Date:03/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/07/03/stories/2009070351411700.htm

Back Bakery chain Monginis gets fit

Hopes to garner 20% revenues from health foods.

Sravanthi Challapalli

Chennai, July 2

Mumbai-based heritage bakery chain Monginis will launch zero-sugar, high-fibre and multi-grain snacks in about two months.

As part of its modernisation and expansion scheme, it will cater to the health-conscious and diabetic, building on growing awareness among consumers.

In about three to four years, it hopes to derive about 20 per cent of its revenues from this category of products, said Mr Kumail Khorakiwala, Joint Managing Director, Monginis Foods Pvt Ltd.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Khorakiwala said his company had a 20 per cent share of the Rs 900-crore market for cakes and other bakery items such as puffs and khari biscuits.

Monginis makes cakes both packaged and fresh, cookies, chocolates, speciality breads, snacks and savouries.

Seeing much growth coming from the suburbs of Mumbai, Monginis is setting up a new facility in Bhiwandi to make packaged and fresh cakes, said Mr Virendra Ghole, Marketing Manager of Monginis.

Expansion plans

“We are targeting 200 stores in Mumbai by the year-end. For other cities there are 478 stores as of today and we plan to take it to above 500 by end-2009,” Mr Ghole said. Currently, there are 180 Monginis cakes shops in Mumbai city alone. The company’s focus is mainly on West and East India, with some outlets opening in Central India as well. The expansion will be funded by internal accruals.

Monginis is eyeing Bangalore and Chennai to set up outlets but to do that, “we need to be really sure about the partner as we don’t have our own manufacturing and need to have manufacturing franchisees”, Mr Ghole said.

Global presence

Monginis originally was a catering service popular with Europeans and run by two Italian brothers in the early 20th century. In the late 1960s, it was bought up by the Khorakiwala family, and became Monginis Foods Ltd.

According to information provided by the company, it has thereby expanded its brand and reach across the country, hitting a total worth of about Rs 75 crore by 2008.

Globally, Monginis has a strong presence in Cairo and Egypt, and besides supplying to neighbouring countries such as Libya, Yemen, Sudan it also caters to the UK, and will soon be expanding to other European countries.