Mondelez inaugurates seventh plant in India

New Delhi: Mondelez, best known for its Cadbury chocolates, on Monday inaugurated a Rs 1,265-crore plant in Tada, SriCity, Andhra Pradesh, making it the company’s seventh manufacturing unit in the country.

This was the company’s largest plant in the Asia-Pacific region and would cater to domestic and regional needs, executives said.

Mondelez looks at India as a regional hub, with the plant capable of multiple products. The plant would initially produce chocolates and eventually other foods, said Daniel Myres, executive vice-president, integrated supply chain, Mondelez International.

The plant's capacity is 250,000 tonnes a year, which the company hopes to touch by 2020. The total investment is expected to reach Rs 2,300 crore by then.

Mondelez has invested Rs 670 crore in its six other plants in the country: two in Maharashtra, two in Himachal Pradesh and one each in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

“Mondelez International is putting its resources behind its commitment to this country, not only through its  investment, but also behind its brands, route to market and talent,” said Maurizio Brusadelli, president, Asia-Pacific.

In the past few years, packaged food companies like Kellogg’s, Mars, Cargill, Coca-Cola  and PepsiCo have made significant investments in India.

Data sourced from the department of industrial policy and  promotion shows yearly foreign direct investment in food processing has been consistently above Rs 2,000 crore, pointing to growing corporate interest in the sector.

Domestic players like ITC and Britannia are also betting highly on packaged foods.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.