One of the largest private sector dairy enterprises in Southern India, Heritage Foods, has joined forces with French dairy firm Novandie to set up a 50:50 joint venture, for a new dairy plant in France.
Novandie, a subsidiary of French Food company Andros, and Heritage Foods will manufacture flavored yogurts and desserts, according to reports in the Indian press.
The Chief Minister of Indian state Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu founded the Indian dairy company in the early 1990s with three-business divisions; Dairy, Retail and Agribusiness, under its flagship company Heritage Foods Limited (HFL).
In a recent announcement, the minister said the Joint Venture has come about following lengthy discussions with the French firm and a plant will be set up with a capacity of 20 tons per day. It is expected to be operational by next year.
“We are excited about our joint venture with Novandie, a leading yogurt player in France. This is one of the major steps we have taken on the path to achieving Rs 6,000 crore revenues by 2022,” Nara Brahmani, Executive Director, Heritage Foods, was quoted as saying.
Currently, Heritage’s milk products have market presence in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Source: Food Ingredients First
This initiative aims to raise funds for breast cancer charities, specifically CoppaFeel and Breast Cancer Now, and underscores the growing intersection of consumer goods and social responsibility in the food manufacturing sector.
The company will merge its Latin America and North America divisions into a new entity called Zone Americas (AMS), to be led by Steve Presley. Presley is set to relocate to Nestlé’s headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, underscoring the company’s move to centralise its leadership.
The dairy giant notes that it has valued Domty at approximately 8,897 million EGP or US$183 million based on the exchange rate for 100% of the shares. The precise number of shares Arla seeks to acquire has yet to be shared.