Tobacco(Cigarette Industry)

India is the world’s third largest producer of tobacco and a very large consumer of tobacco products. Over 40 per cent of the tobacco consumed in India is in the form of bidis. Cigarette accounts for 15 per cent, while rest is divided between chewing tobacco, pan masala, hookah, snuff and other mixes. Around 80 per cent of smokers are located in urban India, while rural market continues to be dominated by bidis.

The free trade pact among SAARC nations led to easy availability of foreign cigarettes. Cigarette market consists of premium brands like Marlboro, Rothmans, State Express 555, Benson & Hedges, Dunhill and Camel.

Cigarettes is a highly concentrated sector with very few companies engaged in this business. ITC, the largest Indian tobacco products manufacturer, alone controls about 82 per cent of market share. Followed by other major companies like Godfrey Phillips India (9.7 per cent), VST India (4.9 per cent) and GTC Industries (2.4 per cent).

The industry is pre–dominantly domestic, exports being a small proportion of production. Cigarettes are classified as filter cigarettes and non–filter cigarettes. Filters help to remove 90 per cent of the nicotine content and 75 per cent of tar and other toxic materials. It also ensures no change in the original
flavour of the cigarette.

Office Automation

Source: Various Sites and Research reports
IT hardware, primarily the desktop, has been driving for the new economy. Starting from wealth creation to improving quality of life for all sections of society, it has been one of the major contributors to the Indian electronics hardware. The computer segment is one of the fastest growing segments of the electronics industry.

The copier market in India is valued at Rs. 850 crore and is a highly competitive one. The market offers huge potential as the overall penetration of copiers hovers just around 26%. The market is dominated by a few but strong players like Xerox, Canon, (Ricoh) Gestetner, and HCL Toshiba.

Demand Drivers: The demand for paper oriented office equipment products like facsimile, photocopiers, and printers is considered to be on the decline with the advent of Internet and efficient electronic data transfer, marketers are ruling out the possibility of a paperless office in India and see a huge potential for their product range.

The drivers for demand are: -

Government: Government organizations are large buyers of copiers, as the bulk of their daily work requires complex documentation. Most of these organizations are over staffed, and thus generate large quantities of hand-written paper, copies of which have to be stored in multiple locations. Also Government organizations haven’t yet responded in earnest to electronic documents and thus have not seen a considerable decrease in copier demand. The potential for copiers is relatively high in this segment as a typical Government firm seems to have a need for decentralized copiers (a separate copier for each department).

Service Industry: Among the non-government organizations, the most paper oriented is the service industry, like banks, which requires a greater degree of documentation. However, this market is declining steadily.

Jobbers: This is the segment of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It comprises both corner shop photocopying services and full-fledged documentation management centers, servicing retail customers. Metros and active business areas have a high concentration of Jobbers, who service the retail customers. Copier companies consider this segment as steadily growing in size, and hence are setting up business centers and franchisees to meet the documentation needs of the retail customer.

Corporate: This is an important segment for any marketer (comprises IT and non-IT companies: both MNCs and non-MNCs). This segment is characterized by a comparatively higher penetration of the Internet. Therefore, to survive in this segment, any marketer needs to be customer service oriented as well as quick enough to introduce the latest technology to meet ever-changing end-user requirements. This segment, typically, seeks for a multi-task device that can design, transmit, store, retrieve, colour, print, copy, merge, scan, and fax etc. The Digital range of copiers (multi-task / multi-functional ones) are likely to have a great potential in this segment. Increasing market pressures have led to slicker advertisements, brochures, user’s manuals, and proposals, which in turn have influenced the demand for colour copiers. As against the rest of the user segments, both the colour and digital copier segment are growing in this segment. Though the small office segment (SOHO – Small Office Home Office) is largely a Printer-oriented one, it offers a good potential for combo machines that can print and copy, and multi-task / functional copiers.

Long-term value, superior technology and comprehensive customer support are the universal themes for any marketer to survive in this market.
Superior quality of copy/print, high levels of network compatibility, and higher speed are other key factors one would look out for in a copier.

