?Amy's made its way to the shelves of Modern Trade Outlets in Delhi NCR

Haldiram's has introduce its latest campaign, titled "Haldiram's Pack Kiya Kya?" encouraging customers to bring along their preferred Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food packs from Haldiram's for a home-like experience while traveling.

"Haldiram's is an integral part of every household. Understanding the emotional connection that the Indian masses share with Haldiram's on every occasion, we wanted to ensure that they never miss out on our astounding flavors, even when they are away from home. That's why we encourage them to carry their favorite RTE foods from Haldiram's by simply asking them, 'Haldiram's Pack Kiya Kya?'" said Divya Batra, Head of Marketing at Haldiram's.

As an integral part of the campaign, Haldiram's is dedicated to offering Indians a diverse selection of nutritious Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food choices, encompassing beloved curries like Dal Makhani, delightful combinations such as Rajma & Rice, and convenient instant cups like Poha and Upma, among various others.

These options can be obtained through offline packing services at the nearest GT/MT stores in Delhi NCR, online orders via popular E-commerce platforms like Bigbasket, Zepto, Blinkit, or direct purchases from nearby Haldiram outlets.

 

Homegrown consumer foods brand Yu has crafted a range of delicious instant meal bowls that contain ZERO preservatives, additives, artificial flavourings or colours.

Developed using advanced lyophilization technology, chef-curated artisan recipes and natural ingredients, Yu’s meal bowls retain their original taste and aroma while offeringa non-refrigerated shelf life of 12 months.

“We are delighted to transform our vision to reality, especially in the difficult backdrop of the pandemic. We fully recognize the current sentiment of consumers being conscious about their health, dietary intake and nutrition in the foods they consume. Our aim is to bring Yu – our consumer, healthy packaged foods that are wholesome, delicious, full of nutrition, preservative-free and made using recognizable, natural ingredients only,” said Bharat Bhalla and VarunKapur, Co-Founders at Yu who are aiming a large cross-section of consumers by introducing a wide range of meal bowl options appealing to the palette and needs of one and all.

Yu provides all day meal options including breakfast, lunch/ dinner and dessert bowls.

Yu’s products can be enjoyed guilt-free with zero cooking and hassle free preparation by simply adding hot water and allowing the product to rest for 3-4 minutes thereafter. The use of innovative and advanced culinary processes has enabled the brand to launch its products at an attractive price range of INR 75 to 95 per bowl. The ‘clean-label’ consumer foods brand is also adopting sustainable practices by using eco-friendly paper packaging for all its products.

Instant meal bowls by Yu are available across major retailers in Delhi NCR including Reliance Smart, Modern Bazaar, Needs Supermarket, Big Basket and several other general retailers in Gurgaon and South Delhi.

Consumers from pan-India can also easily order Yu meal bowls through the brand's website (www.yufoodlabs.com) and other e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart and Cora Health.

Founded by Bharat Bhalla and VarunKapur, two serial investment professionals who share a common passion for discovering delicious, wholesome food and making it easily accessible.

QSR chain Wow! Momo has announced its entry into the ready-to-use food category.

Known for its Darjeeling style momos, the brand has launched authentic flavours in the frozen ready-to-eat momo category, such as Veg Darjeeling Momos, Chicken Darjeeling Momos, Masala Chicken Momos, Corn & Cheese Momos and Chicken Cheese Momos. 

“Our success in Quick Service Restaurant business has taught us to be close to our consumer; and our foray into FMCG is to take this bond one step ahead. We want to be a part of every grocery order in the country - we want to be the food for all times; that's with you all the time,” shared Sagar Daryani, Co-Founder and CEO at WOW! Momo.

Also Read: Local Gets Vocal: QSR chain Wow! Momo join hands with coffee chain CCD

With growing acceptance for RTE food and latent need that has been created due to digitisation and the current work from home scene- WOW! Momo’s new avatar is set to revamp “Home Made Food” to the brand's promise of “Made for Home, Make At Home”.  

