Eastern Condiments plans new unit in AP

Kochi: Curry powder and masala maker Eastern Condiments has drawn up a series of expansion plans in order to emerge as the largest player in this segment of business. The company recently expanded its production capacity to 300 tonne per day with a total investment of Rs 50 crore.

ME Meeran, chairman of the group, said Eastern Condiments had also planned to set up a chilli processing unit at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, coriander plant at Rajasthan and an export-oriented unit at Kothamangalam in Kerala. The projects are in various stages of planning and implementation.

The group has forayed into the western region of the country especially Maharashtra and Gujarat by launching a business model of making every distributor a partner. It has also enhanced the fleet of vehicles for distribution in the western region to 61.

The company would also commence production bases in the Gulf region. Towards this, it has formed a joint venture with Jaleel Traders of UAE to set up a production facility, which will commence operations shortly. The facility, according to Meeran, would help improve the market share of the Eastern brand in the entire West Asia.

Apart from the flagship company of Eastern Condiments, the group has forayed into rubber re-treading, rubberised mattresses, readymade garments and packaged drinking water. The condiments division registered a turnover of Rs 200 crore in 2007-08.