Kitchen biz to baking giant

From making ice cream in a hand churner with the help of her maid to a factory turning out 2,50,000 buns a day for McDonald’s: not bad for a housewife without any fancy degrees or MBA stamp. That’s Rajni Bector for you. Three decades ago, in 1978, Mrs Bector’s kitchenmade ice cream started becoming popular in Ludhiana’s party circuit and fetes. When the volumes overwhelmed her kitchen, she and her husband invested Rs 20,000 in a backyard facility.

CREMICA GROUP

BUSINESS: Biscuits, bread, buns, sauces and toppings.

TURNOVER: Rs 380 crore

TURNING POINT: Tie-up with McDonald’s India in 1996 to be the sole supplier of buns, sauces and toppings.

LESS-KNOWN FACT: Makes 2,50,000 buns a day.

LEADERSHIP POSITION: In biscuits, it is #3 in Punjab, #2 in Himachal and #3 in J&K.

“We will invest Rs 50 crore over the next three years” - Akshay Bector, MD, Mrs Bector’s Food Specialties

Very soon, she began making bread on an industrial scale, 50,000 loaves a day. Then, in 1992, came biscuits, 200 tonnes a day (today she is a name to reckon with in the biscuits market in three states). While she was expanding the business, her sons Ajay, Akshay and Anoop gradually joined her, in early and mid 1990s, and Bector’s Cremica Group is a widely-diversified food products and service company today, growing at 30 per cent annually.

The turning point came when McDonald’s India chose Cremica as its sole supplier of sesame buns, liquid condiments, batter and breading. It was 1996, McDonald’s had just set up its operations in India and was looking for quality suppliers of raw materials.

“At that time, we were doing some breads and buns business, but largely focussing on the biscuits segment. But when McDonald’s approached us, we thought it could be a big deal. After imparting rigorous training to our workers, and testing our capability and quality standards by making a series of visits to our factory, McDonald’s got convinced about us,” recalls Akshay Bector, Managing Director, Mrs Bector’s Food Specialties, the group’s flagship. Rajni Bector is now the Chairperson of Cremica Group, and she indirectly looks after its growth and expansion plans.

In order to meet McDonald’s requirement, the company sealed two 50:50 JVs with UK-based EBI Foods and US-based Quaker Oats. The tie-up with EBI Foods was essentially to acquire batter and breading technology, Quaker Oats helped the company enter the liquid condiments business. “The sauces plant, which was designed and set up by the Quaker Oats’ technical team, had an initial capacity of 1 lakh litres per month. However, three years later, Quaker Oats withdrew from the joint venture,” says Akshay.

In 1996, before the McDonald’s link, Cremica had reported revenues of around Rs 20 crore. It is aiming for Rs 500 crore in 2009-10, and Rs 850 crore by 2011-12. “In terms of market share, we are amongst the top five players in the biscuit industry in India and amongst the top three in the tomato ketchup industry,” says Akshay.

While biscuits continue to be the biggest contributor to the top line with a 65 per cent share, Cremica is also expanding its presence in readyto-eat foods, snacks and liquid condiments. Cremica’s liquid condiment plant is producing almost 7.5 million litres of sauces, and caters to both retail and institutional markets, with capability of packing the products in a wide range of formats.

“…We will invest Rs 50 crore over the next three years,” says Akshay. Besides, the company is also setting up a food-processing facility in Haryana at an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore to cater to domestic and export markets. Cremica plans to go public in the next financial year to raise funds. In 2006, Goldman Sachs picked up 10 per cent stake in the company at a valuation of Rs 500 crore.

Apart from being an important link in the supply chains of Café Coffee Day, Barista, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, some hotel groups, HUL, Spencer’s, Big Bazaar and airlines, Cremica is also exporting to 50 countries, including Canada, the US, UK, Australia, and some in Africa and West Asia. “Exports generate 15-20 per cent of the total revenues. Products such as ready-to-eat ethnic curries and gravies are doing well in markets such as Australia and the US,” says Akshay.

North India being its forte, Cremica is also spreading its wings in other parts of the country. Its range of liquid condiments, including mayonnaise, ketchups and dessert toppings, are being rolled out in metros and tier-I towns in different parts of the country. “Trial runs are under way in metros such as Mumbai and New Delhi. We are hoping our products will pick up in the next 2-3 years,” says Akshay.