The 5 launch flavours in veg and non veg are available in pack of 10s and 20s. The momos are filled with goodness; with No MSG & No Preservatives and a healthy shelf life of 9 months.

The RTE category of WOW! Momos will be exclusively available online on Bigbasket in cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

“We are happy to partner with a brand like WOW! Momo, a leader in their segment.  The ready-to-eat category of foods is picking up in a major way especially with people spending more time at home due to the pandemic,” said Hari Menon, Co-Founder and CEO, Bigbasket that has always believed in sharing quality products to their consumers.

The brand will soon be available across all leading modern trade and its own delivery mechanism.

“Wow! Momos Made at home - is just the beginning. Wow! Momo ready-to-eat is poised to replace all kinds of instant food in the future. It aims to expand to multiple categories such as sauces, snacks and much more. “Focused on getting the QSR Speed and innovation and marrying it with the magic of FMCG is all that is required,” added Daryani.

Using a timeless century-old recipe closely guarded by the Prasuma family for generations, delicatessen brand Prasuma has now launched ready-to-eat fresh and frozen momos that are an improved modern reinterpretation of the Original Himalayan Momos made with the finest ingredients using a fully automated Japanese Technology and world-class packaging technology. 

The brand introduced its line of fully cooked steamed momos in four luscious flavours, including Original Chicken, Spicy Chicken, Pork and Vegetable Momos. Prasuma Momos can be microwaved, pan-fried, steamed, deep-fried or boiled and ready to eat in as little as 2 minutes.

Lisa Suwal, CEO, Prasuma, said, “We are very excited about the launch of the new Prasuma Momos. This was a dish my Grandmother prepared for us and having it each time brings back fond memories from my childhood. As a family of epicures, we bonded over food and Momos were absolutely indispensable.”

“When people started complaining about momos being unhealthy, and of poor quality, we knew they were not having the authentic momos. We also knew then, that it was time to put our age-old family recipe of momos to use, for everyone else who loves to have what we grew up relishing. This is why we decided to launch Prasuma Momos - made with top quality ingredients, top-notch technology and the perfect recipe,” Suwal further stated.

Enwrapped with warmth and commitment to excellence, Prasuma Momos offer complete value for money with the best in class ingredients, taste and overall quality. The price ranges from Rs 150 to Rs 225 for 10 Pieces and 250 to 325 for 24 Pieces.

Suwal added, “We strongly believe the new Prasuma Momos will become popular with customers as not only are they convenient and healthy but they are easy to store, easy to cook and taste delightful. Our fully cooked Momos revolutionize heat & eat meals in one major way; they’re completely fresh and premium-quality.”

WayCool Foods & Products has acquired a 'significant' equity stake in Benani Foods Pvt Ltd that sells ready-to-cook products under Freshey's brand.

Chennai-based food supply chain firm did not disclosed the quantum of the equity stake acquired by it and the deal value.

"The company has acquired stake of angel investors including that of TVS Electronics. TVS Electronics had invested in Freshey's at an early stage and has built a strong product development and operational capabilities since inception," said a statement by WayCool.

Benani Foods manufactures and markets ready-to-cook products including idli and dosa batter, paneer, idiyappam and papad. It retails its product under the brand Freshey's and caters to 1,250 retail outlets and around 50 enterprise clients.

"Freshey's will continue to operate under the same brand name after the acquisition. WayCool's strong and robust supply chain mechanism and distribution network will enable entry of Freshey's across other markets of south India, as well as part of WayCool's product portfolio," it added.

Benani Foods Founder Venkatesh Deivanayagam said the company will "use the current equity to further cement our position in Chennai, and subsequently expand our presence into the rest of southern India. We will also use the investment to accelerate the launch of new products".

Earlier this month, WayCool had acquired the physical distribution business of Aalgro Foods, a Bengaluru-based B2B company in fruit retail packing and distribution space.

