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India's Food Processing Industry

Recent case studies.

The Indian food processing industry is among the largest in the nation in terms of growth, production, consumption and exports. The industry produces several food products such as meat, poultry, fisheries, fruits, vegetables, spices, milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, plantations and grains. It also manufactures cocoa products and chocolates, confectionery, mineral water, soya-based items and high-protein foods. Since the liberalisation in August 1991, the government proposed and accepted multiple projects, for instance, creating foreign collaborations, joint ventures, 100% export-oriented units and industrial licenses to encourage growth and investment in the food processing industry. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India was estimated at Rs. 2,934.1 crore (US$ 368.8 million) in FY21.

India is a major producer of food in the world, with a large and growing market. The food and grocery retail market, valued at US$ 11.3 trillion in 2021, is also among the largest in the global economy.

India's food processing sector is a sunrise sector that has gained prominence in recent years. Major processed food products exported from India include processed fruits and juices, pulses, guar gum, groundnuts, milled products, cereals preparations, oil meals and alcoholic beverages.  India created history in agriculture and processed food exports by exporting products worth US$ 25.6 billion in FY22 . Export of APEDA products stood at US$ 7.4 billion as of April-June 2022, up 31% compared with US$ 5.7 billion over the same period last fiscal, according to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.  Furthermore, exports of processed fruits and vegetables grew by 59.1%; cereals and miscellaneous processed items grew by 37.66%; meat, dairy and poultry products grew by 9.5%; basmati rice grew by 25.5%; non-basmati rice grew by 5%; and miscellaneous products grew by 50%. 

The food sector is currently undergoing a transition in India. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) forecasts that the sector will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% between 2022 and 2030.

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• 25 Jan 2021
• Working Paper Summaries

India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic

Policy makers in the developing world face important tradeoffs in reacting to a pandemic. The quick and complete recovery of India’s food supply chain suggests that strict lockdown measures at the onset of pandemics need not cause long-term economic damage.

• 08 Jun 2020

Food Security and Human Mobility During the Covid-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 represents not only a health crisis but a crisis of food insecurity and starvation for migrants. Central governments should ensure that food security policies are implemented effectively and engage with local governments and local stakeholders to distribute food to migrants in the immediate term.

• 29 May 2020

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

The pandemic could almost double the number of people facing food crises in lower-income populations by the end of 2020. Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence show how organizations are responding. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 31 Jan 2019
• Cold Call Podcast

How Wegmans Became a Leader in Improving Food Safety

Ray Goldberg discusses how the CEO of the Wegmans grocery chain faced a food safety issue and then helped the industry become more proactive. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 Nov 2018

Can the Global Food Industry Overcome Public Distrust?

The public is losing trust in many institutions involved in putting food on our table, says Ray A. Goldberg, author of the new book Food Citizenship. Here's what needs to be done. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 Mar 2018

Targeted Price Controls on Supermarket Products

Governments sometimes consider targeted price controls when popular goods become less affordable. Looking at price controls in Argentina between 2007 and 2015, this study’s findings suggest that new technologies like mobile phones are allowing governments to better enforce targeted price control programs, but the impact of these policies on aggregate inflation is small and short-lived.

• 26 Jun 2017
• Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

Research by Ai Hisano exposes cellophane's key role in developing self-service merchandising in American grocery stores, and how its manufacturers tried to control the narrative of how women buy food. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 31 May 2017
• Sharpening Your Skills

10 Harvard Business School Research Stories That Will Make Your Mouth Water

The food industry is under intense study at Harvard Business School. This story sampler looks at issues including restaurant marketing, chefs as CEOs, and the business of food science. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 18 Nov 2016

Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940

Beginning in the late 19th century, US food manufacturers tried to create the “right” color of foods that many consumers would recognize and in time take for granted. The United States became a leading country in the food coloring business with the rise of extensive mass marketing. By 1938, when Congress enacted the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the food coloring business had become a central and permanent component of food marketing strategies. This paper shows how food manufacturers, dye makers, and regulators co-created the food coloring business. Food-coloring practices became integrated into an entire strategy of manufacturing and marketing in the food industry.

