Comments
Future Group will soon be offering food-on-demand at a price as low as ₹40.
The company is planning to build cloud kitchens across the country and will start with a pilot in Bengaluru in the next couple of months.
Cloud kitchens
“Food is the ambitious project in our portfolio. Currently, the segment contributes about 50 per cent to our entire revenue and we expect that to be about 55 soon. Besides, we are planning to open cloud kitchens that will deliver affordable fresh meals,” said Kishore Biyani, Founder and Group CEO, without divulging further details.
Cloud-kitchens don’t have a dine-in or takeaway facility but only online delivery.
The company is likely to use online delivery players such as Swiggy and Dunzo for delivery services. To start with, Biyani said, the company will offer rice-based meals. The company will leverage its staples business to make affordable meals.
Distribution centre
Future Group also owns a company called Galaxy Entertainment Corporation that supplies to about 10-odd commissaries and supplies to its live kitchens in Big Bazaars in Mumbai. “We want to be a part of food in whichever way the Indian consumer consumes it,” Biyani said while talking to reporters at the inauguration of its distribution centre in Shambhu Kalan in Punjab.
Spread across eight acres, the distribution centre is about 2 lakh sq ft that will cater to about 300 stores in the region.
The group’s supply chain company, Future Supply Solutions, plans to set up about 38 such centres across the country at an investment of ₹1,000 crore. Called as India Food Grid, the project will connect the entire country through a single, multi-layer network.
“Any supplier, small or big, can join this grid anywhere for further distribution across India. India Food Grid will ensure timely and efficient food, grocery and FMCG distribution,” Biyani said.
Acquisitions
The company had done some acquisitions to strengthen its supply chain and distribution. It had acquired Brittle Foods, a temperature-controlled supply chain company and Vulcan Express from Snapdeal.
The Mumbai-based retail giant generates its biggest chunk of revenue from food and grocery retailing at present with food being about 50 per cent.
The group under its various companies — Future Consumer, Future Lifestyle and Future Retail — generates a turnover of ₹25,000 crore and has acquired more than seven supermarket store chains to put together a total retail space of 14.8 million sq ft across 340 cities, a national footprint that can only be matched by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail.
Besides, Biyani is also focusing on e-commerce business.
The company will be launching an online portal for its discounted factory outlet BrandFactory in March.
With that, Biyani expects e-commerce to earn ₹1,000 crore in revenues by end of this year.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.