News Scan

Baskin Robbins & Hershey’s Team Up

Baskin Robbins India has teamed up with Hershey’s India to co-create a range of delicious ice creams and desserts. Baskin Robbins, a brand known for its 31 premium ice cream flavours and its commitment to innovation, has collaborated with the leading chocolate giant to launch an assortment of ice creams, sundaes, thick shakes, and ice cream cakes. The pairing of Baskin Robbins ice cream with

Hershey’s Kisses and Cocoa powder has created irresistible awesome flavours.

Commenting on the association, Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods Pvt. Ltd., said, “Baskin Robbins India is committed to offer product experiences to consumers that are way beyond the ordinary. Our association with Hershey India has allowed us to skilfully blend our expertise in developing cutting edge ice cream flavours, beverages and Ice cream cakes with high quality and consumer loved ingredients from Hersheys India. We do believe that the resultant products are amongst the finest and will endear Baskin Robbins to a whole new generation of consumers."

Sharing his thoughts on the exciting association, HerjitBhalla, Vice President, India and AEMEA, The Hershey Company, said,“ We are delighted to announce our collaboration with one of the leading ice cream brands, Baskin Robbins. With 125+ years of chocolate heritage and expertise, this is a strategic collaboration for Hershey India which brings together one of the best in chocolates with one of the best in ice cream. Brand Hershey’s is consistently on the journey to delight the consumers with innovative offerings, and this was another opportunity for us to bring alive the proposition. We are confident that this collaboration will help us make more moments of goodness with Hershey’s chocolates in a brandnew way.’’

Bikano New Range of Snacks

Bikano, India’s foremost packaged snacks brand has announced a new range of lip-smacking maida-based chai time snacks for snack lovers and patrons indicating continuity of intent towards aggressive product line expansion. With the maida-based snacks category largely remaining a part of the unorganized market so far, Bikano is entering the segment with intent to make it organized, offer branded product range and to ensure both hygiene & taste for patrons.

Particularly with an eye on the Hindi-speaking market, the launch of these products would not only add to the ever-expanding product portfolio of the snack company and boost its revenues, but also further cement Bikano’s position as one of the most popular and leading snacks brands in the country.

“With these items, we not only wish to help patrons relive the tradition involving regular savouries that accompany their chai-drinking, but also expand the range of snack options that they often combine with their beverages. As such, these maida-based savories high on hygiene become a delectable complement to the tea or coffee that they often drink. Apart from satisfying their mid-meal cravings and filling the void in their snacking routines, because these are filling enough, these lip-smacking items can sometimes even serve as a substitute for regular meals when one is travelling, or is stationed in a remote place. Suitably filled in 200 gm convenience packs, they are easy to carry and consume anywhere anytime, said Manish Aggarwal, Director, Bikano.

Baker’s Dozen Introduces New Pancake Mix

The Baker’s Dozen has launched its super fluffy pancake mix to radically upgrade the lockdown cooking quotient. All you knead is mix is some oil and water! Pancake is a cherished item globally and with this mix, from the Baker’s Dozen, it has become easy as a pie or even easier. In a more important and colloquially Indian context, Pancakes have fast become a catchphrase for one of the easiest breakfasts.

Sneh Jain, the co-founder at The Baker’s Dozen disclosed that TBD’s expedition to make the fluffiest pancake involved a lot of research and it was only after experimenting with 1327 pancake mixes that they were able to create the ultimate Sunday brunch pancake mix with the perfect FFD quotient - Fluffy, Flavourful, and Delicious!

Sassy and filled with some gooey yet light-hearted sense of humor, TBD’s Pancake premix is made with the finest wheat flour, is eggless and preservativefree. Each pack can make up to 22 pancakes that you can customize with super cool icing stencils that come as an addition within the pack.

