Food & Beverage News – The Profile

With the overwhelming successes of the Green and White Revolutions, India is now fervently poised for the
Food Revolution that will ensure agricultural diversification and large investments in food processing. The entry
of multinationals, aggressive rise of commodity branding and low cost of technology are changing the
economics of the Indian food industry. The rise of aggressive regional players making forays into categories
where entry barriers are low and a boom in Indian FMCG markets and the rising need for these products are
the key reasons for this growth in food business.

Indian agriculture is in the throes of a paradigm shift, thanks to the structural changes in the Indian economy.
With the country achieving self-sufficiency in grains production, emphasis has changed from subsistence
farming to commercialization, opening up vast opportunities for value-addition, packaging and exports, with a
strikingly high level of technological involvement.

The holistic concept of food security, however, has two dimensions – availability of food and access to food.
While the former has been achieved, the same is not the case with the latter. Despite bumper crops,
distribution of food grains continues to be faulty – almost 30% of the food produced in the country is wasted. In
such a scenario, it is important for us to reorient our historical agricultural policy framework – from managing
shortages to promoting efficiencies and value addition. Moreover, there is a need to increase the range of
foods available to improve overall nutrition. The benefits in terms of health, vitality and productivity are obvious,
and cannot be underestimated.

F&B News, India’s first newspaper in this sector, provides a comprehensive view of the food and beverage
industry The Indian food market is approximately Rs 2,50,000 crore ($69.4 billion), of which value-added food
products comprise Rs 80,000 crore ($22.2 billion). Despite food production in the country is expected to double
by the year 2020, not much attention has been given to the growth of this vital industry, with no standard
publication highlighting the importance of this sector. F&B News aims to cover news, events, research,
innovations, new products & processes, marketing and so on (both national and international), which will
broadly cover around 75 key areas in the food, beverage and its allied segments. These include food
processing, bakery, confectionery, dairy, meat & poultry, fruits & vegetables, fisheries (including aquaculture),
food ingredients, grocery retail, packaging, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and bottled drinking water, canning,
fats and oils, filters and filtering materials, flavours and flavour enhancers, nutrient additives, frozen
food/refrigeration and thermo processing, among others.

With food production expected to double by 2020, large investments are already going into food and food
processing technologies, skills and equipment. Given the changing industry dynamics, it is paramount for F&B
News to highlight news, issues and events in the sector, some of which are briefly discussed below.

 The food processing industry is witnessing a 20% annual growth rate and, consequently, the demand
for processed foods and beverages in the country is constantly on the rise. There are 300 million
upper-and-middle-class consumers of processed and packaged food in the country, and another 200
million are expected to shift by 2010. In the scenario, the food processing industry has been accorded
priority status by the new government with Subodh Kant Sahai holding independent charge of the
Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
 Processed foods are primarily derived from agricultural commodities, which often incur multiple taxes
at various stages. This multiple taxation has a cascading effect on prices. Moreover, there is a wide
variation in the level of taxes across states, which creates a barrier to the free flow of materials from
the farm to the factory and ultimately to the consumers.
 Post-Green Revolution, it is essential that agricultural research reoriented to address new challenges.
As the existing crop seeds have reached yield saturation, there is an urgent need to evolve transgenic
varieties through the application of biotechnology, RNA use, and molecular biology. These varieties
should have high yield, short maturity, pest and disease resistance, stress tolerance, and wider
adaptability.
 With the help of indigenous breeds improvement programme, nutritional research and improved cost-
effective vaccine programmes, India has achieved the distinction of being the highest milk producing
country in the world. Similarly, with processes in place to improve quality of marine products for
 internal and export markets, India is the seventh largest producer of fish in the world and is ranked
second in inland fish production.
 Special foods are available for every patient today, be it hypertension, diabetes, obesity, or even
weight reduction. For instance, diet food and nutraceuticals are the latest fad. The market for sugar-
free confectionery and snack products is growing steadily. Motivated by a desire for maximum
indulgence coupled with a wish for calorie control and health benefits, consumers are increasingly
choosing sugar-free and sugar-reduced products.
 Packaging of food products has become important in order to ensure safety and hygiene and to
eliminate the possibility of adulteration. In some cases, more than 50% of the price of a product goes
towards packaging. Good packaging will greatly catalyze the development of a food-processing sector.
However, packaging industry is yet to achieve international standards in the country.

While F&B News will focus on all these issues, it will also comment on the government policies, rules and
regulations. There will be regular columns on food security and safety, research, new products and processes,
innovations, new technology and equipment, export and import, marketing, international developments, reports
on trade fairs and seminars and interviews and special features by eminent people in the industry.

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES - FOOD PRODUCTS & BEVERAGE MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS

Confectionery Baked Goods Edible Oils

Products Bread Castor Oil
Candy Cookies Coconut Oil
Chewing Gum Pastry Cooking Oil
Crackers Rusks Food Oils
Ice Cream Waffles Mustard Oil
Lollipops Refined Oil
Pastry Seed Oil
Soybean Oil

Beverages Grains and Legumes Spices

Health Drinks Gram Pulses Chilli Powder
Soda Water Soyabean Iodized Salt
Soft Drinks Wheat Turmeric

Condiments Food Additives Dairy Products

Chutney Food Colors Butter & Cheese
Jams and Jellies Food Extract Ghee
Ketchup & Sauce Food Flavours Milk Powder
Pickles & Murabba Food Ingredient Milk Products

Seafood Meat & Poultry Sweeteners

Dried Seaweed Eggs Glucose
Fish Meat Products Honey
Frozen Seafood Poultry Feed Jaggery
Marine Foods Poultry Products Sugar

Fast Food Flour Food Snacks

Pizza Gram Flour Corn Flakes
Processed Food Wheat Flour Papad

Baby Foods Canned Food Frozen Foods

Food Products FoodStuff Sweets & Namkeen

Dehydrated Food Organic Food Tobacco & Tobacco

Products

Kitchen Equipment Confectionery Dairy Equipment

Machinery

Fruit Products