Balaji to enter into frozen potato specialty segment

Balaji, the Rajkot based company which is known for its snacks and potato wafers is planning to enter French fries and other frozen potato speciality products, according to a report published by the Economic Times.

The regional potato wafers player will enter the market through Iscon Balaji Foods by May 2015. "Our French fries plant would be ready by May 2015," said Chandu Virani, MD, Balaji Wafers.

Currently, McCain Foods (India), a wholly-owned subsidiary of its Canadian parent, rules the potato specialty market with frozen products such as french fries, aloo tikka, McCain Smiles and McCain Potato Cheese Shotz.

Balaji has a strong backend supply of potatoes and will be manufacturing french fries near Ahmedabad. The company has also visited machinery manufacturers in for the new project costing about Rs 50 crore.

"We will have a number of potato speciality products, including Indianised innovations to compliment french fries,” Neel Kotak, MD and CEO at Iscon Balaji told ET.

While french fries plant would be up and running by May, other products would be launched by October. The products would be made available for quick service restaurants and institutional buyers, apart from selling directly to consumers at organised retail stores.

The company is also planning to enter the capital market next year by offloading about 10 percent stake and raise about Rs 400 crore.