India packaged coconut water is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 17%, in value terms, during 2017-2022, on the back of rising health concerns due to hectic and stressful lifestyle and increasing consumer spending on wellness products to prevent signs of aging.
The Indo-Thai Connection
Ashish Verma, Founding Director of Kalyan F&B, says, “While conducting fieldwork in a small village in North Eastern Thailand over 8 years ago - we first encountered the nutritious and refreshing water of this tropical palm. Our relationship with the land and the people grew from a simple friendship to a strong commitment to the community and environment.”
He adds, “A local Thai manufacturing company already specializing in premium natural products whose aspiring momentum was the essence of being – Being Pure, and Being well. I was in Vancouver, Canada and I noticed ‘be’ products for the first time. I found it interesting and thought to try it with my family and that’s when I made up my mind to import these products to India.”
Importing Health
The surging demand for packaged coconut water can be attributed to growing awareness about the potential health benefits of drinking coconut water, natural and healthy drinks over high calorie carbonated drinks.
Kalyan F&B’s “Be” Coconut Water is currently sourced from a single estate farm in Southern Thailand. Kalyan F&B Private Limited is the exclusive importer of 'be' products into India.
Verma says, “We are looking for distributors who are already dealing in premium imported food and beverages. The dynamics work very differently with domestic and imported food products.
Tackling With Competition
Verma says, “When saying 'competition', please note that we will consider other IMPORTED brands only as our competitor (Like Grace, Foco, etc). It is very difficult for an imported brand to compete with a domestic brand.”
Verma points out three vital points which make them stand apart from the competition:
