'We Are Looking At Big Growth Push For India'

Cargill India, a subsidiary of the US-based food and agri multinational Cargill, crossed $3 billion in revenue in FY23 riding on robust growth over the past two years. Simon George, Managing Director – Cargill Food Ingredients and Bio-Industrials, South Asia and President, Cargill India, talks about the next big growth phase for India, innovations and more. Excerpts

You have completed 35 years of India operations. Take us through the journey?
We have grown from being a commodity focused company to one today with multiple food and feed enterprises operating in India. We have 13 manufacturing plants, six consumer brands, four animal nutrition brand, 5,000-plus people employed and a thriving animal nutrition business. India also has the largest Global Capability Center catering to Cargill worldwide.

Take us through the financial performance of Cargill India and its contribution to the global business?
Our global revenue stood at $165 billion in 2022. India should be around 2 per cent of that. India is a critical growth market for Cargill in Asia-Pacific region. It is a must-win market for us. We are looking at a big push in terms of growth. We had committed investments of $240 million in India five years back. We have completed that and are now forging ahead with strong push to further expand our presence, reach and offerings for the Indian market. We are looking at exponential growth in the country. All our businesses here are in different stages of maturity and are all doing well. The contribution of our edible oil business to Cargill India is the highest, followed by other enterprises including starches and sweeteners, animal nutrition and the commodity trading business.

Please expand on the performance of your edible oil business?
We are very strong in sunflower oil amongst the edible oil categories especially in western and southern India. We are looking at becoming a national player in edible oils and will expand with categories like mustard etc. We are increasing focus on the north and east markets as we continue to retain market leader position in western India. Entering new and underserved markets in the southern region (all four states) has also helped us get closer to consumers. In olive oils, we play an important role.

In the backdrop of multiple challenges faced by the global agriculture and food industry, how has the India business performed?
Yes, the global food and agriculture industry has gone through multiple challenges over the past few years but market sentiment has picked up. We are seeing all our business do better than pre-pandemic levels. We have grown our starches and sweetener business, our edible oils business volumes are up with the launch in South India and we are also expanding our manufacturing presence in Punjab for our animal feed business. We recently brought three of our businesses under one umbrella – becoming a single window integrated food solution partner to our F&B customers in India.

What is the big growth strategy for India?
The customer is looking at us to become a complete solution provider not to sell just ingredients. More than a leading ingredient supplier, we want to become our customers’ main source of inspiration and growth, while setting new standards for innovation and collaboration. This is the shift taking place in our strategy and, in fact, we recently invested in a Food Innovation Lab in Gurgaon. 

Please elaborate with examples?
We are partnering with customers to bring healthier alternatives that are free from iTFAs (industrially produced trans fats), are low in sugar and sodium but deliver similar mouthfeel, aroma and texture. And we are using our technical knowledge to bring this innovation in a cost-effective manner to achieve scale. The WHO has recognised Cargill for its "pioneering effort" to eliminate iTFAs in its recent report on global trans-fat elimination.

What are some of the insight-based growth areas for you in India?
Cargill is moving into new areas of expansion based on our proprietary research and consumer trends tracker. Health and nutrition is one such area. We want to bring in specialty ingredients that can go in infant food, that can go into human diet for different applications that we do globally. The second trend is indulgence, where we are expanding our range or products and solutions. The third area of growth will be across our food services. 

Can you explain with specific products and their potential usage?
We have ingredients that will help the dairy industry succeed even more. For example, we have a kind of pectin that can be put into lassi, which can give consumers an enhanced mouth-feel and superior flavor. Then there is epicor, which is a post-biotic for gut health and an immunity booster. We are looking at product applications for that. Specialised starches that can go for a curd setting is another example. Radipure is a pea protein which is a global innovation by Cargill and now it has been brought to India. We have tailored this product basis local experience and expertise to give higher functionality. We will now be taking it to global markets basis regulatory approvals. Some of our leading B2B customers include Unilever, Nestle, Mondelez, Parle, ITC, Britannia, among others.

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