How brands are transforming the Agro-processing industry in India

One of the largest in the world, India's food processing industry is anticipated to generate US$ 535 billion by 2025–2026. By 2024, 9 million jobs are projected to be created in this industry. It is important to note that the food processing sector makes up 32% of the whole Indian food industry, which is growing at a CAGR of 11%. Between April 2014 and March 2020, India's food industry garnered $4.18 billion in foreign direct investments. The yearly household consumption in India is anticipated to quadruple by 2030, elevating the country to the fifth-largest consumer in the globe.

The above statistics outline that the food industry is expanding at an unprecedented rate which is a clear indication of the dynamic operational effectiveness of the Agro-processing industry in India. Agro-brands are making significant contributions to the food processing chain in India through a variety of technological and skill developments.

In India, the internet meal ordering industry is expanding rapidly. Packaged, healthful, and immunity-boosting foods like roasted nuts, popcorn, and roasted pulses are in hot demand. A change from loose to branded packaging is occurring in the market. Additionally, this industry is given importance by the government's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" project, which provides assistance through a number of measures.

How big and small brands are transforming the Agro-processing industry in India?

Brands today are focusing towards technological innovation: Food safety and innovation are now essential components of process improvement, maintaining the relevance of our products and services for our clients, and staying competitive. A new ING analysis claims that technology aids agricultural producers in producing food more effectively to meet the needs of an expanding global population. The current population of the globe is 7.5 billion, which results in a yearly increase in the need for food. The quality, shelf life, and safety of food may all be improved by applying innovation and technology to enhance manufacturing and packaging. Let's examine the food manufacturing sector in more detail to have a better grasp of this.

Advanced Post-harvest processing: Brands today use cutting-edge technology for post-harvest processing of rice and various grains& seeds (including wheat, maize, and millet).The cutting-edge processing equipment is produced in a state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure which becomes a good choice for processing of grains and seeds. The equipment is equally effective in handling, classifying, and sorting grains and seeds. Additionally, the focus lies on developing a robust production process while maintaining the highest standards for quality and volume.

Wide array of advanced machinery: Brands today offer an array of machinery to make food processing easy, quicker and automated. Some of the most efficient machinery includes-

• Cleaners
• De-stoners
• Multi Graders
• Paddy Separators
• De-huskers
• Rice Whitener
• Silky Rice Polisher
• Conveyors
• Elevators
• Feeders
• Grain Dischargers

Unlike the earlier times, today food processing is a mechanized large-scale production process and hence manual labour is no more an option. Additionally, primitively used hand held machines are excessively time consuming, hence new, and advanced machinery not only saves time but leads to increased profits.

Modern Turnkey Rice Mill Set-ups: Today brands provide a wide range of modern turnkey solutions for cutting-edge rice mills. For automated mills, brands provide turnkey solution projects ranging from 3 TPH to 8 TPH or customized as per needs and assist customers with engineering, installation, monitoring, and commissioning. Additionally, by increasing yields, lowering labour costs, and curbing in-process wastage, end-to-end solutions contribute to continual de-leveraging and improved revenue.

Agro-brands today offer a host of services which includes consultancy, modern machinery, material handling set-up, fabrication, installation, training the millers for easy operations and commissioning of plants for optimised results. The turnkey solutions offered by new age agro-brands is provided with a cost-effective fixed price and tailored timeline to customers for a hassle-free experience. In addition, the team of highly qualified engineers provides a single point of contact for the simplistic execution of the entire project.

Research and Development: Today brands understand that research and innovation are the main drivers of an organization's success. Enhancing client satisfaction via the adoption of high-quality processes and keeping strict product standards is the major development idea. Several agro-processing brands have a dedicated research and development department, which is staffed with highly skilled and knowledgeable individuals that work diligently to meet the changing demands of the industry. Through their persistent efforts, innovation, and professionalism, the agro-processing sector has experienced exponential growth throughout time.This Research & Development is carried out with focus on automating the process further to increase the volume-output as well as yield of the finished product. This focus, in longer run helps in reducing the cost of operations, improves efficiency & saves time, resulting in increment of returns.

Final Thoughts

Companies may simply expand output, raise efficiency, and most crucially, deliver perishable food items to the end-consumer with freshness intact, by embracing quality management and putting new technological procedures in place. Innovation in the use of new technologies may undoubtedly enhance the quality and flavor of food while lowering costs and increasing convenience.

Despite being a complicated nature of the industry, the development trajectory of the agro-processing sector is positive. Food safety, sustainability, and innovation must all be seen as potent forces that spur development, make it easier to enter new markets, and—most importantly—emerge as solutions for establishing novel goods and procedures.

Authored By: Vasu Naren, Managing Director & CEO, Sona Machinery