Kolkata-based
Keventer has been in the dairy and agro-business for 120 years now.
The original company, ‘Edward Keventer,’ was a pioneer in the dairy
industry in India, and interestingly, was the only brand to have ventured
into the dairy industry before the formation of the dairy board and
milk cooperatives.
In 1985,
Mahendra Kumar Jalan of the MKJ group and Viren Shah of the Mukand group
acquired the company. “Sensing the immense potential of the processed
food industry, we conceived a project with state-of-the-art equipment
and technology to manufacture fruit-based beverages, aseptically packed
in Tetra Pak containers. We have helped Parle Agro Limited make Frooti
the undisputed brand leader in this category,” explains Jalan, director,
Keventer Agro Limited.
In 1990,
the company set up a packaging plant for ‘Dhara’ edible oil in a record
time of three months. Very recently, in April 2001, Keventer ventured
into the packaged water industry and set up a packaged drinking water
plant for the brand Bailey under a franchise agreement with Parle Agro
Limited.
The
Frooti story
Keventer
has a franchise agreement with Parle to market Frooti throughout the
Eastern region except Orissa. The hi-tech plant for Frooti was set up
in April 1989 with an initial investment of Rs 6 crore. The plant has
been built in accordance with international standards in a totally backward
area. The plant guarantees zero-bacteria quality in each of the 3,500
packs that the machine produces per hour.
“Within
a year of operations, we achieved a world record, with the highest productivity
per machine in the history of Tetra Pak, based on our innovative adaptation
of the technology to suit Indian conditions, and even developed local
spare parts successfully,” Jalan said.
As per
the agreement, Keventer buys all the raw materials, including non-alcoholic
beverage base (NABB), from Parle Agro Limited, and also pays brand royalty
to Parle. Keventer manufactures Frooti in Tetra Brick aseptic machines
in pack sizes of 200 ml and 250 ml in its own plant at Barasat in West
Bengal. Keventer has the responsibility of distribution, marketing,
local advertisement, POP and sales promotion. Parle supplies to NABB,
looks after the brand and takes care of national advertising and sales
promotion.