• 16 May 2016

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

When restaurants source from local growers, it can be more difficult to assess product safety—just another wrinkle in high-stakes efforts to keep our food from harming us. Just ask Chipotle. John A. Quelch discusses a recent case study on food testing. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 15 May 2007

I’ll Have the Ice Cream Soon and the Vegetables Later: Decreasing Impatience over Time in Online Grocery Orders

How do people’s preferences differ when they make choices for the near term versus the more distant future? Providing evidence from a field study of an online grocer, this research shows that people act as if they will be increasingly virtuous the further into the future they project. Researchers examined how the length of delay between when an online grocery order is completed and when it is delivered affects what consumers order. They find that consumers purchase more "should" (healthy) groceries such as vegetables and less "want" (unhealthy) groceries such as ice cream the greater the delay between order completion and order delivery. The results have implications for public policy, supply chain managers, and models of time discounting. Key concepts include: Consumers spend less and order a higher percentage of "should" items and a lower percentage of "want" items the further in advance of delivery they place a grocery order. Encouraging people to order their groceries up to 5 days in advance of consumption could influence the healthfulness of the foods that people consume. Similarly, asking students in schools to select their lunches up to a week in advance could considerably increase the healthfulness of the foods they elect to eat. Online and catalog retailers that offer a range of goods as well as different delivery options might be able to improve their demand forecasting by understanding these findings. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Indian Food Processing Sector: 5 point call to action to tap export potential

Sushma Vasudevan Rachit Mathur Shivam Jain Aparna Bijapurkar

The Indian agricultural industry is a global giant in terms of production – ranking second globally and contributing to almost 10% of the global production. Despite its strong position, however, the country lags in processing and export of processed food products. Further, food processing has enormous socio-economic benefits for India – the GVA per worker in processed foods is about 4 to 4.5x that of agriculture. This, coupled with the increased global demand for processed food products, presents a strong case for the country to invest in this sector. With that context, BCG and FICCI partnered to develop this report for Food World India 2022. This report puts in context the current status of the Indian food processing industry and deep dives into the factors affecting the competitiveness of the industry at a global level such as cost competitiveness, product quality, compliance to standard etc. Finally, the report lays down "A-R-I-S-E" - a 5-point action plan for various stakeholders to appreciate and act upon. The various tenets of the plan range from upgrading the operating model and infrastructure in use, to ensuring proper branding and compliance by the products. By acting on this suggestion, India can unlock the true potential of its processed food export industry and achieve a position of global leadership.

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India: Making Food a Right for All

Making food a right for all, india has made considerable progress in tackling hunger and undernutrition in the past two decades, yet this pace of change has been uneven and many have been left behind. now is the time to assert the right to food for all and make zero hunger a reality for everyone..

  When you have your godowns (warehouses) full and people are starving, what is the benefit? You cannot have two Indias.   Dalveer Bhandari, Judge of India’s Supreme Court, 21 April 2011

I ndia is a country of stark contrasts. In total, 22% of its population lives below the poverty line (Government of India 2013). At the same time, it is home to 84 of the world’s billionaires (Forbes 2016).

India’s top 1% own more than 50% of the country’s wealth. It is the world’s second largest food producer and yet is also home to the second-highest population of undernourished people in the world (FAO 2015).

One side of this story is clear from the score for India on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) – 28.5 (von Grebmer et al 2016). By contrast, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, all of whom share the BRICS high table with India, have a single-digit score. India’s neighbours, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, have better GHI scores as well. Although the country has managed to reduce instances of stunting among children by nearly half in the past decade compared to the previous one (IFPRI 2015), India remains home to one third of the world's stunted children (UNICEF et al. 2016). It therefore falls into the ‘serious’ category in this year’s (2016) GHI.

Now, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seeking to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The tangible outcomes will be to eradicate instances of stunting among children and guarantee every citizen with access to adequate food throughout the year through sustainable food systems, the doubling of smallholder productivity and income, and zero food loss or waste.

Although rainfed agriculture supports nearly 40% of India’s population (Government of India 2012), these farmers are highly sensitive to drought, which can cause crops to fail and lead to spiralling debt.

The key driver behind the goal to reach Zero Hunger and malnutrition is to ensure that no one is left behind in the pursuit of food and nutrition security. In the Indian context, this will also mean greatly improving the health of women and children.

The Government of India enacted the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013, a law seeking to “provide for food and nutritional security […] by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity” (Ministry of Law and Justice 2013).

The 2013 NFSA created legal entitlements to existing governmental food and nutrition security programmes. Most significantly, it has changed the nature of discourse on food, making it a human right and putting the onus on the state to guarantee basic entitlements. However, the question is whether the quality of life has actually improved for everyone in the meantime. The food provided by the Government through its procurement and disbursement schemes serves the calorific requirement for some of the population. However, the system has also altered their food habits, made them dependent on rice and wheat and eliminated traditional diet diversity, thereby reducing the micronutrient content of the food on their plates.

Those Left Behind

Among the poorest people in India are those who belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – traditionally oppressed classes for whom the Indian constitution provides special affirmative provisions to promote and protect their social, educational and economic interests.

