Adani Wilmar buys Kohinoor rice brand to boost position in food biz

Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL), one of the largest and fastest growing packaged food FMCG companies in India, on Tuesday announced the acquisition of several brands including the renowned Kohinoor Brand – domestic (India region) from McCormick Switzerland GMBH for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition would give AWL, a joint venture between Adani Group and Wilmar Group of Singapore, exclusive rights over the brand 'Kohinoor’ basmati rice along with ‘Ready to Cook’, ‘Ready to Eat’ curries and meals portfolio under the Kohinoor Brand umbrella in India, as per the release.

“The addition of Kohinoor’s domestic Brand Portfolio strengthens Adani Wilmar’s leadership position in the food FMCG category by augmenting a strong product basket with premium brand along with potential to scale value added products,” AWL says in an exchange filing.

As per the filing, the deal will also leverage the reach of the Kohinoor brand to drive synergies for AWL across geographies and complements the reach of its flagship brand ‘Fortune’ in the food FMCG domain. The acquisition will boost the next level of growth to AWL and widen the portfolio to cater to premium customer segments across rice and other value-added food businesses, it says.

Billionaire Gautam Adani-backed firm aims to become a formidable player with the addition of the Kohinoor brand in the India region. The Kohinoor brand portfolio comprises of; “Kohinoor” - for premium Basmati rice; “Charminar” - for affordable rice and “Trophy” for HORECA segment.

Commenting on the acquisition, Angshu Mallick, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Adani Wilmar, says: “Adani Wilmar is pleased to welcome Kohinoor brand to the Fortune family. Kohinoor is a trusted brand which represents the authentic flavours of India and is loved by consumers. This acquisition is in sync with our business strategy to expand our portfolio in the higher margin branded staples and food products segment. We believe the packaged food category is under-penetrated with significant headroom for growth. The Kohinoor Brand has a strong brand recall and will help accelerate our leadership position in the Food FMCG category.”

For January-March quarter of 2022, Adani Wilmar has reported a 25.6% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹234.3 crore due to higher inflation and Russia-Ukraine crisis, which created demand and supply side challenges. The sudden spike in sunflower oil prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the major sunflower oil producers, pushed cost prices higher and eroded profit margins.

The firm’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 40.2% to ₹14,960.4 crore as compared to quarter ended March 31, 2021. In terms of volume, total sales stood at 1.29 MMT in Q4 FY22, up 16% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.