?MTR to launch a range of ready-to-eat popular Indian breakfast items
?MTR to launch a range of ready-to-eat popular Indian breakfast items

Most Indians at a breakfast buffet choose desi food, says MTR CEO Sanjay Sharma. He says that preference is also in college canteens and train stations.

MTR, the Bengaluru-based maker of instant mixes, masalas and ready-to-eats, is all set to launch a range of popular Indian breakfast items that require simply pouring hot water into it and keeping it covered for three minutes and then it is ready to eat.

Sharma says the company gave a diktat to its R&D team that three minutes should be the absolute upper limit. And he's staking his reputation on the products not requiring any more waiting time than that. It's important because there are already items like upma, poha and pongal in the market that can be prepared similarly, but which take eight minutes -from companies like Triguni Food (Eze Eats brand), Suhana, and MTR itself. Sharma believes the five minute difference is huge, and will enable him to challenge Kellogg's and Quaker Oats, and get those who skip breakfast to not do so.

Sharma said, "There are three important parameters in breakfast items -taste, convenience and health. On the health aspect, Indian items are seen to be at least as good as Kellogg's, Quaker and muesli. In taste, Indian items clearly beat the other options. But in convenience, Indian items suffer as they are seen to be cumbersome to make, in some cases you also need chutney and sambar. This is what we are addressing now with the three-minute products."

Sharma added, "Earlier, there was the feeling that anything that is instant is not tasty. That has changed."

Sharma believes the new breakfast items will become the face of the company over the next five years. MTR's rava idli mix is already a very popular breakfast item, but takes time to make.

Sharma said, "Breakfast products constitute 10-12% of our business now, but it will become the largest."

 
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