The Scheduled Castes include millions of Dalits, or ‘untouchables’, who continue to be subject to endemic discrimination. This is also the case for the Scheduled Tribes, which comprise indigenous people, also known as Adivasis, who are often disadvantaged, in part because of the forested geographies in which they live.

As a consequence, Dalits and Adivasis are over-proportionally affected by poverty. With 104 million people belonging to nearly 700 distinct ethnic groups, India has the second-largest tribal population in the world (Government of India 2011). 47% of the rural tribal population lives below the national poverty line, compared to the national average for rural areas of 28% (Rao 2012). The level of poverty and food and nutrition insecurity of the tribal people continues to be a major issue, despite the affirmative action put in place by the architects of India’s Constitution for their protection and welfare.

The Adivasis have borne witness to the appropriation of their lands, destruction of their environment and commoditisation of their traditional knowledge – a lopsided bargain which has come at the cost of their way of life and well-being, beginning with their health and the security of resources for future generations. Safeguards such as informed consent have been thrown to the winds in the rush to acquire and trade forest produce and land on a large scale.

The problems faced by the indigenous people of India are further iterated by a recent study conducted by the United Nations Children´s Fund (UNICEF). Covering 11 states, it shows that every second Adivasi child is stunted, 68% of Adivasi mothers are less than 20 years old, 48% are undernourished and 76% are anaemic. Furthermore, the study states that the risk of severe stunting is nearly twice as high among girls aged 6-23 months compared to boys (UNICEF 2014). This may be due to food distribution practices within households and gender discrimination, resulting in woman receiving less food or men being served the best portions.

The efforts of the Food Security Act and a range of other laws to tackle these issues have encountered many challenges. Adivasi hamlets are often remote and poorly connected, making logistics and monitoring difficult. Indeed, the plight of those who suffer from hunger is only addressed when deaths resulting from starvation momentarily lead to public outrage. These are the groups that need support most urgently.

Growing Rich Diversity with Limited Land

  My friends were avoiding farming. I told them that we can’t afford to let the varieties of our village get lost. Last year, I grew 70 varieties. It sufficed us for the year. This year I have told fellow villagers to grow 80 varieties   Adi Kumbruka, young farmer in Kanduguda village, Odisha

Welthungerhilfe has been working in India since 1965. As part of its current efforts, it is increasingly focusing on mobilising and raising awareness among the marginalised and poor rural communities in order to help them access their rights and entitlements in relation to hunger and poverty.

Welthungerhilfe’s approaches address the four pillars of food and nutrition security, namely ensuring the availability of food of sufficient quantity and quality, guaranteeing that people have physical and economic access to this food, providing health and sanitation conditions that enable them to truly benefit from this food, and ensuring that these factors are stable all year round.

Welthungerhilfe works with a number of civil society partners across the country implementing a rights-based approach that addresses these four aspects of food and nutrition security. Many of these projects are established in states and regions suffering from extremely high levels of malnutrition.

Living Farms , a partner NGO, works with landless, small and marginalised farmers in the dry, hilly region of the state of Odisha in Eastern India to help them assert their food sovereignty and improve their well-being by means of an ecological and sustainable approach to agriculture. To this end, Living Farms is working to re-establish the control of these farmers over food and farming systems through the conservation, renewal and rejuvenation of biodiversity. Availability of food is improved at household level by initiating a series of interventions to enhance productivity on the limited land they have.

In the Kerandiguda village of Rayagada, Living Farms is working with Loknath Nauri (pictured), a farmer in his sixties who draws inspiration from how tribal people practised agriculture decades ago. Loknath is a repository of wisdom. For example, he can tell the direction the yearly rains will come from based on how a local bird’s nest is positioned. He can also predict when it will rain purely using the beans in the pods of a local creeping plant. These are just two of the many lessons he shares with other farmers. Although Loknath owns just 2.5 acres (1ha) of land, his food stocks at home are plentiful. He grows 72 different varieties of crops on his farm:

  Growing multiple varieties of crops reduces the risks from drought and other farm stress. I harvest from September until January and have vegetables throughout the year.  

Living Farms has an extensive list of small land-holding farmers who grow over 50 different varieties on their farms. Thousands more cultivate over 20 crop varieties and no longer have to endure the type of crisis faced by farmers in other rain-fed agricultural regions around the country. This stability is important, as farmers can otherwise become lured into growing cash crops instead, such as cotton, cashew, palm oil, sugarcane and eucalyptus, which reduces food availability.

Debjeet Sarangi from Living Farms explains that the NGO is working with researchers to rediscover the virtues of traditional local crop varieties that can withstand erratic rainfall and soaring temperatures and still produce bountiful yields.

  The community already has traditional rice varieties that are rich in micronutrients, zinc, iron, magnesium and calcium, while scientists are working on creating such seeds in laboratories around the world.  