Cashew Processing

Cashew Processing - Prospects for cashew kernel oil manufacturing in India & Export Opportunities
Source: Economic Times
Cashew is a commercial crop grown mostly in the coastal regions of India. The cashew comprises the cashew apple (which could be of the yellow or red variety), the cashew-nut shell liquid (CNSL) and the cashew nut nested inside. The nut is covered with polyphenol and this has to be removed to reveal the white cashew kernel. One of the uses of cashew apple is to convert the high polyphenol and sugar into feni, a liquor much preferred in India. The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) has made several efforts to promote the processing of cashew apple feni in Goa. A number of other beverages may be produced from it, but it has not caught on yet as the flavour is strong and there is not much export potential in Europe. As the preference for natural fruit juices increases, cashew juice may soon become a popular product. At present, cashew juice processing is viable with a small-scale setup. Cashews are said to have medicinal properties and their relevance in Ayurveda can be explored. Cashew nuts are also important ingredients in many Indian snacks and sweetmeats. Cashews also find application outside the food sector. CNSL is highly corrosive and toxic when handled carelessly. It has no use in food and is generally used in polymer paints and pharmaceuticals. An anti-bacterial , it is used as a neutraceutical. A viscous oil, it may be used to protect plants and preserve seeds while retaining their germination properties. It is also used to make anti-insect combinations. Very little CNSL is produced due to crude machinery for extracting it. It has many uses, but none are as profitable as cashew nut processing itself. Another product that has potential is the pericarp covering the nut that contains polyphenols, sterols and tannins, considered good for health today. They act as antioxidants, radical scavengers and are good for cleansing the body. Kernel oil from cashews is only a by-product .

Dabur,Emami,Wipro Consumer Keep Mkt Buzzing

Economic Times: 16/Feb/2009
ITS THE MONEY,HONEY! Dabur,Emami,Wipro Consumer Keep Mkt Buzzing
Maulik Vyas
MUMBAI TILLtwo years back,Gauri Sankar Mahato,a peasant from Nimdhi village near Chaibasa,Jharkhand,was barely subsisting on small crop that he cultivated on a few acres.Then he began beekeeping,helped by Singhbhum Gramodyog Vikas Sansthan,a local body associated with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).Extracting about 500 kg of honey each season from 50 bee colonies,today Gauri Sankar Mahato is enjoying the sweet fruits of success.Mahato has tasted success largely due to an increasing demand of honey in urban-semi urban areas where,with growing health awareness,people are using honey in place of artificial sweeteners.To tap this segment,growing at 25% per year,fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies such as Dabur,Zandu and Wipro Consumer are scaling up their presence in the branded honey segment.At the same time,the traditional players such as KVIC and Himachal Pradesh Agro Industry Corporation (HPAIC) are also aggressively expanding their network.Most of the companies are sourcing their raw material from the Himalayas and Sunderbans.Currently,the domestic branded honey market is estimated at around Rs 250 crores.Till now,around 50% of honey is being used for religious and medicinal purposes.However,now companies are trying to woo health conscious consumers by promoting honey as a substitute of sugar.We have managed to get honey accepted among Indian consumers as a food product, says KK Rajesh,VP-Marketing of Dabur Healthcare,which is the market leader in branded honey segment with over 60% share.He further adds that countrys youth has become more health conscious and the company is targeting them for the same.Dabur,which had Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador,has now roped in cricketer MS Dhoni also for connecting youth with the brand.Increasing preference among consumers for honey is leading to a boost in the variety and assortment of honey-based food products,baby products,yogurts and drinks.We have very recently launched our honey product under Zandu brand.As of now,we are testing it in some markets and by September 2010,we will launch it big way, said Aditya Agarwal,Director,Emami who acquired majority stake in Zandu Pharmaceutical.He further adds that honeys majority consumption happens in winter season and there for company is looking to enter into this market during that time only.Wipro Consumer Care and Lightning (WCCL),a relatively new player,launched its honey brand Sanjeevni in Maharashtra in 2007 as a test market.Now,it has rolled out its distributions in South India,mainly in Tamil Nadu,where the demand is highest,mainly due to religious purpose.Currently,we are growing at 30% annually and have plans to expand our base in Western and Northern parts of the country, said a senior official from Wipro consumer division requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.Himachal Pradesh Agro Industry Corporation (HPAIC),a state-run body for promoting agro and agro-related products,has 375 kiosks across the country for selling its brand Him Honey.