French foodservices firm Elior enters India with the acquisition of Megabite, CRCL; eyes $100 mn by 2020

France-based Elior Group, one of the world’s leading operators in the contracted food industry, announced that it has completed the simultaneous acquisitions of Megabite Food Services and C Ramachandran Catering Ltd. (CRCL), two leading Indian contract caterers for the business and industry (B&I) market.
While Elior has wholly acquired Megabite, it has picked up a majority stake in CRCL. The acquisitions were completed in an unprecedented record time of 48 hours – a first for a foreign multinational company (MNC) in India.
The successful completion of the acquisitions has sealed Elior’s entry into India and the company has now emerged amongst the top three players in the corporate food services industry in the country, with 3,500 employees on its rolls.
The newly formed subsidiary, Elior India, will serve 1.35 lakh meals each day to employees of companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, MRF, Daimler, Pfizer and Shell.
Elior also announced the appointment of Sanjay Kumar as the CEO of its newly formed subsidiary, Elior India Catering LLP. Kumar, who was the brainchild behind Elior’s entry into India, will be responsible for the company’s operations in the country. He will report directly to Philippe Salle, Chairman and CEO of Elior Group and will also be a member of the Group Management Committee.
Prior to joining Elior Group, Sanjay Kumar was with Altran, overseeing the company’s India operations as its CEO and Managing Director. An industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, Sanjay has also worked with the Royal Dutch Shell Group for 18 years, where he held various significant positions in Europe and Asia.
“This is a watershed moment in Elior’s 25-year history. The India market offers a lot of promise and we expect to generate annual revenues of $100 million through our acquisitions. Our aim is to create a national footprint through more acquisition-driven consolidations, whilst also continuing to focus on quality, safety, and the strengths of our acquisitions – all of which are our key differentiators. We are confident that our India operations will help open an exciting new chapter of growth for the company as it allows us to expand into other emerging markets, which is one of the key objectives to meet our 2020 goals,” he said.
In India, Elior will compete with other established global players to gain market share in a highly fragmented and unorganized catering market which is worth $2.7 – $3.3 billion and growing at a CAGR in excess of 15 per cent.
Over the last few years, India has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the food services sector, thanks to a rising middle-class population, greater exposure to new cultures and cuisines, increased propensity of eating out and the mounting popularity of home deliveries and takeaways.
According to the NRAI India Food Services Report 2016, the food services market is worth Rs. 3,09,110 crore ($50 billion) and growing in excess of 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY). It is estimated that the total contribution of the food services industry alone will be 2.1% to the GDP of India and worth Rs. 4,98,130 crore ($77 billion) by the year 2021.