Seed and agricultural company Namdhari ventures into healthy snacks segment
The Namdhari Group, founded in 1985, started as a vegetable seed company (Namdhari Seeds) before growing fresh produce and other products (Namdhari Agro Fresh) for local and domestic distribution.
In 2000, it started a supermarket chain (Namdhari’s Fresh), and an online grocery store (Simpli Namdharis) in 2018. Hence, the snack division at Namdhari Agro Fresh – Think Snack was a natural progression to offer ‘safe-to-consume yet guilt-free foods’, explained Navnath Pohkar, assistant manager of NPD.
A lot of our ideas have to do with bridging a healthier lifestyle for customers. For instance, when we started salad bars in our supermarkets, it was innovative for our city back then. Think Snack is kind of an evolution of that, as the company wanted to bring a healthier way of snacking because not everyone wants to eat fried chips and calorie-rich snacks.
Some of the products developed by Think Snack include vegetable and fruit chips, brown rice chips, popcorn, and makhana (lotus seeds). These are either baked, air-fried or vacuum fried, which tend to be lower in fat than regular snacks. Think Snack offerings are also gluten-free, non-GMO, artificial and preservative-free.
Vacuum fried is a process of cooking foods using air pressure and oil but at a lower temperature compared to typical frying, and for a longer time.
“Think Snack is our endeavour to craft munchies that satisfy those sudden, in-between-meals snack cravings, but without making it difficult to choose between delicious and healthy,” said Pohkar.
The snacks will be sold in more than 30 Namdhari’s Fresh stores in Bengaluru city, and Simpli Namdharis. It is also in the process of listing on e-commerce sites such as Flipkart and Amazon.
At its online and offline supermarkets, Namdhari grows some of the fresh produce at its own production centres, and stocks other products from both local and imported brands.
The healthy snack market in India is relatively new, unlike in places like Australia, the US or Europe. People are becoming more aware of their health and what they put in their diet, ” Pohkar added.
While most of the healthy snacks available in India are imported, many more local brands are coming out with products of their own.
Currently, with only a presence in Bengaluru, the firm is planning on expanding the supermarket business in South India. They also have plans to export to major cities like Dubai, the UK, and Singapore next year.
Beyond healthy snacks, the company is exploring development in other categories such as drinks.