Pick N Serve Foods Pvt Ltd (PNS) based out of Pune, India has recently launched a new flagship banana brand for the entire Gulf market, reaching also the Indian domestic wholesaling business in 4 major cities in India, reports Subrata Mondal, MD & CEO of the company.
Subrata stated that the reason for choosing the Gulf markets is mainly due to shortest shipment times. “We can reach any country in the Gulf region within 4 to 12 days after sailing from Mumbai. In the Gulf region, Oman and Iran register the highest demand for bananas from India.” In total, the company is exporting almost 300-350 MT per week and the volume has increased by almost 50% compared to last year.
The brand, called Banaday, has been created as a synonym to “One banana a day,” focusing on consumer education regarding the health benefits of bananas; something which no brand has done until now in India or in the subcontinents. The latest market research indicates that Indian consumers in cities are consuming less than the WHO recommended servings of fruit per day. The WHO has recommended five servings per day, which is equal to 400 grams of fruit, while Indian consumer are taking less than three servings or below 250gm.”
"Banaday aims for consumers to eat at least one banana per day, thus fulfilling almost 30 to 50% of the daily fruit requirements of a healthy person. This will also serve to tackle the impact of the current situation, with prices that are almost 20-30% lower than last year, sometimes falling even below the cost of production due to the dumping of bananas from Ecuador and the Philippines to Gulf destinations over the last 3-4 months, which has heavily affected all exporters,” explains Subrata.
Pick N Serve has managed to create a large customer base across Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Egypt after one year of it entering into the Fresh Produce business. “Our close proximity to the Gulf entails that nobody can ship fresher bananas faster than India. The domestic entry will further boost PNS’s ambition to be the largest player in this segment and to become the fastest growing fresh produce company in India,” he assures.
As far as the Indian domestic market is concerned, Subrata assures that “India is very nascent market in the case of branding of Fresh produce segments. Many big companies have tried to enter the market with much fanfare and have failed miserably due to their lack of understanding about it. I predict that ‘Banaday’ will become the largest Banana brand within a year in India because of its major expansion plan in the domestic front.
Subrata stated that the reason for choosing the Gulf markets is mainly due to shortest shipment times. “We can reach any country in the Gulf region within 4 to 12 days after sailing from Mumbai. In the Gulf region, Oman and Iran register the highest demand for bananas from India.” In total, the company is exporting almost 300-350 MT per week and the volume has increased by almost 50% compared to last year.
The brand, called Banaday, has been created as a synonym to “One banana a day,” focusing on consumer education regarding the health benefits of bananas; something which no brand has done until now in India or in the subcontinents. The latest market research indicates that Indian consumers in cities are consuming less than the WHO recommended servings of fruit per day. The WHO has recommended five servings per day, which is equal to 400 grams of fruit, while Indian consumer are taking less than three servings or below 250gm.”
"Banaday aims for consumers to eat at least one banana per day, thus fulfilling almost 30 to 50% of the daily fruit requirements of a healthy person. This will also serve to tackle the impact of the current situation, with prices that are almost 20-30% lower than last year, sometimes falling even below the cost of production due to the dumping of bananas from Ecuador and the Philippines to Gulf destinations over the last 3-4 months, which has heavily affected all exporters,” explains Subrata.
Pick N Serve has managed to create a large customer base across Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Egypt after one year of it entering into the Fresh Produce business. “Our close proximity to the Gulf entails that nobody can ship fresher bananas faster than India. The domestic entry will further boost PNS’s ambition to be the largest player in this segment and to become the fastest growing fresh produce company in India,” he assures.
As far as the Indian domestic market is concerned, Subrata assures that “India is very nascent market in the case of branding of Fresh produce segments. Many big companies have tried to enter the market with much fanfare and have failed miserably due to their lack of understanding about it. I predict that ‘Banaday’ will become the largest Banana brand within a year in India because of its major expansion plan in the domestic front.
For more information:
Subrata Mondal
Pick N Serve Foods Pvt Ltd (India)
Mobile : +91 7303525678 / +91 7745887000
Phone: +91 20 2673 1214
Skype : subrata2002
Email : subrata.mondal@picknserve.com
Website: www.picknserve.com
Author: Juan Zea Estellés / Yzza Ibrahim