...Debjeet says, adding that the Adivasis avoid using chemicals on their farms and make their own compost instead.

In Jharkhand, Pravah, another Welthungerhilfe partner, encourages landless families to set up kitchen gardens in their homesteads and harness common fallows to grow food for the family. On the farmlands, diversity is returning through the ‘Sustainable Integrated Farming Systems’ approach, which functions according to the principle of farm planning and the use of all available resources, including time and space, as efficiently as possible. Hardy, drought-resilient millet crops are now being reintroduced to the cropping cycle. Waste from livestock, poultry and aquaculture is recycled through a bio-digester in order to provide rich farm manure, and agroforestry is practised to provide fodder for animals.

Space on the homestead as well as on the farm is used to grow different crops, sometimes in multiple tiers. Crops are planned in such a way that food is available throughout the year, thereby resulting in different food products for the market. In addition, this directly addresses micronutrient deficiency and leads to diet diversity among the population.

Pravah has worked closely with farmers like Nandlal Singh, who owns 2.5 acres of land. Nandlal’s story was similar to any other farmer’s in the region, namely one of debt, crop failure, migration and mortgages. His situation has now changed. Thanks to farm planning and integrated farming Nandlal has not only cleared his old debts, but has money in the bank. Pravah’s training on vermicomposting, organic farming and integrated pest and nutrient management techniques have proven successful and led to the production costs on Nandlal’s farm being reduced.

The family has a diverse diet which incorporates up to eight food groups, including cereals, lentils, fruits and vegetables. Nandlal grows these vegetables throughout the year while also rearing cattle, fish and ducks on what was once a patch of wasteland.

A striking feature of the work of both organisations is the low incidence of indebted households among the farmers involved in the programme. Small and marginal farmers like Nandlal Singh and Loknath are not short of the resources they need for this kind of farming. This reduces their reliance on loans and avoids the problems associated with debt. Debjeet Sarangi from Living Farms cites examples of how farmers who used to be impoverished now grow multiple crops per year and how, together with poultry and animal husbandry, they are able to safeguard their families against food and nutrition insecurity. But, most importantly, Debjeet says, they depend on forests.

Securing Forests to Secure Nutrition

of the Indian population is undernourished , meaning that they do not receive enough calories per day

of children under five are stunted (low height for their age), reflecting chronic undernutrition

of children under five are wasted (low weight for their height), reflecting acute undernutrition

of children die before the age of five

  The diet of the Adivasi people used to be a highly diverse one. However, years of planning and the Government’s control over resources meant that these tribal farmers began to lose the ability to cultivate the seeds that kept their people fed for generations. One result of these developments is that the diversity of the crops grown and of the available forest resources has shrunk massively over the years.  

...explains Debjeet. Debjeet alludes to evidence that vast swathes of forests are being acquired fraudulently:

  Officials only see it as lost forest when in actual fact the loss of these forests is also affecting the eating habits and the nutrition of the tribal people. The range of forest fauna, flowers, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms previously consumed by tribal people has diminished over time due to governmental policies. Tribal people collect 25 varieties of roots and tubers, 35 kinds of fruits and various oil seeds from the forests. The forest also provides 40 different leaf vegetables, mushrooms and various birds, animals, edible insects and other food sources throughout the year. In addition, the bodies of water belonging to the forests are home to an abundance of snails, fish and crab.  

This diversity offered by the forests is now under threat and entire species have disappeared, thus depriving families of a varied diet.

Women in Rayagada are now resisting the forest department’s attempts to plant commercial trees, demanding that multipurpose trees are planted instead. The move has led to the protection of forest cover and the revival of over 275 varieties of wild foods that provide food rich in micronutrients.

Rua Ulaka, a farmer from the village of Lanji, Rayagada, is part of this active citizenship movement, as evidenced by the level of care that she shows for her forests and its ecosystem. By working together, the Adivasis are able to ensure that this asset is not commercialised. Ultimately, the work carried out by Living Farms and Pravah has shown that families with very small landholdings and continued access to the forest are more than able to survive another year. With dignity.

Fighting the Day-to-Day Nutrition Crisis

  Previously, women would not have their babies weighed or breast-feed their newborns due to superstition. This has changed. Mothers now ask me how much their child weighs. Women wear slippers, families have toilets, girls are resisting early marriage and babies are being born in hospitals. Not a single child has died in this village over the past five years.   Sharmishta Raj, Anganwadi worker at the center of Laxmipur village in Odisha

As well as working to ensure the availability of sufficient and nutritious food, both organisations promote awareness and changes in behaviour at community level in terms of health care and infant and young child feeding practices.

