Dole expects India to drive its Asia business by 2030

Packaged fruits firm Dole Sunshine Company, which is in the process of launching its fruit based healthy snacks expects India to contribute over 10% of its Asia business in the next three years and 25% in the next five years, the company said.

"We expect that India should drive our Asia business by 2030," Aashim Malhotra, VP and MD APAC, Food and Beverage Group, Dole Sunshine Company said.

As the pandemic has shifted consumer preference towards healthy and immunity boosting food, the company expects this trend to continue and aid in its growth. “Despite the raging pandemic, the company launched its fruit bowl in India at the end of last year, an opportune time since consumers are looking for healthy snacks,” Malhotra said.

The company announced its entry into the Indian market in 2019 and tied-up with Kishore Biyani led Future Group to sell its products. However, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic slowed the growth plans, Malhotra added.

At present it is in talks with several brick and mortar retailers to expand its network. It is also available on all leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Dole Sunshine, which is owned by Japanese trading house Itochu, plans to scale up its presence in the country and is looking at expanding its sourcing and manufacturing from India for its Asia Pacific business. It has joined hands with Mala's fruits and Jain Irrigation for exporting to several ASEAN countries.

Without disclosing the amount of investment it will put in the Indian market, Malhotra said, “we won't hold back investment in India.”
In 2019 the company had tied-up with retail major Future Group and is in talks with other large retail chains as it looks at expanding its retail network.

Products by Dole include healthy snacks like fruit bowls, jellies, soft dried products and healthy beverages with no added sugar and preservatives. The company plans to have affordable pricing for the Indian market to battle competition and is also looking at launching products suited for the local palate.

"We are looking at launching products for three types of consumer segments, bottom of the pyramid, middle of the pyramid and upper middle part of the pyramid," Malhotra said.

It will also look at expanding to other businesses like Horeca and industrial segments at a later stage.

Early this year, Dole roped in Wondrlab as it's advertising agency to help the brand launch in India, and provide strategic and creative direction for its marketing activities in future. It plans to continue its ATL and BTL initiatives in top five to seven cities across the country.

Globally, Dole is a leader in growing, sourcing, distributing, and marketing fruit and healthy snacks. It sells a full line of packaged shelf stable fruit, frozen fruit, dried fruit, and juices. The company focuses on four areas of sustainability in all its operations: water management, carbon footprint, soil conservation and waste reduction.