Wipro Consumer Care is once again in an acquisition mode after a brief lull due to the pandemic. It made its 13th acquisition with the acquisition of Nirapara, one of the major traditional food brands of Kerala. This acquisition also marks Wipro Consumer Care's foray into the food business in India and to play a significant player in the snack food, spices, and ready-to-cook market.
“Unique taste is very critical to succeed in the food segment. It is the taste that draws people towards the food brand. Ever since we started our acquisition strategy in 2003, with the acquisition of Glucovita from Hindustan Unilever, we have spent close to $1 billion on the 12 other acquisitions so far. We are still and will always be on the look out for more acquisition in the future as well,” Vineet Agrawal, CEO of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting and Executive Director-Wipro Enterprises told THE WEEK.
Though Agrawal did not specify the price of the acquisition, informed that they were excited to enter a large segment that is expected to grow rapidly. “Nirapara's 63 per cent of business comes from Kerala, 8 per cent from rest of India and 29 per cent from international markets- largely the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. We also plan to continue with the same management team and same workforce. In fact, many of the people working at Nirapara are behind the creation of the unique taste of Nirapara's products,” added Agrawal.
Nirapara is a brand owned by the KKR Group of Companies from Ernakulam, Kerala and was launched in 1976. It produces a range of food products, starting with spices and ready-to-cook products. It is also known for its blended spices especially Sambar Powder, Chicken Masala and for its ready-to-cook Puttu Podi which is largely consumed in many Kerala homes.
“Spices are core to Indian cooking and the mix changes from region to region with strong regional preferences. There is a huge opportunity in this space for shifting consumers from unorganized to organized market by offering authentic, pure and trusted spice mixes. Ready-to-Cook (RTC) category is an exciting space and one can give a lot of exciting offerings to Indian consumers suiting regional taste preferences. Our understanding of the consumer and the market, coupled with our distribution network will help grow this segment further,” observed Anil Chugh, President, Food Business, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting.
Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting is part of Wipro Enterprises and recorded a revenue of Rs 8,630 crores in FY’22. Its business includes personal wash products, toiletries, facial care products, wellness products, home care products, electrical wire devices, domestic and commercial lighting, and seating solutions. Wipro Consumer and Lighting also has brand presence and market share across segments in India, Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.
