Dr Oetker has acquired Noida-based start-up Kuppies, entering the ready-to-eat cakes and desserts segment. Initially, it will introduce eight products. The four flavors in brownies and four types of pound cakes, and all the products will be vegetarian or without eggs.
The German packaged food company already has a strong presence in categories such as mayonnaise, spreads, and Italian sauces in India, which also is dominated with other FMCG brands like ITC, Britannia and Mondelez.
“Globally, one strong pillar for us is cakes and the ingredients around cakes depending on whether people prefer to bake or consume ready-to-eat cakes. Dr Oetker is targeting to close 2021 with a revenue of INR 400 crore, recording a growth of about 20%,” said Oliver Mirza, MD, and CEO – Indian Subcontinent, Dr. Oetker.
He added that the company’s major growth pillar is the FunFoods sub-brand that it acquired in 2008. “With regards to Kuppies, we have acquired their production hub, the innovation centre as well as the brand. While it is not that big a brand, they had a strong business selling cake chains such as Cafe Coffee Day, Keventers, Krispy Kreme in Delhi NCR. In a lockdown, this collapsed completely,” he added.
Mirza believes Kuppies had the potential to grow to be the same size as FunFoods or about a INR 300-400 crore brand in the next five to seven years, catapulting India into the top 10 markets for Dr. Oetker globally by 2030.
“From a global perspective, our sales are about €7.3 billion. India ranks among the food division among the top 20 countries among the 41 countries. We really have the potential to reach the top 10 countries by sales by 2030…it’s an exciting business. India is still growing tremendously. At €100 million, we would be among the top 10 markets,” he maintained.