Sumeru launched a new addition to its menu, the Rolls – a full meal on the go. A perfect solution for those untimely hunger pangs, Sumeru’s quick heat and eat rolls are available in two sumptuous variants of chicken and egg for those who love lean meat, and the protein-rich chunky Paneer variant for the vegetarians. Cooked in an aromatic blend of spices with the added nutritious benefit of fresh vegetables, these rolls make for a guilt-free indulgence and tasty lunchtime additions. Available in a convenient pack size of 280g and 240g, the Chicken and Egg and Paneer Rolls are priced at Rs. 160 and Rs. 120, respectively.

Talking about the newly launched rolls R&D Head Sivakumar K, Sumeru Frozen Foods, says, “We live in a time-poor world, our busy work schedules and on-the-move lifestyle hardly allows us any time for a nutritious meal. At Sumeru, we felt the need to address this issue and make a product that combines the taste of snack along with the goodness of a meal; this was the genesis, the roll.”

“Rolls have always been an all-time favourite snack with our consumers but making authentic rolls at home is not easy which is why people look at buying it outside. However, what clearly differentiates our product is the flavour and the quality of ingredients. Each roll is made from carefully sourced produce and then cooked to perfection along with fresh vegetables, flavoured with a secret combination of spices, wrapped in flaky golden brown parathas and frozen at its peak using the latest IQF technology to lock in the goodness and nutrition of the meal.” says in-house Chef Ravindranath Chatterjee, Sumeru.

Mithun Appaiah, CEO says “There is a growing demand for wholesome meal replacements that are low-prep and pre-packaged with little to no cleanup. This is why we launched the rolls range for our consumers. The new launch is also in continuation with our strategy to launch superior products customised to the Indian palette.”

Additionally to make festive cooking easier Sumeru has also introduced its most popular export product – the Grated Coconut to its home market. The Grated Coconut is available in a pack 200g priced at Rs 80. Each pack contains the yield of two coconuts.

India’s leading travel food and retail company, Travel Food Services (TFS), has come up with a new range of ready to eat and drink options at Terminal 1B and 1C of the domestic airport, Mumbai, a new concept ‘Vending Man

These vending men will with the food range be equipped with a Tab and a Bluetooth printer for instant billing and invoicing for the instant billing system.

Inspired by another successful concept by TFS – food@gate, Vending Man has been conceptualised to cater to last minute requirements with its neatly packaged ‘Grab and Go’ options. These vending men are a boon, especially to last minute arrivals and passengers on a busy schedule, who do not have the time to spend at the various outlets. By offering quick and easy access to hot and fresh food, the move promotes the ‘grab and go’ concept for passengers on a busy schedule.

A typical Vending Man would carry a mobile tray with a limited range of best-selling products and will keep moving at the gates. The inaugural menu will have cooler drinks and will soon add munchies and quick bites as well.

“We, at Travel Food Services, are committed to constantly elevating the travel FnB experience in India, and Vending Man is an extension of the same. Considering the volume of travellers and the rush at terminal gates daily, we wanted to create an option for busy passengers to have easy access to quality, freshly packaged, to-go food products. While we are currently testing with two vending men, we plan to increase the number to cater to all kinds of F&B needs of travelers,” said Gaurav Dewan, COO and Business Head, Travel Food Services.

Along with the food and beverage products on offer, a Vending Man will also carry other items like tissues, condiments, and straws. You can find these vending men roaming the gates between 08:00 AM and 10:00 PM daily. Currently available at Mumbai Airport, it is expected to soon expand to other cities across India as well.

With the launch of its B2C brand ‘Popodax’ that has a range of flavoured appalams, Lanson Group has confirmed its venture into ready-to-eat snacks segment in the Indian market with the

“The products will be available in mom and pop stores, clubs and e-commerce websites such as Amazon from May, at packs worth Rs 10 and Rs 30. The group exports appalams and variants to the UK, holding 80% market share. It also exports to the US and Australia,” says Lankalingam, chairman and innovation head, Lanson Value Added Services.

The company also supplies to FMCG brands globally, manufacturing variants of the snack in five manufacturing units spread across Chennai and Thiruchendur.

