Jan 24, 2020
Ajinomoto – Japanese food processing and seasoning company is planning to expand its market share of MSG (Monosodium glutamate) in India.
Ajinomoto India, has also plans to extend it footprints in the northern and western market regions in India by expanding sales network.
At the moment, Ajinomoto products are sold for food service, mainly in the southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and and in the north-eastern regions, where average consumption of noodles is high.
MSG market in India is very low and the company plans to improve global ranking of Ajinomoto’s overall business in the coming years.
The MSG market in india is around 10,000 tonnes annually and is almost flat from last five years as it is facing regulatory hurdles. Around 90 per cent of this market is dominated by the unorganised players, mainly from China and rest 10 per cent is with established branded products.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules mandates that all advertisements on food packages containing added MSG must declare it. The food regulator has also fixed the maximum permissible limits of MSG’s usage. According to Biswas, MSG is used as a flavour enhancer with umami taste – the so-called “fifth taste” — which is responsible for meaty and savory flavour of food and it is popular in Korean, Japanese and Chinese dishes.
Hence this is why MSG market Ones s still stagnant in India due to regulatory hurdles and misconceptions about the product.