Exclusive | Capitalizing on convenience: Godrej Tyson's Arabind Das

Godrej Tyson Foods, a joint venture between Godrej Agrovet Ltd., a part of the Godrej Group and Tyson Foods Inc is one of India’s premier poultry and vegetarian products manufacturer and marketer with strong value-added brands such as Real Good Chicken and Real Good Yummiez. The venture combines Godrej’s hygienic supply chain and strong value-added brands with Tyson Foods’ expertise in processing and product development to create great-tasting, safe, and healthy products. The company also offers India’s expanding foodservice industry and universe of modern retailers, innovative poultry solutions and world-class products customized to local tastes.

Godrej Tyson recently entered the paratha market with their Real Good Yummiez Chicken Paratha, first of its kind in the frozen food category in India. The growing market of paratha coupled with homemaker’s penchant for a simplified cooking process has been the key driver for this unique product launch.

Over a cup of coffee with a few Real good Yummiez snacks Adgully caught up with Arabind Das, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd to talk about the brand and its journey so far.

Sharing key high points of the journey, he said, “The journey has been really good as of now. We have had the expertise of the market that we are in with huge service centers. To cater the needs and explore the Indian market Tyson foods joined hands with Godrej and the entire journey started in India. So it’s like 51% stake is Tyson foods’ and 49% is Godrej Agrovet. Today both the hands are pretty strong in the market with Gidrej bringing in the market and distribution knowledge of India and Tyson bringing expertise of the product.”

He says, “We have had a vertically integrated business: Godrej Tyson, with 100% control on the entire value chain has been able to leverage technical knowledge of animal feed, expertise in processing and marketing of poultry to deliver innovative products consistent with market demands.”

Speaking about the new product, he said, “The launch of Chicken Kheema Paratha reiterates our commitment to being constantly innovative and serving the consumers with an array of healthy and delicious products that combines the best of taste and convenience.”

Well, as told by Das, the paratha market is approx 3700 MT in India. When asked about their share in it he proudly said, “We are among the leaders in the market and there have been some categories which were first of its kind in India. Well, to be in this position I would say it needs a lot of patience, innovation, skills and of course hard work. The market understanding plays a vital role and we have done our level best in that direction.”

Godrej Tyson was first to introduce following: Tandoori Flavored breaded nuggets, Dino shaped nuggets for children, first to introduce ready-to-eat frozen Punjabi Chicken Tikka, frozen ready-to-eat Shami Kebab consistently ranked better than competing products and now Chicken Paratha.

Das stressed upon the fact that they believe in Unique Consumer Insight. He says, “Capitalizing on ‘Convenience’ is essential for a company to cater to today’s dynamic lifestyle, and thorough consumer insights help us understand these changes. Based on these insights, Yummiez is able to combine the best of taste and convenience.”

When asked about innovation, he said, “We believe in continuous Innovation. We aim to address India’s growing protein requirement through our nutritious poultry product offerings and continuous innovation helps us address this opportunity.”

When asked about the product quality, Das said, “We strictly take care of the quality of animals we use. We at Godrej Tyson are committed to providing safe and affordable protein products to the Indian consumers, especially to ease out the life of homemakers and offer solutions of convenience to the next generation,” he added.
India‘s rising income and changing demographics have brought about a surge in demand for convenient, indulgent and healthy items,  The industry is in a rapid trajectory and is likely to continue to do so.

So speaking about the growing trends and pricing strategy, he said, ”The market and demand of convenience has increased quite literally in the Indian market hence people believe in ready to cook food more than anything else hence this trend is further fuelled by consumers who want it easy and quick as a solution to today’s fast paced life. With this launch, Godrej Tyson is well-positioned to benefit from the changing trends in the Indian diets.”

With this launch, not only has Godrej Tyson successfully launched a unique product but has also created a new category in the frozen food market. Godrej Tyson Real Good Yummiez Chicken Paratha  integrates India’s two most favored foods – Chicken & Paratha The foray into chicken Kheema paratha is to extend the brand across all categories thereby strengthen the brand further.