OBITUARY

Chef Palaniappan's Soundrajan, a great star and pillar of the Indian Culinary industry, left for heavenly abode on July 23, while attending a webinar. He was the general secretary and founder of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA). Chef Soundrajan was instrumental in getting IFCA affiliated to World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), and was a member of the Education Committee of the World Chefs. He was also the founder of South Indian Chefs association (SICA).

Born in Udumalpet, Tamil Nadu, he did his graduation from IHM Chennai and started his career at ITDC before joining Mahindra group. He later retired as the Corporate Executive Chef at Club Mahindra Holidays & Resorts. He started a culinary institute in Chennai, Soundar Culinary Academy, after his retirement from Mahindra.

He was awarded Honoris Causa, Degree of Doctor of Literature, by Vels University in 2011, presented by President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, for his outstanding contribution to the industry. He was awarded the ‘Best Chef Award’ at the National Tourism Awards in 2008. He was a mentor to many leading chefs in India. His death has left a big void in the Indian Culinary industry and is a big personal loss for many who followed his footsteps.

We will miss you Chef, RIP.

UNIBIC Foods Appoints CEO

UNIBIC Foods, one of India’s fastest growing FMCG companies announced the appointment of Naveen Pandey as its Chief Executive Officer. Naveen will be responsible for leading the strategic direction and growth journey of the Company.

Naveen commands over two decades of senior management experience in the Indian FMCG space. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Indore, Naveen has had successful stints with corporate giants such as PepsiCo and Asian Paints. His last assignment before joining UNIBIC was as the Head of Marico’s New Foods’ Business Unit, where he led the start-up team to launch category defining products such as Saffola Honey, Saffola Mealmaker and Immuniveda.

Commenting on the development, Sandeep Reddy, Chairman of Board of Directors, UNIBIC, said, “We believe that the experience Naveen brings to the table would bolster UNIBIC’s already impressive track record of delivering innovative products and help drive the company into a linear growth trajectory. His extensive background in FMCG should help UNIBIC gain further ground in the dynamic Indian foods industry and drive the organisation towards higher profitability. He will contribute to develop strategic alliances and expand UNIBIC’s presence in India and in international markets.”

Having kicked off in collaboration with UNIBIC Australia in 2004, the company became a 100% independent Indian entity in 2012, backed by investments from Peepul Capital. UNIBIC was the first to introduce wire-cut cookies in India. The company has a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Bengaluru which is the largest wire-cut cookie manufacturer in India. UNIBIC also undertakes private label manufacturing for notable brands such as Café Coffee Day, Indigo Airlines etc. with Indian and international flavours catering to the Indian taste.

Yummiano Banana Chip Flavours

Delhi-based snacks startup, Yummiano announced that post-pandemic, the sales of its vacuum-cooked snacks range have seen a tremendous jump owing to the inclination towards guilt-free healthy eating. Of healthy chips variants, Banana chips make over 15% of the total sales; Banana chips Maggi Masala with authentic Maggi masala and Tangy Tomato flavours accounts for over 60% of the total banana chips sales. The snacks startup plans to come out with more chips flavours in the coming months.

Looking at the success of the vacuum-cooked chips of varied flavours, the company is in the process of experimenting with flavours like PaniPuri (GolGappe), KhattaMeetha. Other flavours in Banana chips include Salt & Pepper and Bhel Chaska with a tangy taste of BhelPuri.

The snacks market in India is growing at 7-8% annually, and potato chips hold the majority share. The traditional banana chips market is going through a sea change with variety of flavours being added to spice up the market. ”We are making chips appealing to the people as our focus is healthy snacking, an enduring habit of snack lovers in the country. Driven by this smart snacking culture coupled with the recent Covid-19 push, a market that is estimated to cross INR 1 billion will only touch greater heights. We need to capture Indian consumers shifting to healthy snacks, but who doesn’t want to compromise on taste. We have not only used nutritious ingredients but have worked on flavours and its authenticity to give consumers a tasty yet healthier bite of indulgence,” shares Vipul Gambhir, Business Head, Yummiano.