DCPL Enters Maharashtra With ‘Leonardo’ Olive Oil

Will Set Up Bottling Unit As Well

Ashish K Tiwari, Mumbai

V N Dalmia, chairman of DCPL

Dalmia Continental Pvt Ltd (DCPL) has finalised plans of entering Maharashtra, starting with Mumbai, with their Leonardo brand of olive oil. V N Dalmia, chairman of DCPL, was recently in the city to launch the brand. Speaking to Express Hotelier & Caterer, Dalmia said, “The market for olive oil is evolving and progressing in India and is poised to grow at 40 per cent annually. We have been servicing our customers in New Delhi and other cities in the east and south. Mumbai is one market which looks quite promising for our product and thus we decided to establish our presence here.”

The Dalmia group which is into multi-businesses including restaurants, ventured into importing Pomace Olive Oil (under its newly formed Olive Products Division) which is neutral in taste and the flavour is ideal for cooking Indian cuisines. The company tied up with Nichola Pantaleo in this regard and presently the product is being imported in bottles and marketed under their own brand ‘Leonardo’.

Olive oil, which has been hailed as the healthiest cooking medium by the American Heart Association, is gaining popularity in the West and increasingly in India too there is a growing demand for edible olive oil. Throwing light on the oil consumption pattern in India, Narayanan Rajagopalan, president and COO, DCPL, said, “Rough estimates indicate that around 600 million litres of cooking oils is used in India every month. And as awareness about health and nutrition increases people are switching to olive oil for cooking. So there is a big market out there to tap. One aspect that works to the olive oil’s advantage is the cost. The usage of olive oil is only one-third vis a vis other oils, making it very cost-effective.

The company is also looking into the possibilities of setting up a bottling plant in Mumbai. “We are scouting for an ideal location in the Navi Mumbai area for the bottling plant. A few places have been identified but we still need to take a final call on it. Once operational, this unit would substantially bring down the price of the product which is presently being marketed at Rs 290 for one litre, Rs 170 for 500 ml and Rs 90 for 250 ml,” added Rajagopalan. However, he refrained to divulge details on what the cost difference would be like.

According to Dalmia, the company has met its target of 60,000 litres by March 2004 end and hopes to notch up at least 500,000 litres by 2005. “Opening up of markets like Maharashtra, which happens to be the single largest market for olive oil with 40 per cent of the total market share, will help us meet this target,” he asserted.

The company presently has six distributors in Mumbai and 10 distributors across Maharashtra. A regional office will be set up in Mumbai shortly. The group plans to invest Rs 5 crore till March 2004 and there are plans to put in Rs 100 crore over the next two to five years to strengthen its market positioning, which includes the cost of setting up the bottling plant.

On their marketing activities, Rajagopalan confirmed, “A Rs 10 crore communication budget has been envisaged to create and sustain awareness about this product. More products such as balsamic vinegar, infused oil (with flavours such as garlic and paprika) sundried tomatoes and olive fruits will be launched very soon.”

DCPL’s existing client base in the hospitality industry comprise leading national hotel and restaurant chains like The Taj Group, The Oberoi, Hotel Grand Intercontinental, Olive Bar and Kitchen, Shalom, Kasba, Forum and Filmi Masala amongst others.