Godrej Tyson Foods, the leading manufacturer of poultry and frozen food products, is embarking on a major distribution augmentation drive, which will see its products touch retail points at 100-plus smaller towns and cities across India.
In addition, the company has also unveiled plans to set up a cold chain network at the cost of Rs 10 crore over the next three years.
“We have a sales network target of 100 cities in the next two to three years. As per our estimates, sales in tier II and III markets are growing at over 35 per cent. This explains our focus on these under-tapped locations,” Godrej Tyson Foods COO Arabind Das told indiaretailing.
Godrej Tyson Foods is a 49:51 JV between Godrej Agrovet Ltd and US based Tyson Foods, Inc, and currently retails its products, including fresh chicken under the Real Good Chicken brand and RTE vegetarian foods under the Yummiez brand, in 68 Indian cities and towns.
Referring to infrastructure bottlenecks afflicting frozen food companies in India, Das noted that the lack of adequate cold storages limits distribution efficiencies. “Setting up chillers and freezers at the distributors’ locations will greatly enhance our sales network,” he added.
As a result of the geographical expansion drive coupled with cold storage investments, the company hopes to capture 10 per cent share of the total frozen foods — including ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products — market in India.