A promising approach introduced by Pravah in the villages of Jharkhand consists of ‘Positive Deviance Sessions’, whose aim is to improve the health of moderately malnourished children. With 15% of children below five years of age being classified as underweight for their height, India’s acute malnutrition rate is at the international threshold that indicates a nutrition emergency. Babita Sinha, Pravah’s Programme Manager, explains:

  80% of the children in the nutrition camps have recorded weight gain and have shifted from the Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) category to the category of healthy children. This is due in part to a 15-day hands-on camp to introduce young and pregnant mothers to new, nutritious recipes, gathering and using nutritious, uncultivated food, child-care practices and hand-washing.  

These ‘Positive Deviance Camps’ have also implemented de-worming programmes and helped to change the behaviour of young parents in various villages. According to Babita, the mothers realised that their children were responding positively to these initiatives when they were weighed. She recalls:

  Seeing a gain of 500 grams in the child’s weight gave the mothers tremendous joy.  

The sensitisation process was revealing for the experts at Pravah as well. “We were able to understand why children in the red category (meaning those belonging to the lowest-weight-for-age section of the WHO Growth Monitoring Charts, signifying malnutrition) belonged to families from certain clusters of the villages,” states Sweta Banerjee, Nutrition Specialist with Welthungerhilfe in India. Sweta bore witness to how the process taught the village communities to link nutrition with good agriculture practices and proper management of natural resources.

As she states, “We realised it was not a coincidence that these children came from families that were either landless or owned land uphill that was not irrigated. As such, the nutrition programme had to be amended to benefit them.”

One key breakthrough was that women were able to grasp how the nutrition chain between generations could be broken by paying attention to the nutritional needs of different age and gender groups and by including adolescent girls, expectant mothers and women nursing children. The Pravah team noted that close to half of the households in the villages in which they were working have since improved their food and diet practices. There have also been visible changes in personal hygiene practices at household level. Combined, these actions will have a lasting impact on the health of the people living in these villages.

Putting the Right to Food into Action

The Fight Hunger First Initiative implemented by Welthungerhilfe in cooperation with several Indian partner organisations, including Living Farms and Pravah, is based on the premise that it is only possible for people to break out of the cycle of inequality and discrimination permanently if adequate welfare systems are in place and basic rights are fulfilled.

This includes access to proper education, sufficient and adequate access to food and income, better health services and treatment as equal citizens by the state.

The right to food guaranteed by the Food Security Act is translated into a number of entitlements ensured through different programs. Examples include the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), which provides health and nutrition services to pregnant women and young children, and the Mid-Day Meals (MDM) scheme, which is aimed at providing free lunches and thereby improving the nutritional status and attendance of school children.

Meanwhile, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) guarantees the provision of paid employment to rural families. In some cases, it has reduced reliance on the Public Distribution System (PDS), which distributes subsidised food rations to those who are most in need.

Enforcement of the National Food Security Act is a challenge, especially in far-flung villages. In addition, many families have little access to work for wages that could be used to buy food, educate children and cover other household expenses.

At national level, for example, households covered by the Rural Employment Act, on average, only received 41 days of work per year between 2011/12 and 2013/14 (Desai et al 2015). This equates to less than half the amount set out in the constitutional provisions. The situation is similar in Jharkhand. Rather ironically, the Government has increased the minimum number of days of work to which the households are entitled under the law to 150.

As part of the Fight Hunger First Initiative, community-based organisations are formed or strengthened and social accountability mechanisms such as community score cards are introduced as a means of empowering community members to access various forms of entitlements and holding service providers accountable. In the state of Jharkhand, Pravah successfully campaigned with 13 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for the inclusion of eggs in the Mid-Day-Meals at schools three times a week. Likewise, Living Farms has been able to persuade Government authorities to include millets in the ICDS programme, especially in the form of take-home rations for pregnant women. Persuading ICDS officials to appreciate community inputs has been a lesson in advocacy.

“Community members feel the services do not make sense. On the other hand, service providers also feel handicapped. The gap is evident and the community participation tools we have employed help to bridge this gap,” says Babita Sinha.

A federation of self-help groups promoted by Pravah offers numerous examples of how leadership has been nurtured among women, who are now able to confront agents working at public distribution system outlets or others charged with managing governmental service provision agencies. At the same time, workers at the Anganwadi centres are now on equal terms with the village women. Rua Ulaka is now aware of her rights and entitlements as a citizen, what she can expect from the village’s own self-governance institution, the Panchayat, and of her right to participate in the Gramsabha (village assembly).

