced product portfolio with brands like London Dairy premium ice-creams, pristine bakery ingredients, International Sunny & Priya edible oils and Allegro Olive Oil etc. We service a wide range of customer segments, in both B2B and B2C space and respected for our quality and customer service.
The pandemic was a great leveller, how did you personally and professionally deal with it and be supportive of your colleagues?
The pandemic was indeed a great leveler. We viewed the pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen our business whilst taking care of our people.
Being in the essential category of edible oils, we play an important role in meeting Maharashtra’s demand for edible oils through Sunny & Priya Refined Oil Brands. We served tirelessly against all odds to several biscuit manufacturers, snacks industries and other food companies whose operations depend on us for their produce. We helped them to maintain their supply chain. We also promoted Pristine cake mixes to thousands of consumers who took to home baking. As consumers expanded their culinary skills, we saw a significant growth for Allegro Olive Oil and London Dairy.
Our organization puts people first and their safety is of paramount importance always. The need was even more pronounced amidst the pandemic. While practicing this philosophy, we stayed resilient and ensured uninterrupted operations. We kept our people motivated throughout this journey and in our best assessment, served our customers extremely well amidst the several odds in those tough times.
The pandemic also saw a surge in online shopping, how is Allana Consumer products addressing it, are you also available on the company website or on 3rd party websites?
E-Commerce as a business contributing channel has grown exponentially since the inception of the pandemic. The lockdowns saw E-commerce sales spiking up. Even though the restrictions are lifted, the base Volume of E-Commerce has certainly grown on a Y-O-Y level.
We have extensively worked on strengthening our E-Commerce presence across 20+ portals as a part of our multi-channel strategy to be at arm’s length of the consumers. We have also invested in Performance Marketing, and this has helped in our brands outperforming competition on these portals. We also learnt that premium categories have a comparatively higher share of salience through E-Commerce. For brands like Beyond Meat & Allegro, the contribution of E-Commerce to overall sales is significant. Our determined efforts and focus have led to encouraging results. The E-Commerce channel is now the fastest growing vertical in our company.
Are you into any research to understand consumer behaviour to plan effective and out of the box marketing strategies?
Consumer centricity is a way of life at Allana Consumer Products and the basis of all decision making in the organization. We believe that both Field work and Consumer Research are crucial to learn more about our consumers. We use the Customer Insights to develop new products, brand communication and hone our Marketing skills.
Our Marketing team continually scans for opportunities in which we can play sustainably. Our well-equipped R&D is also always on the look-out in both domestic and international markets to develop products that are differentiated and address new emerging needs of the consumers.
When it comes to talking to your consumer what are the most preferred platforms?
Sunny, Priya, London Dairy, Allegro and Beyond Meat are our premier B2C brands and we execute a multichannel Route to Market strategy and appropriate media platforms to reach the end consumers.
Sunny International Cooking Oil, a reputed brand in the premium edible Oil category in Maharashtra, is promoted with extensive Media support encompassing TV, Digital, Consumer Offers and On-ground activations. Priya range of edible oils is a favourite with both oil traders in Maharashtra as also the organized retail and we often use digital marketing to promote it.
London Dairy & Allegro appeal to gourmet consumers in the large Metro cities of the country. We have a presence in the best gourmet stores in the country and use social media for both the brands. With Beyond Meat distribution, Allana Consumer Products has made a foray into the plant protein category (vegan) and we are proud to have ensured its availability across both gourmet stores and E Commerce platforms across key cities in the country.
We also resort to On-ground events to build the stature of Beyond Meat, London Dairy & Allegro and invest in wet sampling and demonstrations. These initiatives often are appreciated by the consumers and helps in delivering a quality brand experience.
Today in the new normal sustainability is the topic of conversation, how are you going about it?
In today’s era, brands that take care of the environment and have clearly articulated sustainable policies and clean labels, rank higher in the view of consumers.
At Allana Consumer Products, we understand this, and sustainability is a key strategic pillar. We have taken several measures for the conservation of water and energy (carbon footprint) in our plants. We are investing in solar panels to meet our energy needs. Our plant at Khopoli is a Zero Effluent Discharge Plant. The company is also accredited with a 5-star rating for maintaining air pollution norms as prescribed by MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board). We are working towards becoming plastic neutral. We discharge our Extended Producers Responsibility by collecting and recycling plastic that we consume to save the environment.
We are a proud member of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have also won the first prize at the Excellence in Energy Conservation and Management by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency.
What would be your Focus for 2022?
We are continuously preparing ourselves to cater to a wide range of customer base, both B2B and B2C. Our focus is on consumer insights, quality, innovation, and sustainability to deliver a superior customer experience.
In the B2B space, we partner our customers extensively and co-create products that suit their emerging needs both in Industrial Oils & Fats and in Cake Mixes, Decors & Fillings. We are also investing greatly in customer relationships. In the B2C space, we are noticing our consumers to be more digitally savvy and have adapted to being digital-first in our approach. There will be a greater focus in E-Commerce even as we strengthen our presence in traditional distribution channels such as General Trade and Modern Trade. We are constantly looking out for emerging trends in B2C space and are sworn to quality and high standards of customer service.
Last but not the least – our employees. We lay great emphasis on people and their well-being. We are investing in Learning & Development, up-skilling and on retaining and growing our team.
How do you see the FMCG sector today, and what are the trends you are seeing?
Consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious. The packaging is progressing to sustainable alternatives to protect the environment and clean labels are becoming the norm in the food industry. Consumers are now more aware of what is going inside their food and how it will affect their immunity. As healthier products are becoming more widely available, the industry is adapting to showcase transparency to the new generation of consumers who feel enthused about the product and read the label for unfamiliar yet concerning ingredients.
We are seeing the following trends:
- Immunity has taken center-stage: Focusing on immunity is getting firmly entrenched as consumers, look for alternate healthier options. People are aiming towards a lifestyle change that doesn’t look at just convenience but also the quality and food-safety of ingredients that goes into making of the final product.
- Adoption of healthier cooking oils: The focus on health is more than ever, there is an increase in demand for specialized healthy oil for culinary purposes as the consumer demand is shifting towards cleaner and healthier ingredients. Premium oil categories like Olive Oils have seen a surge since the pandemic and people are willing to pay a premium if they believe that a superior product will positively impact their health.
- Healthy cooking: People are utilizing their skills to create innovative dishes at home by using healthier ingredients which are resulting in gluten-free, plant-based proteins and other vegan offerings.
- Home Baking: Home baking is a growing business that is catering to large customer bases. In the coming years, we may witness multiple e-bakeries of home bakers who would be provide a rich and customized experience to their consumers
- E-Commerce boom: The pandemic necessitated adoption of digital platforms and millions registered on various social media platforms, applications, and other services for the first time out of sheer necessity. This surge in users, led to the boom of digital solutions offering a wide range of services at multiple levels, starting from video calling to online shopping platforms. The transformation is witnessing food portals to introduce new interface options to accommodate the burgeoning demand for contactless grocery and even further, quick delivery mechanisms.
Furthermore, the demand for immunity-boosting products and super foods, free from toxic ingredients has increased. The race for the next super ingredient is on and with it; we are witnessing the proliferation of products and product categories adapted for specialty diets, different consumer groups, and various demands of the market.
