Kari Kari’, the New Crunchy, Roasted rice Snack for Guilt free Snacking by Daawat-Kameda (India) Private Limited

by Suman Gupta

New Delhi: Daawat-Kameda (India) Private Limited, a Joint Venture Company between one of India’s largest rice based food conglomerate, LT Foods Limited & Japan’s largest rice crackers Company-Kameda Seika, has launched ‘Kari Kari’, crunchy, light, healthy and premium rice snacks in the Indian market. Inspired by the famous Kameda Crisp, a favorite rice snack in Japan, ‘Kari Kari’ crisps are made from rice and peanuts are hearty & wholesome savory snack. A healthy snacking choice, this roasted rice snack is rich in protein and is available in 4 different flavors, Chilli Garlic, Wasabi, Salt & Pepper and Spice Mania to excite the Indian palate. Kari Kari is ideal for discerning youth of today, who prefer healthier, non-fried ingredient based snacking options.Priced at Rs. 50 for 60 grams and Rs. 99 for 135 grams pack.

LT Foods is an 80 year old Consumer Food Company delivering the finest quality rice and rice based food brands, providing taste and nutrition in more than 80 countries. LT Foods are also proud producers of organic agri ingredients, supplying them to leading businesses in Europe and the U.S for the past 25 years.. Its flagship brands ‘Daawat’ and ‘Royal’ enjoy leading positions in India and US with a market share of 29% and 45% respectively and has strong market share in other countries as well. Kameda Seika is the leader in Japanese rice cracker market with around 30% share. The Joint Venture Company Daawat-Kameda (India) Private Limited will manufacture Kari Kari from locally sourced ingredients & raw materials and has invested in Research & Development and a state of the art manufacturing facility at Sonipat. The Company is also growing a specific type of rice locally, which is the key ingredient in the snack. Constructed by the standards of Kameda’s Japan manufacturing units, it is a state of the art manufacturing facility in India, which will not only cater to the India market but the entire subcontinent, Middle East & other countries in future in a phased manner.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Vijay Kumar Arora, Chairman & Managing Director, LT Foods Limited said, “Based on changing consumer needs and preferences and the demand for tasty and healthy snacks, the Company has ventured into the premium snacks category in India with its rice based snacks “Kari Kari”. This premium snacks category is growing at a rate of 20-25% per annum. Since the millennial these days are very receptive to trying new products, “Kari Kari” has gained tremendous traction in its test launch phase in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore across Modern Trade stores. Based on the success of the test launch, the Company has set-up a facility in India to manufacture these products. The end-to-end manufacturing of these products in India is in collaboration with our Technology Partners, Kameda Seika will be a great milestone for this Joint Venture. The Joint Venture Company Daawat Kameda India Private Limited will manufacture “Kari Kari” from locally sourced ingredients & raw materials and will now be expanding its distribution pan India. The Joint Venture has pioneered in making the first rice based baked snacks in India.”

Mr. Jun Kono ,  (Director, Daawat Kameda (India) Private Limited  and Overseas Manager, Kameda Seika), Kameda Seika added, “We are very happy that our Joint venture Company is ready to roll out ‘Kari Kari’ in the Indian Market. Our rice snacks are popular in Japan and I am sure this roasted healthy snack with medley of rice crisps and peanuts will find much favor with the Indian Youth. The modern, technologically advanced manufacturing unit at Sonipat, will not only cater to the India market but the entire subcontinent, Middle East & other countries in future. Soon we will launch ‘Kari Kari’ in new formats as well”.

The launch will be supported initially by BTL activities focused on Product sampling at retail stores, airlines, multiplexes, corporates, colleges etc. Several brand promotional activities are also planned at the retail outlets to push the counter sales and a digital & social media campaign will also be commissioned to interact with the target audience. The phase two will see a launch of ATL campaign primarily in Television and Radio media.

‘Kari Kari’ will ride the robust distribution network & retail channel of the Indian parent Company LT Foods Limited, across the country and will increase its presence in Modern trade and E-commerce considerably in the next year. The Company plans to have a presence at 20,000 retail outlets & 35,000 outlets by 2024.

The Company also plans to roll out more products within the premium category in future to create intensified excitement within the category and to broaden the offerings to wider genre. The India snacks industry is highly competitive and evolving, pecked at around INR 30000 Crores (as per Industry sources) and the premium & healthy snacks, though still in nascent stage have and approximate market size of Rs. 900-1000 Crores, growing at 22-25% per annum. There is a huge opportunity in the fast growing premium segment, which has seen many new Indian and global entrants in recent years. The focus is on evolving consumer preferences to healthy and innovative flavors and formats.

About LT Foods Limited: LT Foods Ltd. [NSE: DAAWAT, BSE: 532783], An 80 year old Consumer Food Company delivering the finest quality rice and rice based food brands, providing taste and nutrition in more than 80 countries. LT Foods are also proud producers of organic agri ingredients, supplying them to leading businesses in Europe and the U.S for the past 25 years. The Company has revenue of around Rs. 4000 crore as on FY19. Its flagship brands ‘Daawat’ and ‘Royal’ enjoy leading positions in India and US respectively with a market share of 29% and 45% respectively and have strong market share in other countries as well. The Company’s integrated operations cover a global footprint with procurement, milling and processing for Basmati Rice centered in India whereas further value addition and marketing – distribution are available worldwide. The Company has 5 processing facilities in India, 2 packaging units and one Ready-to-Heat facility in the US and 1 processing facility in Rotterdam. Key markets for LT Foods’ brands besides India cover the U.S., the U.K., Europe, Middle East and Far East. The rice portfolio comprises brown, white, steamed, parboiled, organic, quick cooking brown Rice, value added and flavored Rice. In Rice, the Company’s brands include Daawat, Royal, Heritage, Gold Seal Indus Valley, 817 Elephant, Devaaya and Rozana. The organic food product range includes Rice, Soya, Pulses, Oil seeds, Cereal grains, Spices and Nuts. The Company is also into rice based convenience products that include sauté sauces, rice based premium snacks and staples.

About Kameda Seika Co. Ltd.:  KAMEDA SEIKA is Japan’s leading Company, with a 30% share of the domestic rice cracker market. The fact that we have continued to hold the top spot in the rice cracker business for over 40 years since 1975 is  proof of our dedication to meet the diversifying needs of our customers in addition to the requirements for food safety & security, and to continue to manufacture rice crackers that are delicious and fun to eat. Many people are familiar with our arare and osenbei rice crackers, including our long-selling brands of “KAMEDA no Kaki no Tane” and “Happy Turn”, which typify KAMEDA SEIKA.

In 2004, we acquired two companies. The first was Toyosu, which had a history of over 100 years in the Kansai region of Japan, as well as strong brands. The second was Nisshin Seika, a traditional manufacturer and seller of rice crackers with roots deep in Tochigi Prefecture. By working together with our domestic group of companies, including Ajicul that has expertise in the areas of tourist souvenirs, theme parks, and amusement facilities, we have focused our efforts in the rapidly growing EC market and have built up a distribution network that can service a range of sales channels