Awareness of these aspects of governance ensures that Adivasi women can demand accountability from those governing them. As a result of the work carried out by Pravah and Living Farms, more households are now receiving work. Furthermore, community access to an array of welfare schemes run by the Government has vastly improved, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty and building the community’s resilience.

By engaging with the Village Health and Nutrition Days and working with institutions like the Village Health Sanitation & Nutrition Committees, the project also strengthens the government health service delivery mechanisms regarding its coverage and quality. Sharmishta Raj and her colleagues from the Anganwadi child care centre in Lakhimpur highlight the difference that working with Living Farms has made thanks to effective communication between the centre and the community.

“Not a single child has died in this village over the past five years,” she says, her face brimming with pride. This is a reflection of how much a small group of front-line government functionaries has achieved through a partnership with a civil society organisation in a remote corner of the country.

Ending a Nutrition Paradox

  I grow enough and earn enough and can also take advantage of the government’s food schemes. We even have fish once a week and enough fruits and vegetables.   Geeta Devya, Dhanway Naya village in Jharkhand

India’s agricultural growth rate increased phenomenally in the decades following the green revolution that turned the country from a “ship-to-mouth economy” into a land able to provide food security.

This growth was propelled by technological changes, major investment in infrastructure such as irrigation, markets and roads, the development of credit institutions, auxiliary services and the facilitation of pricing policies. However, the revolution has come with several significant limitations. As a result, a more ecologically and socially sustainable ‘evergreen revolution’ is needed.

India still faces a long road ahead in its quest to achieve Zero Hunger. Over 25 years since India ushered in its economic reforms, the country’s economy has undergone significant structural transformations, encouraging planners to turn their focus away from agriculture and instead towards the service and manufacturing sectors.

The priority now is to return attention to agriculture and its central role of providing food security, reducing poverty and generating employment. Turning one’s back on agriculture, particularly in a time when the climate is changing considerably, will put the food security of the 1.25 billion people living in India in jeopardy.

The Government has recently set an ambitious target to double the income of farmers by 2022 (The Economic Times 2016). This corresponds to targeted annual agricultural growth of more than 14% per year. More needs to be done to enhance the role that agriculture can play in improving nutrition outcomes, for example via the implementation of cross-sector policies and programmes at national and sub-national levels.

Efforts must also be made to ensure that small-scale, marginal and landless farmers are the true beneficiaries of these policies, as too many people are being left behind in India’s efforts to reach Zero Hunger. This goal can only be achieved when the people who are most excluded are placed at the centre of all action and thinking.

Indian civil society, including Welthungerhilfe’s partners, has been working with these communities to enable them to take control of their own lives and demand their right to food. It has also been working in close cooperation with the Government to implement a range of innovative ideas that address issues of food insecurity and malnutrition in remote corners of the country.

Above all, in this land of plenty it will only become possible to overcome the national nutrition paradox by challenging the social, economic and political structures that lead to the discrimination of the most vulnerable people in India.

About this Case Study

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are an inspiring and essential call to action. We are being called upon to end hunger by 2030 for everyone – forever. So how do we respond? How can we make this a reality?

This case study highlights the work of Welthungerhilfe as part of efforts towards achieving zero hunger. Drawing on many years of experience and well-founded evidence, we work with governments and partner organisations to scale up solutions which are both sustainable and sustained.

People are at the heart of these programmes. Their stories highlight the diversity of challenges faced by ordinary people every day: coping with conflict while building resilience, living with as well as tackling social inequality, and dealing with and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Although these challenges are enormous, so, too, is the potential to turn the ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals into a reality for everyone.

A Case Study of Sustainable Service-Based Marketing Strategy of Food Delivery Business in India

• First Online: 31 December 2023

Cite this chapter

• S. Sneha 20 ,
• S. Ajith 21 &
• K. N. Sakhivel 21  

Part of the book series: Contributions to Environmental Sciences & Innovative Business Technology ((CESIBT))

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This paper explores the marketing strategies of food delivery services in India by focusing on the comparison between four popular platforms—Food Panda, Zomato, Swiggy, and Faasos. The food delivery service sector in India has seen significant growth in recent years due to the increasing demand for convenience, busy lifestyle, and the ease of access to mobile devices. The study analyzed the various marketing techniques employed by these platforms, such as discounts, loyalty programs, targeted advertising, partnerships with restaurants, and promotional campaigns. The research found that Swiggy dominates the Indian food delivery market with its focus on providing fast and reliable service, while Zomato and Food Panda are catching up with their recent innovative marketing strategies. Faasos, on the other hand, has a unique positioning with its focus on providing healthy and fresh food options. Overall, the findings suggest that the success of food delivery services in India depends on several factors, including customer satisfaction, strong partnerships with restaurants, and effective marketing strategies.

