Ganesh Grains plans major expansion; raises ₹100 cr from Motilal Oswal PE

In 1936, Ganesh Grains was a chakki based out of Kolkata’s commodity market, Burrabazaar. By the turn of the century, it was a registered company.

And, over the last decade, it has set up eight manufacturing units, launched products under the ‘Ganesh’ brand, and made its atta , or wheat flour, among the leading ones, competing with ITC’s Aashirvaad.

The ₹500-crore company today offers over 100 products (stock keeping units) focussing mostly on foodgrain variants that include atta, maida, (roasted gram flour), semolina, dalia (broken wheat), gram flour and instant mixes.

Now, the Mimani family-controlled establishment has secured an investment of ₹100 crore from Motilal Oswal Private Equity.

The funds will be used to expand into other eastern and north-eastern States, ramp up the distribution network (it stands at 40,000 at present) and fund research and development.

According to Manish Mimani, Director, Ganesh Grains, this is the first step towards “becoming a professionally managed company” from a family-owned one. “We are targeting a turnover of ₹600 crore by the end of this fiscal. In Bengal alone, we have headroom to achieve around ₹800 crore of turnover over the next two years,” he told BusinessLine .

Today, Ganesh is a well-know name in West Bengal, its primary market, and has a limited presence in Jharkhand. But, the 42-year-old Mimani, who has been at the forefront of Ganesh’s growth story since 2005, wants the company to be a leading brand in the East.

By 2017, he said, the company’s products are expected to be available across Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha, and the seven north-eastern States.

“There is a switchover happening to branded food offerings. And we intend to make our mark in the eastern and north-eastern States first,” he said. Mimani has already drawn up a plan that goes far beyond expanding its geographical footprint. New products are being designed with the health-conscious modern day customer in mind.

Ganesh will explore adjacencies, regional foods and ethnic options such as rice flour used in Bengali and Assamese cuisine for desserts such as sandesh and pitha. In terms of capacity, Ganesh Grains is well placed, Mimani said.

It has a 1,400-tonnes-a-day capacity across eight facilities – five in Bengal, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in Telangana. “Currently our capacity utilisation is 45 per cent. With the foray into other States, it’ll go up to 70-80 per cent. If required we will look at setting up more production facilities,” he added.