R P Sanjiv Goenka buys 70% of Gujarat snack co

R P Sanjiv Goenka group acquired 70% stake in Apricot Foods Private Limited based in Rajkot, Sanjiv Goenka, its chairman said on Friday.

"We have acquired 70 per cent in Apricot Foods which sells e-vita branded snacks at an enterprise valuation of Rs 440 crore," RP Sanjiv Goenka group chairman Sanjiv Goenka said here.

Its group company Guiltfree Industries has acquired the company. He said the snacks entity is mostly concentrated in Gujarat with an annual revenue of Rs 200 crore.

"All E-vita products are priced at Rs 5 and this will help us in foray into mass market. Our 'Too Yum' will be placed in the mid-market and we will also look into premium with like organics. Acquisition is also not ruled out," Goenka said. He said Rajesh Patel who is the founder of the company will continue as 30% partner in the company. The company under the brand name E Vita started production in 2005.

The company has a state of the art manufacturing units at Rajkot and Medchal in Hyderabad with a total production capacity of 33,000 tonnes per annum of snack and food items. Ninety five per cent revenue comes from sale of small packets ( 35 – 40 g) of Rs 5 each.

He said the products are sold through a network of 160 stockists across 17 states in the country. He said the they will try to take the brand national.

Meanwhile, Goenka said the company was planning to set up their own manufacturing to retain quality and they were evaluating few states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

"We will finalise location in the next two weeks," he added.