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Sneha, S., Ajith, S., Sakhivel, K.N. (2023). A Case Study of Sustainable Service-Based Marketing Strategy of Food Delivery Business in India. In: Edward J., A., Jaheer Mukthar, K.P., Dhruvakumar, M., Murugesan, T.K. (eds) Digital Transformation for Business Sustainability. Contributions to Environmental Sciences & Innovative Business Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7058-2_5

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Amazon Food: Biting into the Food Delivery Market in India

Research by: Jones Mathew, Sandeep Puri, Darren Meister, and Maria Luisa C. Delayco

Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) India expanded Amazon Food into the food delivery market in March 2021 amid a pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. The move surprised the industry, especially considering that Swiggy and Zomato Ltd. (Zomato), the two key players in the food delivery business, were facing an all-time slump and that restaurants were seeking to move away from aggregators to create their own ordering platform. Zomato and Swiggy, a duopoly in the foodservice aggregator (FSA) space in the country, had been struggling to keep cash burn low, squeezing delivery-executive commissions, executing mass layoffs, and scaling down profit-draining cloud kitchens. Although the timing of the launch appeared risky, Amazon India’s confidence to take on the established players and challenge the status quo stemmed from its size, reach, resources, technological prowess, reliability, trust, and goodwill.  In a market scenario where safety and hygiene standards were set to change forever and the odds were stacked against FSAs, the industry and consumers were expecting a tough battle. Amazon had to reassess whether its strengths would be adequate to help it make satisfactory inroads into the industry, confront the obstacles, and overcome the ongoing slump and make good on its decision to be the new entrant when the established players were bearing the brunt of not only the pandemic but also a deeply divided restaurant industry.

Learning Objective

This case is designed for graduate-level marketing management courses covering modules on market entry strategies and competitor mapping. The case is also suitable for a marketing strategy course in modules on understanding the competitive advantage and understanding business models. This case may also be useful in a customer relationship management course to discuss customer experience, unique value proposition, and building opportunities and challenges in a digital world.

The case analyzes the timing of Amazon’s entry into the food delivery market, the strategies it is likely to adopt to challenge the established players, and the choices it has to make to provide a unique, innovative, and standout experience to customers likely looking for a change. It explores the challenges a huge online retailer faces when entering a highly competitive segment where it has no prior experience, at a time when market sentiment and economic conditions are strongly unfavourable. While the firm possesses certain significant strengths that could prove to be instrumental in its success, there are also issues it must address. Working through the case will give students the opportunity to explore the following issues:

• The logic behind Amazon India’s entry into the competitive food delivery market.
• The most appropriate business model and targeting and pricing strategies for Amazon Food to find success in India, considering there are different FSAs it can choose from.
• The distinctive value proposition Amazon Food should create for online food delivery customers in terms of “customer experience” as a differentiator.
• The nature and scope of technical and digital capabilities Amazon would need in order to succeed in the online food delivery business.
• The possible obstacles Amazon Foods might encounter on its route to success.

Disciplines: Entrepreneurship; & Strategy

To cite this case: Mathew, J., Puri, S. , Meister, D., & Delayco, M C. L. (2021). Amazon Food: Biting into the Food Delivery Market in India . Ivey ID: W25902. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing

To access this case: https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/amazon-food-biting-into-the-food-delivery-market-in-india/01t5c00000D4spuAAB

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Strengthening food security in India during COVID-19

Almost 200 million people in India are undernourished and border closings and lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated this widespread food insecurity. Although India is one of the world’s largest food producers, weak supply chains often prevent food from reaching consumers before it spoils. While multiple small businesses are working to improve these food supply chains, they often face difficulty accessing essential financing.

Solution and Impact:

A $15 million equity investment will help Freshtohome Foods Ltd. expand its Bangalore-based e-commerce business that sells fresh fish, meat, and vegetables in major metropolitan cities in India. Freshtohome is a five-year-old company built with proprietary technology to connect more than 1,500 fishermen and farmers to its network that delivers affordable fish and meat products to consumers, while also helping food producers earn higher prices than they typically receive at auction.

Freshtohome fills more than 15,000 orders a day, which are processed electronically, and delivered in temperature-controlled vehicles. The business estimates that it supports jobs and generates income for more than 17,000 fishermen, farmers and logistics workers—a number it expects will increase to 70,000 within five years.

The business is also working to introduce modern fish farming practices across 42 farms with advanced aquaculture and aquaponics technology that can increase yields two to three times over traditional fish farming methods.

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Visual Stories

Gained valuable experience at grocery industry event.

Best Bagger

Students assisted with the "Best Bagger" competition.

Student Standout Awards

Students evaluated products and services for the Student Standout Awards.

