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Otsuka Foods enters Indian mkt with freezer-to-microwave Bon Curry Pan
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Friday, 20 September, 2019, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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Otsuka Foods India is now making an impact in the Indian market with its Bon Curry Pan, that can be offloaded from freezer to microwave directly. The much-needed convenience, along with the texture of the Bon Curry Pan (a soft bun filled with Japanese curry), which has been tweaked to suit the Indian palate (using potato, paneer and chickpeas), has left a lip-smacking experience for the Indian consumer. The company invested Rs 17.25 crore to venture into the India market.
The parent company, Ostuka Foods, is a Japanese major in the ready-to-eat segment. The Indian operations, headquartered in Bengaluru, was set-up in May 2018 to manufacture and market Bon Curry Pan.
“The product, which is currently available only in Bengaluru, has received a rave response. We attribute this to the slow-flame cooking of onion and tomato filled with chickpeas, paneer or potato, all of which are very popular in India,” Uematsu Hirokazu, managing director, Ostuka Foods India told F&B News.
“In fact, Bon Curry Pan came into existence in 1968 as the world’s first commercial retort-pouch food product. The Indian market holds immense potential, going by the educated workforce, global exposure and the interest to try international food offerings. Our Bon Curry Pan is not only popular with the millennial population, but across age groups too. From the freezer to the microwave, the Bon Curry Pan is ready to serve in just one minute, and its taste and texture are akin to a freshly-cooked product,” he added.
“In Bengaluru, the company launched these products at its own outlets within the IT parks, The World Trade Centre, Sony India Software Centre, multiplexes including INOX and at the Sakra Hospital, an Indo-Japanese healthcare provider. Observations on the consumption pattern at these locations indicated that people appreciated the texture and melting-in-the-mouth soft bread stuffed with Japanese curry of Indian flavour,” stated Hirokazu.
“Other than Japan, Bon Curry Pan is being marketed in China since 2003 and India for the last 16 months. We intend to consolidate our presence before we access other regions. Efforts are on expand our presence to leading coffee and tea chains in the country, which are operational out of Bengaluru. Our current focus is Bengaluru, and from here, we need to chalk out our entry into other metro cities in the country,” he added.
Although India is known as the home of curry, the company is confident that it is the best springboard to introduce the Japanese Bon Curry worldwide. It is currently 100 per cent vegetarian, with a few variants, but will launch non-vegetarian versions soon to be able to widen its offerings.
“The product is currently manufactured by a third-party production unit, located in Mumbai and Bengaluru. We will have our central kitchen and an own manufacturing unit in Bengaluru by the end of next year,” Hirokazu said.
The company’s India team comprises two vice presidents - Kamiike Shunsuke and Rakesh Somayya. They will be supported by R&D (research and development) and sales personnel.
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