“Lanson alone makes 1.5 million appalams a day for its global customers. With the vision of ‘consumer loyalty nourished by consumer delight’ our aim is to put a smile on the faces of consumers of every age by providing them innovative snacks for their unmet needs. This is one of the main reasons, we have decided to launch our own brand of ready-to-eat mini appalams – Popodax,” added Lankalingam.

“Popodax will initially be offered in Tamil Nadu markets in stages, beginning with markets such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Trichy and will be available in retail shops from May 2018.Within the next six months, the brand will be available in about 50 towns in Tamil Nadu and will be present in 20,000 outlets within the first year. With Popodax, we would like to garner about 2% of the ready to eat snack segment in the outlets that we will be present” Popodax will be available in 6 SKU’s- 3 flavours - Classic, Tomato & Chili, and Sour Cream & Onion,” added B Nandakumar, chief mentoring officer, LVAS.

In a boomerang shift, Indian Railways has gone back to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to handle the catering business in trains. In the recent development, IRCTC will empanel firms which will supply ‘Ready To Eat’ (RTE) meals to the commuters at reasonable rates. On July 6, Railway Board asked IRCTC to shortlist firms to supply RTE products to provide variety, quality and hygienic meals at affordable rates to the passengers.

The firm once empaneled, will have a validity of five years. In order to bring in more transparency, IRCTC will regularly update the information about these firms on its website. The decision seems to be as per the rail budget (2016-17) announcement stating IRCTC would begin to manage catering service in a phased manner.

Speaking about the move, Girish Pillai, Additional Member (tourism and catering) Railway Board, said that Railways is looking into totality of the issue and IRCTC will take over catering services in phases. However, a policy decision will be taken soon. The railways had taken over catering services from IRCTC as per the provisions of Catering Policy, 2010, as the corporation could not professionalize catering services and did not perform well.

IRCTC still doesn't have enough staff to efficiently manage a huge catering business. Thus, after taking over the base kitchens, it plans to rope in food majors in the city who will supply RTE food based on e-orders, revealed officials.

Elaborating further on the subject, a source informed that soon IRCTC will be taking over two kitchens of Nagpur Division of Central Railways located at Nagpur and Ballarshah. With the help of these two kitchens, IRCTC will be catering food to the railway commuters with the help of private parties. 

innerChef, India’s fastest growing Food-Technology company that delivers Ready-to-eat and Ready-to-cook meals at your doorstep, has raised a pre-series A round of Rs. 11cr ($1.66mn) from the leading investors from across the globe.

A number of leading Indian and International Technology Founders have participated in this round of funding: Phanindra Sama (Founder - RedBus), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder - PayTM), Anupam Mittal (Founder - Shaadi.com), Vishal Gondal (Founder - GOQii, exited from Indiagames), Sateesh Andara’s (ex DFJ) new fund, Murugavel (Founder - Bharat Matrimoney), Dinesh Agarwal (Founder - Indiamart and Tolexo), Neeraj Roy (Founder Hungama), Roshan Abbas (Founder – Encompass, A WPP company), Teru Sato (Founder – NetPrice & Beenos, Japan), ATsushi Tiara (Senior Softbank executive and ex-CEO of Bharati SoftBank), Hiro San (M&S Fund, Japan), Boris Raybov (Investor from Silicon Valley, US) and TA Venture from Europe.

Growing at 100% month-on-month since its launch in April 2015, InnerChef will use the funds to expand its footprint and launch 10 new kitchens across Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Additionally, InnerChef will also focus on building Indulge – a Hyper Local Desserts Marketplace that brings the finest desserts from home bakers and neighborhood bakeries, across six cities within the next three months. The Indulge platform will aggregate 100,000 home bakers across 100 Indian cities within a year.

InnerChef co-founder Rajesh Sawhney expressed, “We are extremely pleased to have received support from the leading Indian and International Technology founders. We believe this demonstrates their confidence in our Kitchen-in-the-cloud business model, strength of our team, and awesome growth trajectory since the launch in April 2015. We are a Big-Data-Food-tech company that believes in continuous innovation across all aspects of business and technology to delight our customers.”