Case Study Competition

Students developed a business strategy for a grocery chain.

April 16, 2024

Seven agribusiness and food industry management students recently brought home valuable experience and recognition from the National Grocers Association (NGA) Show.

Held at Caesar's Palace Forum in Las Vegas, the NGA Show is a premier event for the grocery industry, bringing together retailers, wholesalers, and a passionate student community that included students from Cornell, University of Findlay, St. Joseph’s University, Arizona State, Kansas State, Auburn, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Fresno State.

Students Justin Kipper, Carmen Diaz, Elizabeth Vargas, Ariadna Castro, Megan Ebner, Avalon Anderson, and Irvin Ayon were not just attendees; they were active participants at the show in several activities.

One of the activities was the Student Standout Awards, which tasked them with forming cross-university teams and evaluating hundreds of products and services showcased on the expansive NGA Show Expo Floor.

The floor included 350 companies eager to connect with industry stakeholders. From Center Store and Fresh Food innovations to cutting-edge technology solutions, the students had a front-row seat to the future of grocery retailing.

The cross-university teams each tackled a specific award category: Center Store, Fresh, Health & Wellness, Pharmacy, Operational Services, Sustainability in Store Design & Equipment, and Technology.

Armed with a set of insightful questions, they approached each booth, engaging with company representatives and learning how these products and services could empower independent grocers.

Through these insightful dialogues, the expo transformed into a real-world learning lab for the students, exposing them to the grocery landscapes and giving them invaluable industry knowledge while honing their critical thinking and communication skills.

Best Bagger Competition

Cal Poly Pomona students Castro, Vargas, and Diaz also assisted with the Best Bagger Competition, which puts the spotlight on a fundamental skill in the grocery industry – bagging – and on customer service and company pride.

Grocery store baggers from across the country battled it out for the coveted championship title and a grand prize of $10,000.

The students’ support ensured a smooth-running event and exemplified the collaborative spirit fostered by the agribusiness program.

Student Case Study

In the ever-evolving landscape of the grocery industry, maintaining a competitive edge requires not just adaptation but forward-thinking strategies that anticipate future trends.

This was the challenge the agribusiness management students embraced in the Student Case Study.

Their mission was clear: to revitalize Niemann Foods Inc. by transitioning its County Market stores into B-level stores, rebranded as "Niemann's Market."

Niemann Foods faced the dual challenge of executing a successful rebranding strategy to build customer loyalty while adapting to the changing dynamics of the grocery industry.

The team was comprised of Kipper, serving as the senior program manager, Anderson as head of marketing strategy, Ayon as senior community activities director, Diaz as visual design manager, with valuable contributions from Vargas, Castro, and Ebner.

Under the expert guidance of Lecturer Katie Horvath, a seasoned professional with 15 years of experience in the grocery and consumer packaged goods) retail sector, the student consultant team embarked on a journey to redefine the shopping experience at Niemann's Market

The key questions posed to the student team revolved around creating an integrated shopping experience, aligning the rebranding with future customer preferences—especially in the fresh category—and differentiating Niemann's Market in the coming decade.

The students' proposal focused on leveraging technology and community engagement to revolutionize the shopping experience at Niemann's Market. Their strategic plan included the implementation of Custom Shelf Talkers and new cost-saving Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) Digital Shelf Tags.

These innovations aimed not only to enhance the in-store experience but also to achieve significant cost savings through labor reduction and efficiency in promotional activities.

Furthermore, the team devised a compelling marketing strategy titled "Look closer, find more at Niemann's," emphasizing the unique value proposition of the rebranded stores. By integrating these elements, the students projected a rate of investment of 73 percent or more, with substantial savings in labor and material costs, while also saving valuable time spent on price changes each week.

Gerry Kettler, Niemann’s director of consumer affairs, lauded the students' presentation, highlighting the impactful ideas they brought to the table.

"Your students rocked the presentation with their ideas! I cannot wait to work with these students," he remarked.

Although the team did not clinch the top prize, their innovative cost-saving initiative caught the attention of independent grocers across the United States, with seven grocers keen on implementing their strategies.

As these bright minds continue to make their mark on the industry, the experience gained from the Student Case Study serves as a foundation for their future endeavors. Their work with Niemann's Market is a testament to the transformative power of innovative thinking in maintaining a competitive edge in the dynamic grocery industry.

The collaboration between Cal Poly Pomona students and Niemann Foods, Inc. exemplifies the potential for academic institutions and industry leaders to work together in addressing real-world challenges.

The students' ability to apply their knowledge, creativity, and strategic thinking to a complex business scenario underscores the quality of education and training provided by agribusiness and food industry management program at the Huntley College of Agriculture.